Law prof James Henderson says nope in The Impropriety of Punitive Damages in Mass Torts. Here is the abstract: Punitive damages have been around for centuries in classic one-on-one tort actions and are here to stay. Mass torts, of more recent origin and not without difficulties, have matured to the point that this article is comfortable […]
That's the thrust of this American Banker article (possibly behind a paywall). Here is an excerpt: Consumer groups have long denounced the influence of big banks and for-profit companies on agency rulemakings, often pointing to the number of meetings held between regulators and institutions about a proposal. Now, in an ironic twist, payday lenders and supporters of […]
Here. The article uses Wells Fargo as an example. Here's an excerpt: Will Wells Fargo be held to account for the many ways in which it mistreated its customers? The prospect of governmental action appears to be diminishing, and any fines it might face are likely to be at the low end of the scale […]
That's the name of this article by consumer reporter Michelle Singletary. Here are excepts: Outstanding consumer revolving debt — mostly credit card debt — hit an all-time peak of $1.021 trillion in June, according to the Federal Reserve. This should be a scary statistic. The last time the debt level was nearly this high was in 2008, […]
So, you didn't predict that Trump would turn his sickening response to the white nationalist terror attack in Charlottesville into a faux pro-consumer attack on high prescription-drug prices? Me neither. Here goes: As this article by Glenn Thrush explains, "Merck’s chief executive, Kenneth C. Frazier, resigned from the president’s American Manufacturing Council on Monday, saying he objected to the […]
Eric Helland, Daniel Klerman, Brenda Dowling, and Alexander Kappner have written Contingent Fee Litigation in New York City. The authors were able to conduct this study because, by court rule, lawyers practicing in parts of New York City must file data about contingent-fee settlements. (I wonder why other courts don't require the same.) One thing I […]
Chris Jay Hoofnagle of Berkeley has written FTC Regulation of Cybersecurity and Surveillance, in The Cambridge Handbook of Surveillance Law (David Gray and Stephen Henderson, eds)(Cambridge University Press 2017). Here's the abstract: The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) is the United States’ chief consumer protection agency. Through its mandate to prevent unfair and deceptive trade practices, […]
Benjamin P. Edwards of Nevada has written Arbitration's Dark Shadow, Nevada Law Journal, Forthcoming. Here's the abstract: Arbitration has expanded broadly, removing disputes involving entire industries from judicial review. The absence of judicial review plunges these disputes and industries into shadow. This shadow causes the public to lose sight of vital information about industry practices […]
Patrick O'Callaghan of University College Cork has written The Chance 'to Melt into the Shadows of Obscurity': Developing a Right to Be Forgotten in the United States, A. Cudd & M. Navin (eds) Privacy: Core Concepts and Contemporary Issues (New York: Springer, 2018) (Forthcoming). Here is the abstract: This chapter argues that there is some […]
Yonathan A. Arbel of Alabama has written Adminization: Gatekeeping Consumer Contracts, Vanderbilt Law Review, Forthcoming. Here's the abstract: Large companies and debt collectors frequently file unmeritorious claims against consumers. Recent high-profile actions brought by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) against JP Morgan, Citibank, and large debt collectors illustrate the breadth and importance of this phenomenon. Due to […]