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- Loyola Consumer Law Review (25)
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Articles 1 - 30 of 70
Full-Text Articles in Law
Broadcast Technology As Diversity Opportunity: Exchanging Market Power For Multiplexed Signal Set- Asides, Michael M. Epstein
Broadcast Technology As Diversity Opportunity: Exchanging Market Power For Multiplexed Signal Set- Asides, Michael M. Epstein
Federal Communications Law Journal
This Article proposes an access system based on a theory of quid pro quo: a bargained.for-exchange in which broadcasters would trade media access for market power. Under this quid pro quo approach, the FCC would administer a scaled metric whereby the greater a media company's audience reach, the more access that company must provide to citizens with diverse and local content. Since digital technology permits broadcasters to "multiplex" their television signal bandwidth into multiple signal programming streams, an opportunity exists for the government to require public access to one or more of these programming streams in return for relaxing caps …
The Legal Status Of Spyware, Daniel B. Garrie, Alan F. Blakley, Mathew J. Armstrong
The Legal Status Of Spyware, Daniel B. Garrie, Alan F. Blakley, Mathew J. Armstrong
Federal Communications Law Journal
This Article examines the legal status of Spyware under federal and common law in the United States of America. The Authors begin with a technical overview of Spyware technology, which covers Spyware's functionality, methods of dispersion, and classification. The Authors then analyze the treatment of Spyware under the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act, the Stored Communications Act, the Wiretap Act, and under general tort claims of trespass to chattels, invasion of privacy, and intrusion upon seclusion. The Authors conclude that none of the aformentioned causes of action provide an adequate remedy at law for Spyware victims. Moreover, the Authors note …
The Information Quality Act: The Little Statute That Could (Or Couldn't?) Applying The Safe Drinking Water Act Amendments Of 1996 To The Federal Communications Commission, Kellen Ressmeyer
Federal Communications Law Journal
In December 2000, Congress passed the Information Quality Act - a two sentence rider to a 712-page Appropriations Bill. The Information Quality Act, which seeks to ensure the quality of government-disseminated information, places the White House Office of Management and Budget in a supervisory role. The Office of Management and Budget subsequently finalized a set of mandatory Guidelines applicable to all federal agencies. Among other things, the Guidelines require adherence to the scientific standard articulated in the 1996 Amendments to the Safe Drinking Water Act where such agencies engage in risk analysis to human health, safety, and the environment. As …
Are Credit Card Late Fees Unconstitutional?, Seana Valentine Shiffrin
Are Credit Card Late Fees Unconstitutional?, Seana Valentine Shiffrin
William & Mary Bill of Rights Journal
State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Co. v. Campbell articulated serious and specific constitutional constraints upon the imposition of punitive damages. Justice Kennedy's majority opinion announced that, apart from exceptional cases, punitive damages should not exceed nine times the amount of the actual losses sustained by the plaintiff and should usually be far lower. Indeed, the opinion observed, they typically should be much lower, citing double, treble, and quadruple multipliers as "instructive" examples. Some commentators have worried that the decision could adversely affect consumer interests by offering insulation for tortious behavior that is difficult to detect or litigate. This Article will …
Double Whammy: How The New Credit Card Nondischargeability Provision And The New Means Test Hit Single Mothers Over The Head, Hatty Yip
Buffalo Women's Law Journal
No abstract provided.
Overcoming Discrimination In Housing, Credit, And Urban Policy (Transcript), Buffalo Public Interest Law Journal
Overcoming Discrimination In Housing, Credit, And Urban Policy (Transcript), Buffalo Public Interest Law Journal
Buffalo Public Interest Law Journal
No abstract provided.
Holmes And The Bald Man: Why Rule Of Reason Should Be The Standard In Sherman Act Section 2 Cases, William J. Michael
Holmes And The Bald Man: Why Rule Of Reason Should Be The Standard In Sherman Act Section 2 Cases, William J. Michael
The University of New Hampshire Law Review
[Excerpt] "It has been argued that the antitrust laws’ legislative history supports the notion that the laws were meant to prohibit anticompetitive price cuts – regardless of whether they are below cost. Thus, predatory pricing claims used to turn simply on whether the allegedly predatory price was intended to harm rivals. In fact, liability for predatory price discrimination was found without requiring probable or actual monopolization. Yet some cases brought early under Section 2 suggest that below cost pricing was indicative of, if not proof of, the type of conduct Section 2 prohibits. The results under this old scheme were …
The Law Of Unintended Consequences, Susan Ness
The Law Of Unintended Consequences, Susan Ness
Federal Communications Law Journal
No abstract provided.
