by Brian Wolfman The FDA says it violates federal law for a drug company sales rep to promote a prescription drug for an off-label use (that is, a use not approved by the FDA). So, a rep is convicted of a misdemeanor in federal district court for promoting a prescription drug for an off-label use. […]
Dee Pridgen of Wyoming has written Sea Changes in Consumer Financial Protection: Stronger Agency and Stronger Laws. I read this one before it was posted and found it particularly useful in pulling together some recent themes in consumer law and explaining how the Dodd-Frank Act's anti-predatory lending rules are based on behavioral economics, as opposed to […]
Many media outlets have reported on this week's D.C. Circuit hearing in a challenge to President Obama's three recess appointments to the National Labor Relations Board. You'll recall that the President used his recess appointment power at the beginning of the year to make several appointments during pro forma Senate sessions that were specifically designed […]
by Paul Alan Levy I am dealing with a case in which a company has sued investors for defamation, alleging statements made about shenanigans of some of the individuals employed by the company. The "of and concerning" requirement under state law was federalized as a First Amendment requirement in New York Times v. Sullivan, but […]
Jan-Emmanuel De Neve of the London School of Economics and James Fowler of the University of California at San Diego Law School say yes in this article. Here's the abstract: Economists have long realized the importance of credit markets and borrowing behavior for household finance and economics more generally. More recently, twin studies have shown […]
This major article in today's Washington Post concerns what the author claims is a growing number of defamation lawsuits over online reviews on sites such as Yelp, Angie’s List and TripAdvisor and over Internet postings in general. They say the freewheeling and acerbic world of Web speech is colliding with the ever-growing importance of online […]
Robert C. Hockett of Cornell has written Paying Paul and Robbing No One: An Eminent Domain Solution for Underwater Mortgage Debt that Can Benefit Literally Everyone. Here's the abstract: This essay provides updated argumentation for and abbreviated specification of the municipal eminent domain plan for underwater mortgage loans that the author lays out in his […]
My litigation plate is too full right now for a detailed analysis, but the Washington Post carries an interesting story today about a libel suit by a local contractor over a negative review of his business on Yelp. The story says there is a preliminary injunction hearing today. It will be interesting to see what […]
That possibility is discussed in this article by Molly Ball. The idea is that the Supreme Court's decision in the Citizens United case unshackled the unions not only to spend, but to electioneer beyond its members to the public at large. (The article emphasizes that although unions did whatever they could to take advantage of […]
Consumer Reports tells you why extended consumer product warranties generally are a waste of your money. Among the reasons: The warranties don't cover as much as you think; they are quite expensive; and sometimes the needed fix is easy and cheap. But the one I like best — and something I reflect on frequently — […]