SEC fine with forced arbitration of investor claims

The Securities and Exchange Commission this week said that it would allow corporations filing registration statements to use predispute arbitration clauses for investor claims. In its policy statement, the SEC said that “the presence of an issuer-investor mandatory arbitration provision will not impact decisions whether to accelerate the effectiveness of a registration statement under the […]

Prepared Food Photos Finally Pays for Its Misconduct

More than two years after Prepared Food Photos sued Pool World in federal court in Spokane Washington, alleging that a retailer had infringed Prepared Food Photos’ copyright in a stock photo of vegetables on a grill, Prepared Food Photos has agreed to pay Pool World for its consent to dismissal of the action.  Pool World […]

ACCFSL Writing Competition announced

We received the following: The American College of Consumer Financial Services Lawyers is pleased to announce its 2026 annual writing competition to recognize significant written contributions to the field of U.S. consumer financial services law in the following categories: a) Books b) Publishable articles, book chapters, or substantial book reviews by a professional in the […]

Second Circuit Vacates Preliminary Injunction Against Application of Unlawful Practice Law to Debt Collection Advice

Yesterday, the Second Circuit decided Upsolve v. James, an appeal that had different advocates for low-income consumers taking opposing positions. The case was brought by Upsolve, a nonprofit that seeks to provide free legal advice to New Yorkers facing debt-collection actions in state court via a cadre of specially trained, non-lawyer “Justice Advocates.” The problem is […]

Kate Berry: CFPB’s deregulatory agenda aims to rewrite Biden-era rules

In the American Banker. According to Berry, the CFPB wants to eliminate the use of disparate impact for proving violations of the Equal Credit Opportunity Act. Because it’s so difficult to win using  the other principal way of proving ECOA violations, disparate treatment (and the Seventh Circuit bars the use of disparate treatment under ECOA […]

Want to discuss your law review article on a podcast?

As regular readers of the blog know, Ballard Spahr’s Consumer Finance Monitor podcast often interviews consumer legal scholars about their scholarship. Consequently, Alan Kaplinsky is always on the lookout for articles to feature on the podcast. If you have an article that you think might be of interest to Consumer Finance Monitor podcast listeners, please […]

Trump DOT to drop air passenger delay compensation reg plans

Last week, the Trump Administration finally got around to posting its Spring 2025 semiregulatory agenda. Among the notable consumer-related items, the Department of Transportation intends to withdraw an Advanced Notice of Proposed Rulemaking issued by the last administration that was considering regulations relating to compensation, rebooking, and accommodations for delays and cancellations that were within […]

State AGs warn big tech about AI use on kids

The National Association of Attorneys General sent a letter Monday to Apple, Google, Meta, Microsoft, Open AI, and other AI companies, warning that state AGs would enforce their respective laws to protect children against illicit AI practices. The letter, signed by 44 jurisdictions, highlighted the recent news that Meta had approved the use of “AI […]