Here, by Emmanuel Martinez and Lauren Kirchner and headlined "The Secret Bias Hidden in Mortgage-Approval Algorithms." Excerpt: An investigation by The Markup has found that lenders in 2019 were more likely to deny home loans to people of color than to White people with similar financial characteristics—even when we controlled for newly available financial factors that the […]
Samuel Becher of Victoria University of Wellington and Uri Benoliel of Ramat Gan Law School have written Dark Contracts. Here is the abstract: Millions of consumers are routinely subject to non-transparent consumer contracts. Such contracts undermine fundamental contract law notions. They leave consumers uninformed and disempowered. They also encourage unethical behavior and undercut the ability of […]
Charlotte Tschider of Loyola of Chicago has written Meaningful Choice: A History of Consent and Alternatives to the Consent Myth, 22 N.C. J.L. & Tech. 617 (2021). Here is the abstract: Although the first legal conceptions of commercial privacy were identified in Samuel Warren and Louis Brandeis’s foundational 1890 article, The Right to Privacy, conceptually, […]
The Department of Education announced yesterday: "Over 323,000 borrowers who have a total and permanent disability (TPD) will receive more than $5.8 billion in automatic student loan discharges due to a new regulation announced today by the U.S. Department of Education. The change will apply to borrowers who are identified through an existing data match […]
Adam S. Zimmerman of Loyola of Los Angeles has written The Class Appeal, 89 University of Chicago Law Review (Forthcoming 2022). Here's the abstract: For a wide variety of claims against the government, the federal courthouse doors are closed to all but those brought by powerful, organized interests. This is because hundreds of laws—colloquially known […]
Law prof Betsy Grey Against Immunizing Nursing Homes about when nursing homes should be liable for covid-related tort claims. Here's the abstract: Nursing homes and other long-term care facilities account for approximately one third of the over 500,000 Covid-19 deaths in the United States. Facing liability from that widespread harm, the facilities have sought immunity […]
Zoom has agreed to pay $85 million and bolster its security practices to settle a lawsuit claiming that it violated users' privacy rights by sharing personal data with Facebook, Google and LinkedIn, and letting hackers disrupt Zoom meetings Reuters has the story, here.
Consumer Affairs reports: "Starting September 1, Amazon will pay customers who suffer injury or damages caused by products sold by its third-party sellers. It will not admit liability and will limit claims to $1,000. The policy is intended to head off lawsuits that consumers have filed over the years that seek to hold the multi-billion […]
Here, by Amelia Pollard. Excerpt: Conservative pro-business groups have hit upon a new tactic to protect its members’ interests: outright purchasing of grassroots support. Late last week, David Chami, an Arizona attorney who specializes in consumer protection, received an email from Drew Johnson, who identified himself as working with the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. Johnson […]
FTC Sends Nearly $2.3 Million in Refunds to People who Lost Money to Credit Card Debt Relief Schemes (July 29) FTC Obtains $450,000 Settlement in Tate’s Auto Group Case (July 29)