by Jeff Sovern Here (behind a paywall, unfortunately). But here's the part that's not behind the paywall: To avoid unwanted scrutiny from the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and other regulators, banks need to start thinking about "what is fair, not just what is legal," banking attorneys say. And isn't that one of the reasons we […]
Law professor Howard Erichson says no in his new article "The Problem of Settlement Class Actions." Here is the abstract: This article argues that class actions should never be certified solely for purposes of settlement. Contrary to the widespread “settlement class action” practice that has emerged in recent decades, contrary to current case law permitting […]
Dalie Jimenez of Connecticut has written Illegality in Consumer Debt Contracts and What to Do About it. Here's the abstract: Many of the contracts for the sale of consumer debts that are publically available contain “quitclaim” language disclaiming all warranties about the underlying debts sold or the information transferred, generally referring to the debts as […]
Senator Franken today sent a letter to the Securities and Exchange Commission urging it to "promptly exercise its authority under Section 921 of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act to prohibit the use of mandatory arbitration provisions in customer service agreements." His letter and press release are posted here.
We posted yesterday on the Supreme Court's decision upholding Virginia's FOIA provision that allows Virginia government agencies to withhold from non-Virginians the same public records it provides to Virginians. The press is weighing in on the decision, including this piece by Cyrus Farivar that argues that "[t]he unanimous decision is a significant setback to journalists […]
According to this article in today's Wall Street Journal, several states are considering whether to limit the business of lending money to plaintiffs to fund litigation and collecting if the plaintiffs' suits are successful. “At the heart of many of the bills are proposals to subject the lawsuit-funding industry to existing state laws that regulate […]
This morning the Supreme Court decided McBurney v. Young, which presented the question whether under the Privileges and Immunities Clause of Article IV and the dormant Commerce Clause of the United States Constitution a state may limit the right of access to the state's public records to its own citizens. The Court held unanimously that […]
The CL&P Blog has covered electric cars frequently, asking the questions whether they are cost-effective and otherwise beneficial to consumers and the environment. Go, for instance, here, here, here, here, and here. For a new and generally optimistic account of the future of the electric car from both an economic and environmental perspective, see "Five myths about […]
Eric A. Zacks of Wayne State has written Shame, Regret, and Contract Design, forthcoming in Marquette Law Review. Here is the abstract: This Article examines whether contract design can influence the post-formation behavior of the party that did not prepare the contract. Repeat players that utilize the same contract for many transactions, as is the […]
by Deepak Gupta Earlier today, Solicitor General Don Verrilli filed the government's petition to the Supreme Court, challenging the D.C. Circuit's Noel Canning decision. (Background: There's been a lot of blogging here about Noel Canning, which invalidated President Obama's intersession recess appointments to the National Labor Relations Board and thereby threatened the validity of his simultaneous […]