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2013

Consumer protection

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Articles 1 - 27 of 27

Full-Text Articles in Law

Are Consumer-Oriented Rules The New Frontier Of Trade Liberalization?, Sonia E. Rolland Nov 2013

Are Consumer-Oriented Rules The New Frontier Of Trade Liberalization?, Sonia E. Rolland

Sonia Elise Rolland

Lead paint toys and tainted baby formula milk from China, along with other scares involving consumer goods, have focused the public’s attention on the risks of a global supply chain that no state controls. Yet, domestic instruments available to protect consumers against unsafe or undesirable foreign goods and services are limited. This article explores, from a comparative legal perspective, what shapes international trade regimes to be more or less consumer oriented, using primarily EU law as a counterpoint to the WTO, but also NAFTA and MERCOSUR. Ultimately, it suggests that the WTO’s producer-centered liberalization focus leaves consumers underserved and it …


What Do We Worry About When We Worry About Price Discrimination? The Law And Ethics Of Using Personal Information For Pricing, Akiva A. Miller Nov 2013

What Do We Worry About When We Worry About Price Discrimination? The Law And Ethics Of Using Personal Information For Pricing, Akiva A. Miller

Akiva A Miller

New information technologies have dramatically increased sellers’ ability to engage in retail price discrimination. Debates over using personal information for price discrimination frequently treat it as a single problem, and are not sufficiently sensitive to the variety of price discrimination practices, the different kinds of information they require in order to succeed, and the different ethical concerns they raise. This paper explores the ethical and legal debate over regulating price discrimination facilitated by consumers’ personal information. Various kinds of “privacy remedies”—self-regulation, technological fixes, state regulation, and legislating private causes of legal action—each have their place. By drawing distinctions between various …


E-Commerce And Electronic Payment System Risks: Lessons From Paypal, Lawrence J. Trautman Oct 2013

E-Commerce And Electronic Payment System Risks: Lessons From Paypal, Lawrence J. Trautman

Lawrence J. Trautman Sr.

What are the major risks perceived by those engaged in e-commerce and electronic payment systems? What development risks, if they become reality, may cause substantial increases in operating costs or threaten the very survival of the enterprise? This article utilizes the relevant annual report disclosures from eBay (parent of PayPal), along with other eBay and PayPal documents, as a potentially powerful teaching device. Most of the descriptive language to follow is excerpted directly from eBay’s regulatory filings. My additions include weaving these materials into a logical presentation and providing supplemental sources for those who desire a deeper look (usually in …


The Banking Contract As A Special Contract: The Israeli Approach, Ruth Plato-Shinar Oct 2013

The Banking Contract As A Special Contract: The Israeli Approach, Ruth Plato-Shinar

Touro Law Review

No abstract provided.


Brief Of Amici Curiae In Support Of Appellant, James Townsend V. Midland Funding, Llc, Stuart Robert Cohen, Peter A. Holland Sep 2013

Brief Of Amici Curiae In Support Of Appellant, James Townsend V. Midland Funding, Llc, Stuart Robert Cohen, Peter A. Holland

Court Briefs

The Consumer Protection Clinic of the University of Maryland Francis King Carey School of Law, filed a Motion to Participate and an Amicus Brief in the case of Townsend v. Midland Funding, LLC. The case presents the question of whether documents created by third party predecessors in interest—usually a bank—may be admitted into evidence when a debt buyer plaintiff does not demonstrate personal knowledge regarding any of the foundational elements which would be required to admit the documents under the business records exception to the hearsay rule. Amici urge the Court to overturn the lower court, and hold that a …


Licensure Of Health Care Professionals: The Consumer's Case For Abolition, Charles H. Baron Aug 2013

Licensure Of Health Care Professionals: The Consumer's Case For Abolition, Charles H. Baron

Charles H. Baron

While state medical licensure laws ostensibly are intended to promote worthwhile goals, such as the maintenance of high standards in health care delivery, this Article argues that these laws in practice are detrimental to consumers. The Article takes the position that licensure contributes to high medical care costs and stifles competition, innovation and consumer autonomy. It concludes that delicensure would expand the range of health services available to consumers and reduce patient dependency, and that these developments would tend to make medical practice more satisfying to consumers and providers of health care services.


Full Disclosure Of Consumer Savings Information , Vance Hartke May 2013

Full Disclosure Of Consumer Savings Information , Vance Hartke

Pepperdine Law Review

No abstract provided.