The Failure Of Competition Under The 1996 Telecommunications Act, Gene Kimmelman, Mark Cooper, Magda Herra
The Failure Of Competition Under The 1996 Telecommunications Act, Gene Kimmelman, Mark Cooper, Magda Herra
Federal Communications Law Journal
No abstract provided.
A Public Interest Perspective On The Impact Of The Broadcasting Provisions Of The 1996 Act, Angela J. Campbell
A Public Interest Perspective On The Impact Of The Broadcasting Provisions Of The 1996 Act, Angela J. Campbell
Federal Communications Law Journal
No abstract provided.
Private Eyes Are Watching You: With The Implementation Of The E-911 Mandate, Who Will Watch Every Move You Make?, Geoffrey D. Smith
Private Eyes Are Watching You: With The Implementation Of The E-911 Mandate, Who Will Watch Every Move You Make?, Geoffrey D. Smith
Federal Communications Law Journal
The FCC's E-911 mandate, which will ensure that emergency operators automatically receive a caller's location information, should help save lives. However, privacy advocates have expressed concern over the potential for wireless carriers, the government, and third parties to collect and store personal information. Congress has addressed these concerns with legislation, but privacy advocates still worry that consumers are not adequately protected. This Note addresses this concern and argues that in order to ensure consumer protection, additions are needed to section 222 of the Telecommunications Act of 1996. The Note discusses the importance of individual privacy and balances it against the …
An Economic Approach To The Regulation Of Direct Marketing, Daniel R. Shiman
An Economic Approach To The Regulation Of Direct Marketing, Daniel R. Shiman
Federal Communications Law Journal
The growing ubiquity of electronic media and the almost total absence of cost in mass distributions of direct marketing have exacerbated the problem of the increasing intrusion of direct marketing into the privacy of citizens. The Author proposes utilization of a microeconomic social welfare analysis to guide policymakers in determining what forms of direct media should be regulated and what the most effective forms of regulation are likely to be. Sending and receiving costs provide the key factors in determining the extent of the "welfare-reducing marketing" and "marketing aversions," but the Author points to a number of other factors as …
Toward A New Model Of Consumer Protection: The Problem Of Inflated Transaction Costs, Jeff Sovern
Toward A New Model Of Consumer Protection: The Problem Of Inflated Transaction Costs, Jeff Sovern
William & Mary Law Review
Contrary to the predictions of conventional economic theory, firms often benefit by increasing consumer transaction costs. Firms do so by, for example, obscuring contract terms in a variety of ways, such as providing them after the contract is agreed to, enclosing them with other more interesting information, using small print, and omitting important terms such as arbitration fees from the written contract. Firms also benefit by taking advantage of predictable consumer behaviors, such as the tendency of consumers not to seek rebates, to overload when provided with too much information, and to ignore dull information when overshadowed by vivid information. …
The Hidden Roles Of Boilerplate And Standard-Form Contracts: Strategic Imposition Of Transaction Costs, Segmentation Of Consumers, And Anticompetitive Effects, David Gilo, Ariel Porat
The Hidden Roles Of Boilerplate And Standard-Form Contracts: Strategic Imposition Of Transaction Costs, Segmentation Of Consumers, And Anticompetitive Effects, David Gilo, Ariel Porat
Michigan Law Review
Standard-form contracts offered to consumers contain numerous terms and clauses, most of which are ancillary to the main terms of the transaction. We call these ancillary terms "boilerplate provisions." Since most consumers do not read boilerplate provisions or, if they do, find them hard to understand, courts are suspicious of boilerplate provisions and sometimes find them unenforceable under the doctrine of unconscionability. At times, courts conclude that harsh terms have not been accepted by consumers in the first place and therefore are not included in the contract, and on other occasions courts interpret boilerplate provisions in favor of consumers, applying …
One-Sided Contracts In Competitive Consumer Markets, Lucian A. Bebchuk, Richard A. Posner
One-Sided Contracts In Competitive Consumer Markets, Lucian A. Bebchuk, Richard A. Posner
Michigan Law Review
The usual assumption in economic analysis of law is that in a competitive market without informational asymmetries, the terms of contracts between sellers and buyers will be optimal-that is, that any deviation from these terms would impose expected costs on one party that exceed benefits to the other. But could there be cases in which "one-sided" contracts containing terms that impose a greater expected cost on one side than benefit on the other-would be found in competitive markets even in the absence of fraud, prohibitive information costs, or other market imperfections? That is the possibility we explore in this Article.
