My colleague, Marc DeGirolami, read through the Spokeo oral argument transcript and had the following observations. I thought they might be of interest to readers of the blog. * Justice Kagan emphasized to counsel for Spokeo that the reporting/dissemination of false information in credit reports is itself plausibly described as a harm. So that […]
Released last month, new Tesla software includes (the NYT reports) a semiautonomous feature that allows hands-free, pedal-free driving on the highway under certain conditions. The car will even change lanes autonomously at the driver’s request (by hitting the turn signal) and uses sensors to scan the road in all directions and adjust the throttle, steering and […]
For anyone seeking to understand the interwoven problems with for-profit schools — misleading advertising, taking advantage of federal government loans, and trapping students in spirals of debt — James Surowiecki's column in the Nov. 2 New Yorker provides a great synopsis. Surowiecki explains: Dependence on student loans was not incidental to the for-profit boom—it was […]
Note the post-ACA drop.
The Federal Trade Commission announced today: [The FTC] and other law enforcement authorities around the country announced the first coordinated federal-state enforcement initiative targeting deceptive and abusive debt collection practices. This nationwide crackdown encompasses 30 new law enforcement actions by federal, state, and local law enforcement authorities against collectors who use illegal tactics such as […]
Today, Public Citizen client Jen Palmer told the U.S. Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Technology the story of her ordeal involving KlearGear.com's attempt to fine her family $3,500 and subsequent reporting of a phony debt to ruin the Palmers' credit based on a non-disparagement clause. You'll recall we succeeded in fixing the credit problems […]
San Jose Mercury News reports: The skyrocketing cost of prescription drugs — already a hot issue on the U.S. presidential campaign trail — may be headed to California's statewide ballot next fall. Advocates of a proposed measure that would require state programs to pay no more for prescription drugs than prices negotiated by […]
It's complicated, but worth reading about in this piece by Michael Hiltzik.
It's been a good week for high-profile media attention to some of the most important issues facing consumers. First, as we've noted in several posts over the past few days, the NYT published a three-part deep dive on the abuses of forced arbitration. And this week's episode of CBS's "The Good Wife" featured a for-profit […]
Here. An excerpt: The arguments in Spokeo Inc. v. Robins et al. took the usual pattern of the four liberal justices arguing for a broad interpretation of the Fair Credit Reporting Act and standing to bring claims under Article III and the conservative justices appearing to seek to limit companies’ exposure to court proceedings. In the […]