Perspectives In Consumer Advocacy: Antitrust Parens Patriae Suits Pursuant To The Hart-Scott-Rodino Antitrust Improvements Act- A Solution For Wrongs Without Redress, Andrew B. Jones May 2013

Perspectives In Consumer Advocacy: Antitrust Parens Patriae Suits Pursuant To The Hart-Scott-Rodino Antitrust Improvements Act- A Solution For Wrongs Without Redress, Andrew B. Jones

Pepperdine Law Review

No abstract provided.


The Justiciability Of State Consumer Protection Claims In Federal Courts: A Study Of Named Plaintiffs Who Cease Using The Disputed Product Yet Seek Injunctive Relief, Meaghan Millan May 2013

The Justiciability Of State Consumer Protection Claims In Federal Courts: A Study Of Named Plaintiffs Who Cease Using The Disputed Product Yet Seek Injunctive Relief, Meaghan Millan

Fordham Law Review

In recent years, there has been an increase in consumer protection class action litigation in federal courts. These suits arise from a group of consumers who have felt deceived by a particular product, ceased using that product, and then tried to sue a defendant manufacturer through state consumer protection statutes. Often, these individuals seek to enjoin the defendant’s use of an allegedly unfair business practice, such as “all natural” labeling. Since the plaintiff no longer uses the product, however, many district courts have refused to recognize that they may be at risk of a future injury and have held that …


The Emperor's New Loans: A Cautionary Tale From The Subprime Era, David J. Reiss Apr 2013

The Emperor's New Loans: A Cautionary Tale From The Subprime Era, David J. Reiss

David J Reiss

A body of folk tales from the subprime mortgage era is now being written. Some are in PowerPoint. Some are in video format. Some appear in the guise of a non-fiction account. After all, isn’t The Big Short just Jack the Giant Slayer —with the little guys not only ending up with the gold, but also with the big guys dead on the ground? And some stories are just plain old fairy tales like the one contained herein. You might ask why a complex financial crisis needs such folk tales. And I would tell you that they are necessary because …


“Owner Finance! No Banks Needed!” Consumer Protection Analysis Of Seller-Financed Home Sales: A Texas Case Study, Genevieve Hebert Fajardo Apr 2013

“Owner Finance! No Banks Needed!” Consumer Protection Analysis Of Seller-Financed Home Sales: A Texas Case Study, Genevieve Hebert Fajardo

Faculty Articles

Seller-financing of residential property is booming in the credit crisis. Due in part to tightened lending standards for traditional mortgages, low-income home buyers are being shut out of the mortgage market, and are turning to contract-for-deed or lease-to-own agreements to finance their home purchases. In Texas, the state legislature tried to curb abuses in the seller-financed housing market by enacting a mix of typical consumer protection laws: required disclosures, penalties for unfair practices, and a process for converting contracts for deed into mortgages. So why do so many abuses remain in seller-financed transactions, when the legislation checked all the consumer-friendly …


Sex Matters: Considering Gender In Consumer Contracts, Amy J. Schmitz Apr 2013

Sex Matters: Considering Gender In Consumer Contracts, Amy J. Schmitz

Faculty Publications

We hear about the so-called “War on Women” and persisting salary gaps between men and women in the popular media, but contracts scholars and policymakers rarely discuss gender. Instead, dominant voices in the contracts field often reflect classical and economics-driven theories built on assumptions of gender neutral and economically rational actors. Furthermore, many mistakenly assume that market competition and antidiscrimination legislation address any improper biases in contracting. This Article therefore aims to shed light on gender’s importance by distilling data from my own e-survey of Colorado consumers along with others’ research regarding gender differences in contract outcomes, interests and behaviors. …


Striking The Right Balance: Investor And Consumer Protection In The New Financial Marketplace: Introduction, Lisa Fairfax, Arthur E. Wilmarth Jr Apr 2013

Striking The Right Balance: Investor And Consumer Protection In The New Financial Marketplace: Introduction, Lisa Fairfax, Arthur E. Wilmarth Jr

All Faculty Scholarship

On March 2, 2012, The George Washington University Law School's Center for Law, Economics & Finance and The George Washington Law Review jointly hosted a symposium entitled "Striking the Right Balance: Investor and Consumer Protection in the New Financial Marketplace."' The symposium focused on two principal topics. First, participants analyzed the impact of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act ("Dodd-Frank") on investors and consumers in three areas of federal regulation-securities markets, derivatives markets, and consumer financial products. Second, the symposium evaluated the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 ("Sarbanes-Oxley") on its tenth anniversary and considered whether Sarbanes-Oxley's legacy might …


