by Paul Alan Levy KB Home has built new homes in several major markets throughout the United States, but its construction projects have left a trail of unhappy homeowners complaining about shoddy construction in several of those locations, such as here, here, here, and here. The problem is broadly portrayed by a number of links […]
This article by Alan Feuer explains the difficulty of living on the minimum wage and follows a worker who must work two low-wage jobs to barely keep afloat. Here is an excerpt: On a recent Friday evening, Eduardo Shoy left work at 6 p.m. Mr. Shoy, a deliveryman for KFC and Pizza Hut, was coming […]
As we have previously noted (go here, for instance), dietary supplements are like drugs–that is, they are claimed to treat or prevent disease and have a physiological effect on the human body. And they are marketed like drugs–that is, they are marketed for their claimed beneficial physiological effects on the human body. But because they […]
Neil L. Sobol of Texas A&M has written Protecting Consumers from Zombie-Debt Collectors, forthcoming in the New Mexico Law Review. Here is the abstract: The debt-collection business is booming, led by a dramatic increase in the sale and collection of defaulted debts. Currently, debt buyers annually purchase more than $100 billion in the face value […]
At least according to this fun article by Laura Northrup. She explains in considerable detail that, in inflation-adjusted dollars, the traditional thanksgiving dinner (turkey, stuffing, a cranberry-based item, mashed potatoes, etc.) cost considerably more in 1929 than it would today.
The Times today published an editorial,What You Don’t Know About Mortgages, about the CFPB's new mortgage TILA/RESPA disclosures. Though the editorial praised some aspects of the disclosure rules, it also called them disappointing, stating [T]he forms fall short in the crucial task of helping consumers assess and compare the total cost of various loans. Without […]
by Jeff Sovern I've just been listening to the National Associate of Retail Collection Attorneys' (NARCA) symposium on debt collection held at GW on October 15 (the recordings are available here). I was particularly struck by Todd Zywicki's remarks in the third panel; the panel was titled "Legal Collections – The Essential Link to a Successful Credit-Based Economy." […]
Here is the text of the Third Circuit's order: ORDER at the direction of the merits panel, it is hereby ordered that the Appellants are directed to file on or before December 30, 2013 an answer to the petition for panel rehearing submitted by the Appellee and the documents submitted by proposed amici in support […]
As the Times' Dealbook section reports: Nearly seven years since the Military Lending Act came into effect, government authorities say the law has gaps that threaten to leave hundreds of thousands of service members across the country vulnerable to potentially predatory loans — from credit pitched by retailers to pay for electronics or furniture, to […]
Car-rental companies make a ton of money selling you add-ons, such as various types of insurance you may already have and high-priced "deals" for gas. It's easy to nearly double the cost of your rental on stuff that may be worthless. So, just in time for the holidays, Jim Webster has this funny article about […]