New Federal Housing Administration mortgage underwriting standard

This article by Kenneth Harney explains the new standards: First-time and move-up home buyers with heavy debt loads, low credit scores and small down payments face a daunting new mortgage hurdle: The Federal Housing Administration is toughening its underwriting standards. Large numbers of applications could be turned down in the coming months as a result. Industry […]

More Revisions to the List of Law Schools Teaching Consumer Law

by Jeff Sovern Sara has updated the list once more in light of comments.  It appears below the fold. We are still accepting comments, so if you have not yet registered yours, please send it in.  As for the statistics, they are as follows: 109 classes total (58.33%) 32 clinics total (15.69%) 88 offer only […]

FTC orders broadband companies to hand over info on privacy practices

The Hill reports that the Federal Trade Commission is ordering the largest broadband providers to turn over information on their handling of consumer data as the agency launches an extensive review of privacy practices. "Comcast, Verizon and AT&T were among the companies that received orders from the FTC following a 5-0 vote by the agency's […]

CFPB seeking applications for spots on its advisory committees

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau seeks applications for spots on its advisory committees: To be sure that we hear from a variety of experts with diverse viewpoints, we set up the Consumer Advisory Board, the Community Bank Advisory Council, the Credit Union Advisory Council, and the Academic Research Council.  These advisory committees provide us with […]

2019 List of Schools Teaching Consumer Law

by Jeff Sovern Five years ago, I posted a list of law schools teaching consumer law, as compiled by my then-research assistant Preston Postlethwaite.  I've received requests to update the list, and so I asked another research assistant, Sara Krastins, to do so. Sara examined the web sites for the 204 ABA-approved law schools (she […]

They Collect Debts, But They Ain’t Debt Collectors – So Says the Supreme Court

In its latest foray into the poorly drafted provisions of the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, the Supreme Court unanimously decided today in Obduskey v. McCarthy & Holthus LLP that entities who engage in nonjudicial foreclosure either regularly or as their principal business are not (for that reason) "debt collectors" within the meaning of the […]