A Specter Is Haunting The Financial Industry - The Specter Of The Global Financial Crisis: A Comment On The Imminent Expansion Of Consumer Financial Protection In The United States, The United Kingdom, And The European Union, Daniel Lamb Mar 2013

A Specter Is Haunting The Financial Industry - The Specter Of The Global Financial Crisis: A Comment On The Imminent Expansion Of Consumer Financial Protection In The United States, The United Kingdom, And The European Union, Daniel Lamb

Journal of the National Association of Administrative Law Judiciary

This Comment explores the regulatory fallout from the global financial crisis. Across borders, policy makers are united in their conviction to reconcile the perceived failures of their predecessors to foresee and prevent the crisis, the effects of which show no signs of abating. A critical component of what caused the crisis was the inability to correct failures in the consumer credit market, specifically in subprime mortgages. Exacerbated by an influx of capital and a generally weak regulatory environment, this market failure manifested itself forcefully through a tidal wave of defaults in the American mortgage market that sent shock waves around …


Privacy, Transparency & Google's Blurred Glass, Jonathan I. Ezor Feb 2013

Privacy, Transparency & Google's Blurred Glass, Jonathan I. Ezor

Jonathan I. Ezor

No matter the context or jurisdiction, one concept underlies every view of the best practices in data privacy: transparency. The mandate to disclose what personal information is collected, how it is used, and with whom and for what purpose it is shared, is essential to enable informed consent to the collection, along with the other user rights that constitute privacy best practices. Google, which claims to support and offer transparency, is increasingly opaque about its many products and services and the information they collect for it, posing a significant privacy concern.


Guiding The Invisible Hand: The Consumer Protection Function Of Unauthorized Practice Regulation, Elizabeth Michelman Jan 2013

Guiding The Invisible Hand: The Consumer Protection Function Of Unauthorized Practice Regulation, Elizabeth Michelman

Pepperdine Law Review

No abstract provided.


Boiler Room Fraud: An Operational Plan Utilizing The Injunction Against Fraud Pursuant To 18 U.S.C. §1345 , Robert M. Twiss Jan 2013

Boiler Room Fraud: An Operational Plan Utilizing The Injunction Against Fraud Pursuant To 18 U.S.C. §1345 , Robert M. Twiss

Pepperdine Law Review

No abstract provided.


Consumerism And Land Sales , Leonard Levin Jan 2013

Consumerism And Land Sales , Leonard Levin

Pepperdine Law Review

No abstract provided.


Expanding Local Enforcement Of State And Federal Consumer Protection Laws, Kathleen S. Morris Jan 2013

Expanding Local Enforcement Of State And Federal Consumer Protection Laws, Kathleen S. Morris

Publications

This Article calls on Congress and the state legislatures to grant large cities and counties standing to enforce the Federal Trade Commission Act (the FTC Act) and its state statutory counterparts (or little Acts). The FTC Act, a federal law, prohibits businesses from engaging in any "unlawful," "unfair," or "deceptive" acts or practices, and the little Acts apply similarly broad prohibitions in all fifty states. This fifty-one-statute consumer protection regime - which has been the law of the land for several decades - carries enormous promise to halt a wide range of unlawful and harmful corporate practices in their earliest …


California Ex Rel. Harris V. Safeway, Inc.: Mismanaging The Intersection Of Antitrust And Labor Law, Peter L. Cooch Jan 2013

California Ex Rel. Harris V. Safeway, Inc.: Mismanaging The Intersection Of Antitrust And Labor Law, Peter L. Cooch

Journal of Business & Technology Law

No abstract provided.


