Consumer Protection Law Commons^™

Volume 4 Issue 2 (Complete Spring 2017), David J.. Cook, Zachary Bolitho, Evan Wright, George Steven Swan, Cynthia Brown

Lincoln Memorial University Law Review Archive

A complete version of LMU Law Review Volume Issue 2 for Spring 2017.

Rethinking Criminal Contempt In The Bankruptcy Courts, John A. E. Pottow, Jason S. Levin

Law & Economics Working Papers

A surprising number of courts believe that bankruptcy judges lack authority to impose criminal contempt sanctions. We attempt to rectify this misunderstanding with a march through the historical treatment of contempt-like powers in bankruptcy, the painful statutory history of the 1978 Bankruptcy Code (including the exciting history of likely repealed 28 U.S.C. § 1481), and the various apposite rules of procedure. (Fans of the All Writs Act will delight in its inclusion.) But the principal service we offer to the bankruptcy community is dismantling the ubiquitous and persistent belief that there is some form of constitutional infirmity with "mere" bankruptcy …

The Death Of Private Practice: How The Rising Cost Of Healthcare Is Destroying Physician Autonomy, Oliver Owaid

Brooklyn Journal of Corporate, Financial & Commercial Law

Over the past two decades, the number of physicians in private practice has dropped dramatically. This trend is the result of the financial pressure imposed by the federal government in response to the skyrocketing cost of healthcare. Physicians, frustrated by stagnant reimbursement rates in conjunction with increased administrative costs and overhead, are choosing hospital staff employment in favor of private practice. This trend is to the detriment of the physician, the taxpayers, and, most importantly, the patients. Patients treated in hospital outpatient settings have worse outcomes than those treated in private practice. In addition, hospital procedures cost both the government …

Abuse Of The Hatch-Waxman Act: Mylan's Ability To Monopolize Reflects Weaknesses, Kieran Meagher

Brooklyn Journal of Corporate, Financial & Commercial Law

The Drug Price Competition and Patent Term Restoration Act of 1984, better known as the Hatch-Waxman Act, is intended to lower the average price paid by consumers for prescription drugs. The Hatch-Waxman Act attempts to do so by simplifying the application process for generic drug manufacturers, allowing generic drug applications to circumvent the lengthy FDA testing and approval process that brand-name manufacturers must undergo. Though the Hatch-Waxman Act has successfully created a clear path to the market for generic drugs, it contains loopholes that allow brand name and generic companies to engage in practices aimed at maximizing monopoly profits, effectively …

The Professional Prospectus: A Call For Effective Professional Disclosure, Benjamin P. Edwards

Scholarly Works

Without easy access to relevant information, many consumers unwittingly trust serious decisions to professionals with histories of malpractice and negligence-leading to both individual and societal harms. This Article proposes to improve professional services markets with a tool that has already proven effective in the securities markets: a prospectus. A "Professional Prospectus" would reduce information asymmetries and improve the market for professional services through disclosure and consumer choice.

A Professional Prospectus would alter the market for professional services by making professional reputation a more potent force. Economic theory often relies on "reputation effects" to ensure the efficient functioning of the market …

Consumer Litigation Funding: Just Another Form Of Payday Lending?, Paige Marta Skiba, Jean Xiao

Vanderbilt Law School Faculty Publications

This article provides a side-by-side comparison of payday lending and consumer litigation funding in order to aid policymakers. Funding has similarities with payday lending because they are both alternative financial services, involve high interest rates, and cater to customers who need money for living expenses. However, they differ in ways that regulators should recognize. Many justify bans on payday lending by pointing to the fact that millions of borrowers every year are getting stuck in an inescapable cycle of interest payments. While legal finance has real costs, funding’s nonrecourse nature prevents consumers from getting stuck in a cyclical repayment of …

The Perverse Consequences Of Disclosing Standard Terms, Tess Wilkinson-Ryan

All Faculty Scholarship

Although assent is the doctrinal and theoretical hallmark of contract, its relevance for form contracts has been drastically undermined by the overwhelming evidence that no one reads standard terms. Until now, most political and academic discussions of this phenomenon have acknowledged the truth of universally unread contracts, but have assumed that even unread terms are at best potentially helpful, and at worst harmless. This Article makes the empirical case that unread terms are not a neutral part of American commerce; instead, the mere fact of fine print inhibits reasonable challenges to unfair deals. The experimental study reported here tests the …

Disruptive Platforms, Margot Kaminski

Publications

No abstract provided.