That's the name of this lengthy piece by Paul Kiel of ProPublica. It focuses on an effort in Missouri to cap the rates on payday loans. Here's a short excerpt: Outrage over payday loans, which trap millions of Americans in debt and are the best-known type of high-cost loans, has led to dozens of state […]
by Brian Wolfman Last week, I posted on Greenberg v. Proctor & Gamble, where the 6th circuit threw out a class-action settlement on the ground that (1) it provided virtually nothing of value to the class members while the named representatives got significant "incentive" payments ($1,000 times the number of their diaper-using kids), and the […]
by Brian Wolfman Today, in Greenberg v. Proctor & Gamble, by a 2-1 vote, the 6th circuit threw out a class-action settlement on the ground that (1) it provided virtually nothing of value to the class members while the named representatives got significant "incentive" payments ($1,000 times the number of their diaper-using kids), and the […]
by Jeff Sovern Here. The article reports on the case on which we previously blogged in which a woman won an $18.6 million verdict under the Fair Credit Reporting Act. And it provides more support for the reforms Ira Rheingold and I argued for in our recent Times op-ed: requiring credit bureaus to be more […]
I posted earlier on Law School Transparency's new program in which it will provide a "certification" to law schools that meet the ABA's standards and other "best practices" for disclosure of their graduates' employment data. For criticism of the program, see these posts from Brian Leiter, using the term "shakedown," and Stephen Diamond, describing the […]
by Deepak Gupta As some of us predicted on the day it was filed, Judge Ellen Huvelle of the U.S. District Court in Washington has just dismissed for lack of standing an ideologically-motivated constitutional challenge to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's structure and authority, including a challenge to Rich Cordray's recess appointment. The case was […]
Jeff Gelles has the story here. Maybe it's just as well that Sovereign Bank is changing its name to Santander; I wouldn't want to be confused with them.
by Deepak Gupta This morning, the Eighth Circuit issued its decision in Charvat v. Mutual First, reversing the dismissal of two consumer class actions on constitutional standing grounds. The district court held that the plaintiff's claims — for violations of a federal law requiring on-machine notice of ATM fees — didn't allege an "injury in […]
It's not a secret that the market for law school graduates is not nearly as strong as it used to be. Nine months after graduation, the majority of the graduates of a startling number of law schools does not have full-time employment that requires a J.D. degree. In this market, concerns have been raised about […]
by Brian Wolfman Some parts of the Affordable Care Act are already in place, such as the requirement that uninsured kids up to age 26 be offered insurance on their parents' health insurane policies. But key provisions of the Affordable Care Act, including the so-called individual mandate, don't go into effect until January 2014. The […]