Empowering Market Regulation Of Agricultural Animal Welfare Through Product Labeling, Sean P. Sullivan Jan 2013

Empowering Market Regulation Of Agricultural Animal Welfare Through Product Labeling, Sean P. Sullivan

Animal Law Review

In many Western nations, rising public concern about the welfare of agricultural animals is reflected in the adoption of direct regulatory standards governing the treatment of these animals. The United States has taken a different path, tending to rely on a “market-regulation” approach whereby consumers express their desire for specific welfare practices through their purchasing decisions. This Article explores the failure of market regulation and the welfare-preference paradox posed by consumers who express a strong preference for improved animal welfare in theory, but who simultaneously fail to demand heightened welfare standards in practice. It argues that market regulation is failing …


Ensuring Remedies To Cure Cramming, Amy J. Schmitz Jan 2013

Ensuring Remedies To Cure Cramming, Amy J. Schmitz

Faculty Publications

The unauthorized addition of third party charges to telecommunications bills ("cramming") is a growing problem that has caught the attention of federal regulators and state attorney generals. This Article therefore discusses the problems associated with cramming, and highlights consumers’ uphill battles in seeking remedies with respect to cramming claims. Indeed, it is imperative for policymakers, researchers, consumer advocates, and industry groups to collaborate in developing means for resolving these claims. Accordingly, this Article offers a proposal for resolving cramming disputes in order to advance this collaboration, and inspire development of a functioning online dispute resolution ("ODR") process to handle these …


American Exceptionalism In Consumer Arbitration, Amy J. Schmitz Jan 2013

American Exceptionalism In Consumer Arbitration, Amy J. Schmitz

Faculty Publications

“American exceptionalism” has been used to reference the United States’ outlier policies in various contexts, including its love for litigation. Despite Americans’ reverence for their “day in court,” their zest for contractual freedom and efficiency has prevailed to result in U.S. courts’ strict enforcement of arbitration provisions in both business-to-business (“B2B”) and business-to-consumer (“B2C”) contracts. This is exceptional because although most of the world joins the United States in generally enforcing B2B arbitration under the New York Convention, many other countries refuse or strictly limit arbitration enforcement in B2C relationships due to concerns regarding power imbalances and public enforcement of …


Meat Labeling Through The Looking Glass, Bruce Friedrich Jan 2013

Meat Labeling Through The Looking Glass, Bruce Friedrich

Animal Law Review

The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) regulates meat labeling under the statutory authority of the Federal Meat Inspection Act (FMIA). The FMIA’s labeling preemption clause prohibits labeling requirements beyond federal requirements, and would thus preclude state causes of action on the basis of deceptive labels that were properly approved under federal law. Through the eyes of Kat, a hypothetical consumer concerned with the origins of the meat she purchases for her family, this Article argues that consumers should be able to pursue state law claims based on fraudulent animal welfare labels on packages of meat. This is true for …


Marks, Morals, And Markets, Jeremy N. Sheff Jan 2013

Marks, Morals, And Markets, Jeremy N. Sheff

Faculty Publications

The prevailing justification for trademark law depends on economic arguments that cannot account for much of the law's recent development, nor for mounting empirical evidence that consumer decisionmaking is inconsistent with assumptions of rational choice. But the only extant theoretical alternative to economic analysis is a Lockean "natural rights" theory that scholars have found even more unsatisfying. This Article proposes a third option. I analyze the law of trademarks and unfair competition as a system of moral obligations between producers and consumers. Drawing on the contractualist tradition in moral philosophy, I develop and apply a new theoretical framework to evaluate …


Sea Changes In Consumer Financial Protection: Stronger Agency And Stronger Laws, Dee Pridgen Dec 2012

Sea Changes In Consumer Financial Protection: Stronger Agency And Stronger Laws, Dee Pridgen

Dee Pridgen

This article tracks the rising influence of behavioral economics as a guiding force in consumer protection. The Consumer Financial Protection Agency, formed by the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act of 2010, is a new and stronger agency for consumers. Two pieces of legislation, the Mortgage Reform and Anti-Predatory Lending Act (Title XIV of Dodd-Frank), and the Credit Card Accountability , Responsibility and Disclosure Act (Credit CARD Act) of 2009, are stronger laws ensuring the safety of consumer financial products. This article examines the new agency and the new laws, explains how they differ from the prior governmental …


The Resolution Of The Structured Notes Fiasco In Hong Kong, Singapore, And Taiwan, Christopher Chao-Hung Chen Dec 2012

The Resolution Of The Structured Notes Fiasco In Hong Kong, Singapore, And Taiwan, Christopher Chao-Hung Chen

Christopher Chao-hung CHEN

This article argues that alternative dispute resolution is not a panacea for settling massive investor complaints. Regulators must create clear and effective conduct of business rules and strengthen the contractual composition of structured products to give investors a better chance of recovering their investments in an event such as Lehman’s collapse.