CFPB to propose rule to cover data brokers under the FCRA

Evan Weinberger has a report at Bloomberg Law (possibly behind paywall), as does Kate Berry at the American Banker (also behind paywall), and Reuters. Here’s an excerpt from the Bloomberg Law report: The coming proposal would seek to ban the sale of consumer data, including so-called “credit-header data” like a person’s name, address, or Social […]

Arbel & Becher paper on the pluses and minuses of consumers using smart readers for form contracts

Yonathan A. Arbel of Alabama and Samuel Becher of the Victoria University of Wellington have written How Smart are Smart Readers? LLMs and the Future of the No-Reading Problem. Here’s the abstract: Large Language Models (LLMs) can be used to summarize and simplify complex texts. In this study, we investigate the extent to which state-of-the-art models […]

Another podcast episode that may be of interest to readers of the CL&P blog

Ballard Spahr’s Alan Kaplinsky interviewed Arthur E. Wilmarth, Professor Emeritus at GW, about crypto and its regulation at this week’s episode of the Consumer Finance Monitor podcast. I learned some things from the discussion that I plan to incorporate in my Payments Systems class next spring. Some of the discussion drew on Professor Wilmarth’s forthcoming […]

Ninth Circuit keeps TCPA coverage for unsolicited text messages narrow

This week, inTrim v. Reward Zone USA LLC, the Ninth Circuit issued two separate opinions collectively affirming the dismissal of a claim brought under 47 U.S.C. § 227(b)(1)(A), based on the plaintiff’s receipt of unsolicited text messages. That statutory provision only applies to calls made using an “automatic telephone dialing system or an artificial or […]

Rule 23(f) and Amended Class Certification Orders

Rule 23(f) authorizes interlocutory review of orders granting or denying class-action certification, so long as a petition is filed within 14 days of such an order. But what if, instead of filing a 23(f) petition, a party files a motion for reconsideration, and the court modifies its certification order? Does the 14-day clock start anew? […]

Raba report on the burdens of debt collection litigation

Claire Johnson Raba of the University of Illinois Chicago School of Law and California, Irvine has written One-Sided Litigation: Lessons from Civil Docket Data in California Debt Collection Lawsuits. Here’s the abstract: A study by Claire Johnson Raba, a researcher with the Debt Collection Lab, shows that debt cases are an increasing burden on consumers and […]

It’s limbo for certain CFPB actions

Ever since the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals held last year in Community Financial Services Association (CFSA) v. CFPB that the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s funding structure violates the Constitution’s Appropriations Clause and the Supreme Court agreed to review the decision, the CFPB’s ability to complete its work has been stalled. In just the last […]

The FTC’s Unavoidable Clear and Conspicuous Standard

Last month, the FTC updated its Endorsements Guide. The Guide’s definition of clear and conspicuous is particularly interesting. The Guide states: (f) For purposes of this part, “clear and conspicuous” means that a disclosure is difficult to miss ( i.e., easily noticeable) and easily understandable by ordinary consumers. * * * In any communication using […]