Public Citizen has released a report analyzing the impact of the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in J. McIntyre Machinery Co. v. Nicastro, 131 S. Ct. 2780 (2011), on the ability of people injured by the products of out-of-state and foreign manufacturers to obtain access to the courts to remedy their injuries. Nicastro significantly limited the […]
For a variety of answers, see an empirical study by Alan White and Carolina Reid called Saving Homes? Bankruptcies and Loan Modifications in the Foreclosure Crisis. Here is the abstract: Do homeowner bankruptcy filings work to delay or prevent home foreclosures, and how do they compare to voluntary loan modifications specifically targeted to mortgage relief? […]
by Brian Wolfman The major consumer credit scoring company, FICO, devised a model (first constructed in 1989) that produces what is known as a credit score. So, almost any consumer with any sort of credit history has what is known of as a FICO score. The basic FICO score ranges from 300 (very very bad) […]
Peter A. Holland of Maryland has written Junk Justice: A Statistical Analysis of 4,400 Lawsuits Filed by Debt Buyers, 26 Loyola Consumer Law Reporter 179 (2014). Here's the abstract: Debt buyers have flooded courts nationwide with collection lawsuits against consumers. This article reports the findings from the broadest in-depth study of debt buyer litigation outcomes […]
Read this article by Kate Cox on the lack of competition in the broadband industry in the U.S. It's chock full of maps showing that, in many areas, there is no competition. Here's how Cox starts: When announcing Comcast’s intention to buy Time Warner Cable, Comcast CEO Brian Roberts called cable a “highly competitive and […]
For reasons we've discussed many times before, class actions are important and powerful tools for holding bad actors accountable. But sometimes the settlements they produce aren't as beneficial to class members as one would hope. For an useful and accessible discussion of the types of problems that can arise in some class action settlements, check […]
by Jeff Sovern In a column last week, The Wild West of Privacy, Times columnist Joe Nocera called for, among other things, regulating data brokers. In response, I wrote a letter to the Times, which they ran here. Here's what I said: Joe Nocera argues that data brokers should be obliged to tell consumers what […]
Here. A look at the bigger picture, and a lot of sage advice.
As reported by the Guardian and other news outlets, Cabot Oil and Gas Corporation is going to great lengths to keep Pennsylvania environmental activist Vera Scroggins out of sight and out of earshot. So much so that the company obtained an injunction barring Scroggins not only from Cabot-owned properties but also all properties in the […]