Online Boilerplate: Would Mandatory Website Disclosure Of E-Standard Terms Backfire?, Robert A. Hillman
Online Boilerplate: Would Mandatory Website Disclosure Of E-Standard Terms Backfire?, Robert A. Hillman
Michigan Law Review
A law backfires when it produces results opposite from those its drafters intended. Lots of laws may have backfired. For example, people opposed to hate crimes legislation think that the laws "inflame prejudice rather than eradicate it." The Endangered Species Act, according to some analysts, has helped destroy rather than preserve the creatures listed by the Act. Even consumer protection laws, some believe, increase prices and confuse consumers instead of protecting them. This Article analyzes whether mandatory website disclosure of standard terms, advocated by some as a potential solution to market failures when consumers contract over the Internet, is another …
The Return Of Bargain: An Economic Theory Of How Standard-Form Contracts Enable Cooperative Negotiation Between Businesses And Consumers, Jason Scott Johnston
The Return Of Bargain: An Economic Theory Of How Standard-Form Contracts Enable Cooperative Negotiation Between Businesses And Consumers, Jason Scott Johnston
Michigan Law Review
Among attorneys, judges, and legal academics, there is virtual consensus that the widespread use by business firms of standard-form contracts in their dealings with consumers has completely eliminated bargaining in consumer contracts. I believe that this perception is false, that rather than precluding bargaining and negotiation, standard-form contracts in fact facilitate bargaining and are a crucial instrument in the establishment and maintenance of cooperative relationships between firms and their customers. On this view, which I elaborate below, firms use clear and unconditional standard form contract terms not because they will insist upon those terms, but because they have given their …
The Boilerplate Puzzle, Douglas G. Baird
The Boilerplate Puzzle, Douglas G. Baird
Michigan Law Review
The warranty that comes with your laptop computer is one of its many product attributes. The laptop has a screen of a particular size. Its microprocessors work at a particular speed, and the battery lasts a given amount of time between recharging. The hard drive has a certain capacity and mean time to failure. There is an instruction manual, online technical support (or lack thereof), and software. Then there are the warranties that the seller makes (or does not make) that are also part of the bundle. Just as I know the size of the screen, but nothing about the …
Contra Proferentem: The Allure Of Ambiguous Boilerplate, Michelle E. Boardman
Contra Proferentem: The Allure Of Ambiguous Boilerplate, Michelle E. Boardman
Michigan Law Review
Bad boilerplate can shake one' s faith in evolution; not only does it not die away, it multiplies. The puzzle is why. Much of boilerplate is ambiguous or incomprehensible. This alienates consumers and is i ncreasingly punished by courts construing the language against the drafter. There must, therefore, be some hidden allure to ambiguous boilerplate. The popular theory is trickery: drafters lure consumers in with promising language that comes to nothing in court. But this trick would require consumers to do three things they do not do-read the language, understand it, and take comfort in it. There is a hidden …
"Contracting" For Credit, Ronald J. Mann
"Contracting" For Credit, Ronald J. Mann
Michigan Law Review
On a recent day, I used my credit cards in connection with a number of minor transactions. I made eight purchases, and I paid two credit card bills. I also discarded (without opening) three solicitations for new cards, balance transfer programs, or other similar offers to extend credit via a credit card. Statistics suggest that I am not atypical. U.S. consumers last year used credit cards in about 100 purchasing transactions per capita, with an average value of about $70. At the end of the year, Americans owed nearly $500 billion dollars, in the range of $1,800 for every man, …
Improving The Rolling Contract, Stephen E. Friedman
Improving The Rolling Contract, Stephen E. Friedman
American University Law Review
This article addresses the increasingly common problem of buyers finding important contract terms inside the box of a newly purchased item instead of learning about them before or during purchase. The failure of courts to develop a satisfactory approach to deciding which contact terms sellers may provide after purchase is of great significance in light of the rapid proliferation of rolling contracts. In this article, Friedman proposes a mechanism that will ensure that sellers have the flexibility to defer presentation of some terms but that will also protect purchasers against the unfair imposition of unexpected and important terms arriving at …
Subprime Lending, Suboptimal Bankruptcy: A Proposal To Amend §§ 522(F)(1)(B) And 548(A)(1)(B) Of The Bankruptcy Code To Protect Subprime Mortgage Borrowers And Their Unsecured Creditors, R. Stephen Painter Jr.
