After consumer advocacy groups file petition with CFPB calling for new arbitration rule, CFPB says it will carefully consider the proposal, open a public docket and take comments from the public

Bloomberg Law’s Evan Weinberger has the story here (may be behind paywall), including a link to the petition. Weinberger later posted on what used to be called Twitter the CFPB’s response to his request for comment. The petition relies heavily on Roseanna Sommers’ study, which we discussed here.

Luke Herrine paper: Consumer Protection after Consumer Sovereignty

Luke Herrine of Alabama has written Consumer Protection after Consumer Sovereignty. Here’s the abstract: We seem to be in the middle of a paradigm shift in consumer protection. For decades, regulators understood their mission as “preserving choice” through more effective informational remedies. In the past decade — and more decisively during the Biden Administration — […]

Tuition “Payment Plans” may not be as good as they seem, says CFPB

The CFPB today issued a report finding that “payment plans” offered by various postsecondary schools can carry risks to students, as they often include high fees, confusing and inconsistent disclosures, forced arbitration agreements, and snowballing interest. The Bureau also found that the third-party service providers schools partner with can engage in abusive debt collection practices. […]

Andrea Boyack Article: The Shape of Consumer Contracts

Andrea J. Boyack of Washburn has written The Shape of Consumer Contracts, Denver Law Review (2023 Forthcoming). Here is the abstract: Modern consumer contracts are the bane of contract law and theory. Freedom of contract justifications are premised on party autonomy and transactional efficiency, but theories justifying contract enforcement fail to explain why the law should […]

DC Circuit Vacates CPSC Rule on Window Covering Cords

In a decision today, the DC Circuit vacated the CPSC’s safety standard for the operating cords on custom-made window coverings. Based on a finding that such cords pose a strangulation risk to young children, the rule, in the DC Circuit’s words, “essentially prohibit[ed] corded window products,” and the CPSC “set an aggressive timeline for industry […]

Chamber of Commerce’s Forum Shopping Pays Off in Discrimination/Unfairness Case

As Adam Pulver noted earlier, the Chamber of Commerce won its challenge at the district court level to the CFPB’s determination that discrimination is unfair within the meaning of the CFPB’s UDAAP statute. It is, of course, no coincidence that the Chamber filed the case in Texas, where it was heard by Judge J. Campbell […]

Texas Judge Holds That Discrimination is Not Unfair and Vacates CFPB Rule

On Friday, a Texas district judge held that the CFPB’s authority to prohibit “unfair, deceptive, or abusive acts or practices” does not authorize the agency to regulate discrimination as one such practice, invoking the major questions doctrine. As such, in a win for the Chamber of Commerce, he vacated the CFPB’s March 2022 update to […]

Fourth Circuit Allows Long-Running PDR TCPA Case About “Free” Book to Continue

Some cases are destined to continue forever, and the case of Carlton & Harris Chiropractic v. PDR Network may be one of them, given the Fourth Circuit’s decision yesterday- its third encounter with the case since it was filed back in 2015. As Judge Harris explains, the basic facts are that the plaintiff, “a chiropractic […]