Law professor Linda Mullenix has written this short essay on the Supreme Court's aborted effort to decide whether the American Pipe tolling rule applies to certain securities class actions. Here is the abstract: This article analyzes and comments on the Supreme Court appeal in Public Employees’ Retirement System v. IndyMac MBS, Inc., No. 13-640, which […]
As reported earlier on this blog by Steve Gardner, the National Association of Consumer Advocates (NACA) has published the third edition of its Standards and Guidelines for Litigating and Settling Class Actions. Take a look at Steve's excellent post, which explains why the guidelines are worth reading. I want to let our readers know that […]
by Jeff Sovern The Times reported yesterday Takata Saw and Hid Risk in Airbags in 2004, Former Workers Say. Last weekend, the Philadelphia Inquirer's Jeff Gelles weighed in with Safety agency is failing the public on air bags. One sidenote: stories on air bags and more generally on product safety rarely if ever quote law […]
This afternoon, the Supreme Court decided to hear a case raising the question whether Obamacare subsidies to assist individuals in the purchase of health insurance apply to purchasers at all health care exchanges under the law or only those run by states instead of the federal government. The Fourth Circuit adopted the former interpretation, granting Chevron […]
by Jeff Sovern Some readers of our blog will no doubt be familiar with Nobel prize-winning physicist Richard Feynman from his popular books, What Do You Care What Other People Think? or Surely You're Joking, Mr. Feynman! Others will remember him from his service on the panel that investigated the Challenger disaster. His relevance to […]
As the New York Times reports, The Federal Trade Commission said on Thursday that it had settled its first consumer-protection lawsuit against a company for using “deceptive sales claims and phony legal threats” to try to get unsuspecting companies to license patents. At issue is the practice of a company called MPHJ Technology Investments, described […]
The U.S. Department of Education, drawing applause from the Treasury Department, has moved to increase funding for student loan servicers. The goal is to improve customer service for students, according to the administration. The catch? Servicers get the money anyway, whether or not service improves. The Huffington Post explains the concern, and Senator's Warren's position: […]
by Jeff Sovern As to the eight questions that had right or wrong answers: Only two respondents answered all eight questions correctly out of 663 who answered all eight questions. 117 did not answer any of the questions correctly. That’s more than answered at least half the questions right. If this had been a test […]
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau today issued a report entitled A snapshot of debt collection complaints submitted by older consumers. Among the report's findings are . . . · Collectors hounding older Americans about medical debt: Older Americans describe being confused and frustrated because collectors attempt to collect medical expenses while the consumer is […]
by Jeff Sovern Last week I posted the abstract for our study, 'Whimsy Little Contracts' with Unexpected Consequences: An Empirical Analysis of Consumer Understanding of Arbitration Agreements. I want to discuss today some of what we learned about respondent awareness of arbitration clauses in the contracts they have entered into. As the abstract noted, we asked […]