Consumer Protection Law Commons^™

The Rental Crisis Will Not Be Televised: The Case For Protecting Tenants Under Consumer Protection Regimes, Eric Sirota

University of Michigan Journal of Law Reform

The Foreclosure Crisis of the 2000s has likely hurt renters more than homeowners. Incongruously, however, consumer enforcement agencies have been far more zealous in protecting mortgagors than tenants. This Article explores the under-protection of tenants as a class of consumers, particularly in a “commoditized” rental market, and examines how consumer enforcement agencies can more zealously incorporate tenant-protection into their mandates.

Much of the prior literature on the legal protections afforded tenants was published in the wake of the consumer rights revolution of the 1970s. This Article is the first to carefully reexamine, in the context of the modern rental market, …

Deceptively Simple: The Arkansas Deceptive Trade Practices Act, Margaret E. Rushing

Arkansas Law Review

In the 2017 legislative session, the Arkansas General Assembly significantly changed the Arkansas Deceptive Trade Practices Act (“ADTPA”). These changes now prohibit private class actions under the ADTPA and require plaintiffs to prove additional elements of reliance and actual financial loss when bringing a claim. The changes appear to limit the ability of a consumer to bring a private action under the ADPTA. With these changes, Arkansas joins a minority of jurisdictions with deceptive trade practices acts that increase a plaintiff’s burden and restrict private class actions.

Toward Legitimacy Through Collaborative Governance: An Analysis Of The Effect Of South Carolina's Office Of Regulatory Staff On Public Utility Regulation, William H. Ellerbe

Michigan Telecommunications & Technology Law Review

In 2004 the South Carolina General Assembly instituted a major reform to its system of public utility regulation. Previously, the Public Service Commission, the administrative agency in charge of regulating public utilities, both adjudicated utility proceedings and, through its staff,a advocated for the public interest. A scandal concerning revelations of extensive ex parte communications between regulated utilities and members of the Public Service Commission led to the 2004 reform, which created the Office of Regulatory Staff (ORS) as a separate agency to perform the Commission's advocative functions. In my research, I use data on fuel factor proceedings before and after …

Restating The Law: The Dilemmas Of Products Liability, Robert L. Rabin

University of Michigan Journal of Law Reform

Tracing products liability law from its origins to present day developments, Professor Rabin discusses the long-standing presence of interwoven strands of contract and tort ideology, as well as the perennial tensions between strict liability and negligence. These themes are evident both in the distinctly influential California case law and in the two Restatement efforts to systematize the doctrine that has emerged nationally. Rabin identifies the manner in which foundational ideological precepts of consumer expectations and enterprise liability have contributed to a continuously dynamic, if often unsettled, debate over the appropriate regime for resolving product injury claims.

The Role Of The Michigan Attorney General In Consumer And Environmental Protection, Michigan Law Review

Michigan Law Review

In an effort to clarify the role of the attorney general as public representative, this Note will examine the functioning of the office of the Michigan attorney general. After an analysis of the nature and extent of the attorney general's powers and of his current utilization of those powers, several proposals to increase his effectiveness will be discussed.

Representation Of The Public Interest In Michigan Utility Rate Proceedings, Michigan Law Review

Michigan Law Review

Although the Free Press study centered on political and economic issues, the operation of the Michigan Public Service Commission also raises significant issues regarding the role of public intervenors, agency compliance with statutory requirements, statutory construction, and legislative response to regulatory deficiencies. This Comment will consider the representation of the public interest in Michigan utility proceedings in the context of rate cases involving the state's major utilities. While such an analysis does not reach the breadth of activities performed by the Commission, it is suggestive of the extent to which the Commission is responsive to the public interest generally. Following …

New Jersey Retail Installment Sales Act, Eric A. Oesterle

University of Michigan Journal of Law Reform

The effect of the enactment of the New Jersey bill is that a "retail buyer" may now assert against an assignee of the installment contract or subsequent "holder" of the negotiable note any defenses he has against the retail installment seller. The new law would appear to be one of the most comprehensive laws of its type to be enacted. However, the draftsmen apparently left a significant loophole, appropriately termed the "specious cash sale,” which, if exploited, could negate the intended effect of the new law. This note will analyze the bill, compare it with the relevant provisions of the …

New York Specious Cash Sales Act, Craig D. Holleman

University of Michigan Journal of Law Reform

The New York Legislature recently moved to protect consumers in that state from unscrupulous retailers of consumer goods and financers of consumer loans by enacting the Specious Cash Sales Act. The new law is the third in a series of measures designed to remedy certain perceived inequities to which the holder in due course doctrine gives rise in the consumer goods field. Earlier this year, the Legislature undercut complicated mechanisms whereby a finance company could procure from a retailer contracts and obligations containing a waiver-of-defenses provision executed by the buyer-consumer. This law in turn complemented a still earlier statute which …

Consumer Protection In Michigan: Current Methods And Some Proposals For Reform, Michigan Law Review

Michigan Law Review

During the past decade, a great deal of effort has been expended at all levels of government in the United States to enhance the prosperity of the poor and underprivileged elements of society. Much legislation has been passed-especially at the federal level--but it has been incomplete in that its main thrust has been simply to increase the income levels of poor people without a corresponding effort to ensure that they receive their money's worth as consumers. As a result, the long-standing evil of fraud in the market place has not been significantly reduced, but has contributed to the serious economic …

New York City Consumer Protection Law Of 1969, Thomas G. Morgan

University of Michigan Journal of Law Reform

In recent years there has been growing concern over the lack of legal protection afforded the American consumer. Comprehensive consumer protection legislation has been introduced at all levels of government, and several significant proposals have been enacted into law. One such enactment at the municipal level is the New York City Consumer Protection Law of 1969, which establishes a framework for a broad ban against unfair trade practices and vests the city's Commissioner of Consumer Affairs with extensive powers of enforcement. In this note, the New York City ordinance will be analyzed and evaluated against the general background of existing …