Forbes reports: The Colorado Supreme Court has ruled that litigation-finance contracts — non-recourse loans to consumers that are repayable only if they win their case — are indeed loans under that state’s consumer finance laws, making it harder for high-interest lawsuit lenders to operate in the state. The decision [yesterday] by Colorado’s highest court upholds […]
One of the examples from the aforementioned Times editorial is worth noting in its own right: Last Thursday, a $59 million settlement was filed in a class action against shady debt collection practices on behalf of tens of thousands of New Yorkers who had their wages garnished or their bank accounts frozen. Specifically, the suit attacked a […]
Discussing recent state and federal enforcement actions against debt collectors who engaged in various illegal practices including falsifying documents, the Times argues on today's editorial page for stronger state consumer protections, here. Along with the paper's three-part arbitration series and editorial on that topic ten days ago, today's editorial is a welcome sign of increasing journalistic […]
The Federal Trade Commission and the Federal Communications Commission have signed a Memorandum of Understanding to further the agencies’ ongoing cooperation on consumer protection matters. The memorandum is designed to formalize the existing cooperation between the agencies, outlining how the FTC and FCC will coordinate consumer protection efforts.
Liran Haim and Ronald J. Mann of Columbia have written Putting Stored-Value Cards in Their Place, 18 Lewis & Clark Law Review 989 (2014). Here is the abstract: This Essay explores the effects of stored-value cards on social welfare. We argue that stored-value cards, in general, are socially beneficial payment devices. Their burgeoning use benefits […]
Here. Excerpts: [T]he U.S. Chamber of Commerce, the most powerful business lobby in the country, started a new effort to block the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau by lobbying lawmakers to attach a rider to the federal budget bill that would force the regulator to conduct a new study before issuing any rule, according to people […]
by Jeff Sovern Here. Excerpt: [C]ompanies can use class action waivers to block consumer protection laws unless consumer protection laws find a way to block class action waivers. * * * Last month, the bureau made public a proposal to block class action waivers in arbitration clauses. A leading advocate for arbitration in the financial […]
Last month, we told you how General Mills had to recall over a million boxes of Cheerios that were labeled gluten-free but in fact were not. Now the popular cereal has a new product with a new problem, according to the Post: although its special "Protein Cheerios" increases slightly the amount of protein, it also increases […]
The Washington Post's Wonkblog reports today on a new study. The study's authors found that a third of the clinical trial results that federal regulators reviewed to approve drugs made by large pharmaceutical companies in 2012 were never publicly reported. The full article is here.
The New York Times reports: Smoking would be prohibited in public housing homes nationwide under a proposed federal rule announced on Thursday, a move that would affect nearly one million households and open the latest front in the long-running campaign to curb unwanted exposure to secondhand tobacco smoke. The ban, proposed by the U.S. Department […]