Business Lawyer Survey of Consumer Auto Finance Developments

Kevin M. McDonald of VW Credit Inc., and Kenneth J. Rojc of Nisen & Elliott, LLC have written the Business Lawyer's annual survey of consumer auto finance developments, this year called Automotive Finance: The Regulatory Cup Spilleth Over.  Here is the abstract: Almost every aspect of the life cycle of retail contract and lease transactions, […]

In odd twist on minimum wage fight, union fights to pay union workers… less?

Unions have successfully pushed counterintuitive carve-outs to minimum wage hikes in California permitting employers to pay union workers less than other workers. Union leaders say they are trying to make unionization more attractive to employers. But union members aren't pleased. The L.A. Times explains.

Marotta-Wurgler Surveys Privacy Policies

Florencia Marotta-Wurgler of NYU has written Understanding Privacy Policies: Content, Self-Regulation, and Markets. Here is the abstract: The current regulatory approach to consumer information privacy is based on a “notice and choice” self-regulation model, but commentators disagree on its impact. I conduct a comprehensive empirical analysis of 261 privacy policies across seven markets and measure […]

Beales & Murris on the FTC

Howard Beales of George Washington University's School of Business and Timothy J. Muris of George Mason have written FTC Consumer Protection at 100: 1970s Redux or Protecting Markets to Protect Consumers? 83 George Washington Law Review 2157(2015).  Here is the abstract: Throughout most of the Federal Trade Commission’s (“FTC” or “Commission”) history, the agency has been […]

Imre Szalai on Direct TV and Jedi Mind Tricks

Imre S. Szalai of Loyola New Orleans has written DIRECTV, Inc. v. Imburgia: How the Supreme Court Used a Jedi Mind Trick To Turn Arbitration Law Upside Down, 32 Ohio State Journal on Dispute Resolution, 1, (2016 Forthcoming). Here's the abstract: The Federal Arbitration Act (FAA) is the primary federal statute governing millions of arbitration […]

Payday lender indicted on racketeering charges

The Washington Post reports: The head of a payday lending enterprise accused of charging more than 700 percent interest on short-term loans was indicted Thursday on federal racketeering charges. Charles M. Hallinan, 75, led a group that preyed on customers while taking in nearly $700 million from 2008 to 2013, according to the indictment. Hallinan […]