By F. Paul Bland On Twitter @PblandBland This is a classic good news/bad news type of case for plaintiffs. The good news is that a court struck down as unconscionable an arbitration clause that imposed enormous fees on an individual before the individual could go to arbitration. The bad news is that the case shows what a […]
by Jeff Sovern House Financial Services Committee Chair Jeb Hensarling is still blaming regulation for the Great Recession. He recently pened an op-ed for the American Banker, Regulation – Not Lack Thereof – Led U.S. into Financial Crisis. In it, he repeats the right wing's frequently-debunked claim that the Community Reinvestment Act caused lenders to make the loans that […]
In a recent analysis of complaints submitted to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau about financial services, the consulting firm Deloitte found that mortgage-related issues are the basis for most of the 94,000 complaints posted so far and that customer misunderstanding is often the problem. The Washington Post has a short write-up of the findings and […]
by Paul Alan Levy A fun exercise by Jonathan Band estimates the value of Wikipedia at tens of billions of dollars, with this punchline: "Wikipedia demonstrates that highly valuable content can be created by non-professionals [without the incentives provided] by the copyright system."
As Allison explained, the Third Circuit's recent Carrera decision puts consumer class actions in jeopardy, and so the plaintiff has sought hearing en banc. Public Citizen has now moved, with the parties' consent, to file this amicus brief.
As the Blog of the Legal Times explains: Continuing its crackdown on companies that provide debt settlement services, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau today announced that a payment processing company will pay $1.376 million to settle allegations that it collected illegal up-front fees from consumers. The CFPB said Tacoma, Wash.-based Meracord LLC helped debt-relief service […]
by Paul Alan Levy A Tampa-area company called “Federal Verification Co.,” which operates under “dozens of names,” according to the author of this exposé on a local television station, has filed a defamation lawsuit against its online critics, and is using vague allegations about defamation on a number of sites as an excuse for a […]
by Deepak Gupta Back in June, I blogged about my firm's constitutional challenge to New York's credit-card surcharge law — a law that aims to protect credit card company profits by preventing merchants from communicating the true cost of credit to consumers. This morning, U.S District Judge Jed Rakoff issued a fantastic 35-page opinion agreeing […]
by Jeff Sovern Which happens first: a win by the NY Giants or Congress resolves the budget impasse? Put your responses in the comments (Disclosure: though I am in New York, I am not a Giants fan).
Great editorial in the Times today calling on the Obama Administration to stop obstructing the long-delayed rule to prevent backover injuries, i.e. injuries from cars backing into people the drivers can't see — injuries that disproportionately befall young children. Representing a coalition of safety advocates and parents, we here at Public Citizen filed suit last […]