As explained in this article by Ylan Mui, "American households have rebuilt less than half of the wealth lost during the recession, leaving them without the spending power to fuel a robust economic recovery, according to a new analysis from the Federal Reserve."
Here. One possible compromise: create an inspector general for the CFPB.
Big news: The CFPB today filed the first lawsuit that invokes the agency's authority under the Dodd-Frank Act to police practices that are not just unfair or deceptive, but "abusive." Observers of the agency have been eagerly anticipating the first use of that authority, which is new to the world of consumer law. The Bureau's Action […]
Law professor Janet Alexander has written "To Skin a Cat: Qui Tam Actions as a State Legislative Response to Concepcion." Here is the abstract: The Supreme Court’s decision in Concepcion is widely regarded as heralding the demise of small-claims class actions whenever contracts of adhesion are involved in the transaction — which means for virtually […]
As our readers know, on April 25, 2013, the Solicitor General petitioned the Supreme Court to review the D.C. Circuit's Noel Canning decision, which held that three putative recess appointments made by President Obama to the National Labor Relations Board were, in fact, not proper recess appointments and were thus invalid. Here's how the the […]
This article by Lori Montgomery explains that, according to a a new Congressional Budget Office report, The 10 largest breaks in the U.S. tax code will save taxpayers more than $900 billion this year, with a little more than half the benefits flowing to the richest 20 percent of households …. Whether that's a good or […]
In Hooks v. Forman, Holt, Eliades & Ravin, No. 12-3639-cv (May 29, 2013), the Second Circuit has held that a debt collector's collection notice violated the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act by stating that the plaintiffs could only dispute the validity of a debt in writing. The court's ruling is consistent with earlier Ninth Circuit […]
by Jeff Sovern Here. One surprise is that the regulator in question is the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, which is showing still more evidence that it has escaped the clutches of the financial industry, which had captured the OCC in the past. An excerpt: The OCC’s investigation reflects the agency’s increasing focus […]
We've written before about the potential effects on class actions of the Supreme Court's decision this Term in Comcast v. Behrend: see here, here, and here. Yesterday's Ninth Circuit opinion in Levya v. Medaline Industries is a welcome development in the growing body of post-Comcast jurisprudence in the lower courts. The opinion, written by the […]
The Class Action Fairness Act provides jurisdiction in federal district court (originally and by removal) for most minimally diverse class actions and for "mass actions." Under CAFA, a mass action is any civil action (except a civil action within the scope of [28 U.S.C.] section 1711(2)) in which monetary relief claims of 100 or more […]