On Saturday, we linked to Jeff Gelles's final consumer column for the Philadelphia Inquirer. Here is his final blog post.
Below are recent announcements about the work of the Department of Justice Consumer Protection Branch: September 3, 2015 – Genzyme Corporation to Pay $32.5 Million to Resolve Criminal Liability Relating to Seprafilm August 27, 2015 – Peruvian Man Charged with Leading Conspiracy to Defraud and Extort Spanish-Speaking Consumers through Call Centers August 17, 2015 – […]
Well, a judge has refused to certify an injunctive class based on “natural” deception where the company changed its practices in response to a CLRA notice letter, prior to the lawsuit. Most courts will hold that this moots an injunctive relief claim (incorrectly, in my opinion, because I don’t trust food companies not to […]
In Rodriguez v. Sony Computer, a consumer sued Sony for keeping his personal information that he entered on his PlayStation past the one-year limit provided in the federal Video Privacy Protection Act, and sharing that information between Sony entities. (The Ninth Circuit provides interesting historical context for the VPPA: "The Act was promulgated in 1988 […]
The Durbin Amendment to the Dodd-Frank Act, as implemented by a Federal Reserve Board regulation, limits debit card interchange fees in many debit-card transactions. Interchange fees are per-transaction fees imposed by debit-card issuing banks on merchants each time a consumer uses a debit card. The regulation went into effect in October 2011. The idea of the […]
Consumer reporter Michele Singletary has penned this article entitled In New York, good riddance to a questionable hiring practice. Singletary explains that "[f]ederal law allows employment credit checks under the Fair Credit Reporting Act. It requires employers to get an applicant’s or employee’s permission before pulling his or her history. But really, if you want […]
The Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act mandates that the CFPB conduct a study on the use of pre-dispute arbitration clauses in consumer financial markets. The Dodd-Frank Act specifically prohibits the use of arbitration clauses in mortgage contracts. And it gives the Bureau the power to issue regulations on the use of arbitration […]
Here. Sad news for those who believe the media should cover consumer law.
The Sept. 7 New Yorker has a thoughtful piece about what college is really worth today from an economic perspective. The piece explores and criticizes various takes from recent literature on the subject. No one's got a wholly satisfactory answer, but it's definitely a question worth considering as the economy changes and tuition costs soar. One […]
A California-based online entertainment network has agreed to settle Federal Trade Commission charges that it engaged in deceptive advertising by paying “influencers” to post YouTube videos endorsing Microsoft’s Xbox One system and several games. The influencers paid by Machinima, Inc., failed to adequately disclose that they were being paid for their seemingly objective opinions, the […]