The period from 2001 through 2016 saw several major mergers amongst US passenger airlines. In recent years, though, efforts to merge or coordinate have faced opposition from courts and antitrust regulators. In December 2023, Alaska Airlines (which already has a huge Hawaiian presence) announced a deal to acquire Hawaiian Airlines. The immediate response from government […]
Benjamin C. Zipursky of Fordham and Zahra Takhshid of Denver and Harvard’s Berkman Klein Center have written Consumer Protection and the Illusory Promise of the Unconscionability Defense, forthcoming in 103 Texas Law Review. Here’s the abstract: The United States Supreme Court’s notorious decision in AT&T Mobility LLC v. Concepcion seems to display impatience with the idea of […]
We’ve received the following announcement: University of Oklahoma College of Law is pleased to announce that it is currently seeking applicants for visiting professor position(s) for Spring 2025 of the upcoming academic year. The law school has a number of curricular needs, but is especially interested in candidates specializing in bankruptcy, secured transactions, consumer law […]
The Center for Responsible Lending has issued a report, Not Free: The Large Hidden Costs of Small-Dollar Loans Made Through Cash Advance Apps. Here’s the Executive Summary and Key Findings: Earned wage advances (EWA) and cash advance products are small, short-term loans that are typically repaid on the consumer’s next payday either directly from a […]
Here (behind paywall). According to the article, the bill would preempt state privacy laws and provide for a private cause of action. The bill enjoys support from Senate Commerce Committee chair Maria Cantwell, a Democrat, and House Energy and Commerce Committee chair Cathy McMorris Rodgers, a Republican. Whether it will pass in a presidential election year […]
Samuel Becher of the Victoria University of Wellington and Tal Zarsky of the University of Haifa have written Big Mistake(s), forthcoming in the Florida Law Review. Here’s the abstract: The digital age has brought the imbalance of power between prominent firms and individual consumers to the forefront. Despite their proclamations of upholding democratic values and […]
Over the past few years, there have been numerous stories of rental car company Hertz reporting customers as having stolen rental cars, when the cars were not stolen at all. In 2022, the company entered in a class action settlement covering 364 of these reported “thefts.” Today, the Eighth Circuit issued a decision in Wood […]
For awhile now, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has been scrutinizing the role and responsibilities of data brokers in collecting and selling consumers’ personal data. In a message at the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy this week, CFPB Director Rohit Chopra said that a proposed rule to provide greater oversight of third-party […]
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has issued a report examining the growth of financial transactions in online video games and virtual worlds. “These platforms increasingly resemble traditional banking and payment systems that facilitate the storage and exchange of billions of dollars in assets, including virtual currencies. However, consumers report being harmed by scams or theft […]
The Federal Trade Commission is sending nearly $62 million in refunds to sellers deceived by advertising and marketing claims made by online real estate business Opendoor Labs, Inc. According to the FTC’s August 2022 complaint, Opendoor cheated home sellers by tricking them into thinking that they could make more money selling their home to Opendoor than […]