New air travel law called “an amazing win for consumers”

The Washington Post reports: After months of debate over the Federal Aviation Administration reauthorization bill, and at an apparent impasse over privatizing air traffic control, Congress has settled on a compromise — with some unexpected benefits for the average air traveler. The House and Senate have agreed on an extension that would fund the agency […]

“Road Seems Dark to You? New Tests Blame Your Headlights”

Of the dozens of vehicles — small S.U.V.s and midsize cars — whose headlights the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety has tested this year, only one has been rated “good.” That was a 2016 Toyota Prius V. The best any others could muster was merely “acceptable,’’ and many fared much worse. There’s at least one […]

Australian Financier’s Abuse of Trademark Law to Suppress a Critical Blog: A Perpetual Problem in the N.D. Cal.

by Paul Alan Levy There is somebody on the other side of the Pacific Ocean who has a strongly negative perspective on Nicholas Assef, the head honcho at an Australian financial services firm called Lincoln Crowne – or at least, somebody held such views nine years ago.   We know at least that much because, in […]

Traffic safety laws improve safety

Data compiled by the Auto Insurance Center shows that in states with tougher driving laws, fewer motorists die in auto accidents. Comparing speed limits, teen driving restrictions, and seat belt laws in the states, the Auto Insurance Center found a direct relationship between tougher laws and fewer deaths. To explore whether states with stricter laws […]

The National Financial Capability Study and Student Debt Ignorance

by Jeff Sovern Allison posted yesterday about the National Financial Capability Study.  GW Business School professor Annamarie Lusardi has a  Wall Street Journal essay titled So Much Student Debt, So Much Ignorance, about what the Study, which she co-authored, shows about student debt. An excerpt: The latest NFCS data find that about one-in-five loan holders […]

Senate Democrats press regulators to prevent another Trump U

The Washington Post reports today: Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) and other Senate Democrats are calling on federal regulators to step up efforts to protect consumers from educational programs that engage in fraud and deceptive marketing, in light of the ongoing case against Trump University. In a letter sent Wednesday to the heads of the Federal Trade Commission, […]

FINRA study: Americans’ Financial Capability Growing Stronger, but Not for All Groups

Study results released yesterday by the FINRA Investor Education Foundation found that, although Americans as a whole are feeling less financial stress, making ends meet remains a daily struggle for millions — particularly women, millennials, African-Americans, Hispanics, and those lacking a high school education. Among the study’s most significant findings:  More than one in five […]

Hnylka Article on Rule 68 and Mooting Class Actions

Joseph M Hnylka of Nova Southeastern has written Continuing to Litigate after You Have Won: Courts Defy Article III to Avoid Mooting TCPA Class Actions, Despite Defendants’ Rule 68 Offers of Complete Relief, 64 Drake Law Review (2016).  Here's the abstract: Every day, thousands of ordinary Americans receive unwelcome faxes, text messages, and prerecorded telephone calls […]

Are Validation Notices Valid? An Empirical Evaluation of Consumer Understanding of Debt Collection Validation Notices

by Jeff Sovern My co-author, Kate Walton, and I have posted a draft of our new article, Are Validation Notices Valid? An Empirical Evaluation of Consumer Understanding of Debt Collection Validation Notices to SSRN.  We would love comments on this version.  Here's the abstract: A principal protection against the collection of consumer debts that are […]