Here. Excerpt: First and foremost, basic consumer protections, such as bankruptcy rights and statutes of limitations on the collections of student debt must be restored. There is no justifiable reason why student loans should be treated unlike any other type of debt in America. Next, we must provide a right to borrowers to refinance their […]
In recent years, Supreme Court decisions have narrowed the circumstances in which class actions can be maintained under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 23. In "Walking the Class Action Maze: Toward a More Functional Rule 23," law professor Robert Bone says that because these Supreme Court decisions are interpretations of the federal rule, the rule […]
This morning, the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court (SJC) issued two opinions addressing whether there remain any circumstances in which an arbitration agreement that bans class actions can still be challenged after the Supreme Court's decision in AT&T Mobility LLC v. Concepcion. The SJC strongly aligned itself with the view that Concepcion does not make class […]
Margaret Jane Radin of Michigan has written An Analytical Framework for Legal Evaluation of Boilerplate. Here's the abstract: This chapter develops an analytical framework that could help legal analysts – especially common law judges – make better decisions about boilerplate in the context of rights deletions deployed by firms against consumers. It is based on […]
The report, by the New Economy Project, is titled The Debt Collection Racket in New York: How the Industry Violates Due Process and Perpetuates Economic Inequality. Some excerpts: Over the past decade, the number of debt collection lawsuits filed in New York’s courts has exploded, with upwards of 200,000 cases filed in 2011 alone. Creditors […]
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has issued this study on bank and credit union overdraft practices. As explained in the agency's press release, the study raises concerns about whether the overdraft costs on consumer checking accounts can be anticipated and avoided. The report shows big differences across financial institutions when it comes to overdraft coverage […]
Here. When consumers see celibrities endorse products on TV, they are likely to believe that the celebrities are being paid. Do consumers have the same reaction to tweets endorsing things? Should celebrities disclose that when they are paid for tweets?
The new Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, though only in its infancy, is already supplying lawyers to law firms that represent the financial services industry, as described in this article by Jenna Greene. Greene says that the law firm Buckley Sandler, whose home page describes itself as "Legal Counsel to the Financial Services Industry," "nabbed Benjamin […]
In Oxford Health Plans v. Sutter, the Supreme Court today upheld an arbitrator's decision that a particular arbitration clause authorized class arbitration. Justice Kagan wrote the main opinion, which was unanimous. The standard of review of arbitrators' decisions under the Federal Arbitration Act is highly deferential. So "the sole question for us," Justice Kagan explained, […]