by Jeff Sovern Peter Holland has an interesting blog post pulling together a lot of the most significant findings of our arbitration study and adding his own commentary. Meanwhile, Ballard Spahr lawyers Alan Kaplinsky, Mark Levin, and Daniel McKenna responded to my earlier American Banker op-ed in an op-ed of their own, claiming Consumers Fare Better […]
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau this week finalized changes to the “Know Before You Owe” mortgage disclosure rules. The changes were proposed in October and address (1) when consumers will receive updated disclosures after locking in an interest rate and (2) how consumers receive information regarding certain construction loans. The final rule is posted here. […]
Reporter Linda Greenhouse had this op-ed in yesterday's New York Times about issues that have arisen and will remain if the Supreme Court strikes down state bans on gay marriage. She notes a "a pipeline’s worth of cases in which florists, bakers and owners of wedding venues are invoking claims of conscience to shield them […]
The Federal Trade Commission yesterday issued a study on credit report accuracy. The study found that "most consumers who previously reported an unresolved error on one of their three major credit reports believe that at least one piece of disputed information on their report is still inaccurate." The congressionally mandated study on national credit report […]
Here's the transcript of this morning's Supreme Court arguments in Texas Department of Housing, the case about disparate-impact liability under the Fair Housing Act.
In 2004, Costco bought some Omega watches from a third party in New York and sold them at a discount in its U.S. stores. The watches, otherwise sold only in Europe, had a small globe design on the back, and Omega sued Costco, arguing that the sale of the watches violated Omega's copyright in the […]
About an hour ago, the Supreme Court finished hearing oral argument on whether disparate impact claims are cognizable under the Fair Housing Act (as every circuit to address the issue has held since the Act's enactment in 1968). This blog has covered the issue repeatedly over the past few years. This morning, Pemy Levy of […]
Reuters has the story. Need a refresher on the Federal Reserve rule at issue? You can read the Fed's June 2011 press release and access the rule here.
Vindicating a simple principle in a case with a complex procedural background, the Court held unanimously today in Gelboim v. Bank of America that investors who sued banks for manipulating the globally influential LIBOR interest rate in violation of federal antitrust law had the right to take an appeal when their case was dismissed. The […]
The President highlighted consumer issues several times in his speech tonight. Here's some of the relevant text: On Dodd-Frank and the CFPB: "We believed that sensible regulations could prevent another crisis, shield families from ruin, and encourage fair competition. Today, we have new tools to stop taxpayer-funded bailouts and a new consumer watchdog to protect […]