Subprime Lending, Suboptimal Bankruptcy: A Proposal To Amend §§ 522(F)(1)(B) And 548(A)(1)(B) Of The Bankruptcy Code To Protect Subprime Mortgage Borrowers And Their Unsecured Creditors, R. Stephen Painter Jr.
Loyola University Chicago Law Journal
No abstract provided.
Goliath Has The Slingshot: Public Benefit And Private Enforcement Of Minnesota Consumer Protection Laws, Prentiss Cox
Goliath Has The Slingshot: Public Benefit And Private Enforcement Of Minnesota Consumer Protection Laws, Prentiss Cox
William Mitchell Law Review
No abstract provided.
Minnesota Statutes Chapter 325n: A Model For Substantive Consumer Protection, Kristin A. Siegesmund, Leah Weaver
Minnesota Statutes Chapter 325n: A Model For Substantive Consumer Protection, Kristin A. Siegesmund, Leah Weaver
William Mitchell Law Review
No abstract provided.
What's Up On Stock-Drops? Moench Revisited, 39 J. Marshall L. Rev. 605 (2006), Craig C. Martin, Matthew J. Renaud, Omar R. Akbar
What's Up On Stock-Drops? Moench Revisited, 39 J. Marshall L. Rev. 605 (2006), Craig C. Martin, Matthew J. Renaud, Omar R. Akbar
UIC Law Review
No abstract provided.
Usda Upset With Dairyman's Low Prices, Ryan Eddings
Usda Upset With Dairyman's Low Prices, Ryan Eddings
Loyola Consumer Law Review
No abstract provided.
Costs And Consequences Of Federal Telecommunications Regulations, Jerry Ellig
Costs And Consequences Of Federal Telecommunications Regulations, Jerry Ellig
Federal Communications Law Journal
Federal regulation of telecommunication profoundly affects United States consumers, determining what services are priced above and below cost, what kinds of technologies and services are offered and when, and what firms are allowed to compete. In this Article, the Author surveys the voluminous literature on the economic costs and outcomes of these regulations, focusing predominantly on the effects of regulation on prices, quantity, quality of service, and overall consumer and social welfare. The Author estimates costs and assesses outcomes for ten types of federal telecommunications regulated activity: telecommunications regulatory spending, long-distance access charges, universal service funding, local number portability, enhanced …
Should The Securities Exchange Act Be The Sole Federal Remedy For An Erisa Fiduciary Misrepresentation Of The Value Of Public Employer Stock?, 39 J. Marshall L. Rev. 637 (2006), Mark Casciari, Ian Morrison
Should The Securities Exchange Act Be The Sole Federal Remedy For An Erisa Fiduciary Misrepresentation Of The Value Of Public Employer Stock?, 39 J. Marshall L. Rev. 637 (2006), Mark Casciari, Ian Morrison
UIC Law Review
No abstract provided.
Standards Of Practice For Pension Practitioners, 39 J. Marshall L. Rev. 667 (2006), David Pratt
Standards Of Practice For Pension Practitioners, 39 J. Marshall L. Rev. 667 (2006), David Pratt
UIC Law Review
No abstract provided.
The Hybrid Class Action As Judicial Spork: Managing Individual Rights In A Stew Of Common Wrong, 39 J. Marshall L. Rev. 231 (2006), Jon Romberg
UIC Law Review
No abstract provided.