Consumer Protection Law Commons^™

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 Information Superhighway: Trolls At The Tollgate, Charles M. Oliver

Federal Communications Law Journal

Prior to the passage of the 1996 Telecommunications Act, policymakers sought funding and regulatory mechanisms capable of fulfilling the vision of an Information Superhighway. Vice President Gore, the Clinton Administration's point person on the issue, initially proposed assessing fees on other sectors of the telecommunications industry to fund construction. Meanwhile, conservatives asserted that deregulation of the industry would achieve the desired result. A compromise ultimately was reached: the 1996 Act requires local exchange carriers to unbundle their networks and provide access at a reasonable cost to competitors. The use of regulatory formulas in lieu of taxes to subsidize a national …

Using Market-Based Spectrum Policy To Promote The Public Interest, Gregory L. Rosston, Jeffrey S. Steinberg

Federal Communications Law Journal

With the increasing demand for spectrum to accommodate emerging technologies, and the discovery that higher frequencies are usable, the FCC has replaced its reliance on administrative mechanisms for allocating spectrum with a more flexible, market-based approach. The FCC can best accomplish its mission of promoting the public interest by continuing to rely on competitive market forces and by establishing a clear and consistent paradigm for approaching allocation, assignment, usage, and other policies. Such a paradigm envisions an FCC that would actively monitor spectrum to remedy situations in which it is not used to its full value; establish mechanisms to reduce …

The Telecommunications Act Of 1996: Codifying The Digital Divide, Allen S. Hammond Iv

Federal Communications Law Journal

The Telecommunications Act of 1996 purports to ensure every American eventual access to advanced telecommunications networks and services, and more immediate access to basic telephone networks and services. This access is essential because it determines the ease with which Americans can acquire an education, obtain employment, control financial affairs, access emergency assistance, and participate in the political process. The interpretation and implementation of the 1996 Act is critical because there is an imminent danger that a large portion of society— in inner cities, near suburbs, and small towns— not be connected to the "national electronic nervous system." To ensure that …

Constructing A Roof Before The Foundation Is Prepared: The Restatement (Third) Of Torts: Products Liability, Section 2(B) Design Defect, Frank J. Vandall

University of Michigan Journal of Law Reform

The Restatement (Third) of Torts: Products Liability section 2(b) is a wish list from manufacturing America. It returns products liability law to something more restrictive than negligence. What is new from the Reporters is that their proposal is written on a clean sheet of paper. Messy and awkward concepts such as precedent, policy, and case accuracy have been brushed aside for the purpose of tort reform. There has been almost no attempt to evaluate strict liability precedent or the policies underlying previous cases and the Restatement (Second) section 402A. Section 2b (the roof) has been drafted with little consideration of …

Section 254 Of The Telecommunications Act Of 1996: A Hidden Tax?, Nichole L. Millard

Federal Communications Law Journal

Congress has the sole power to levy and collect taxes. The Supreme Court has ruled that Congress may delegate this authority to administrative agencies so long as the will of Congress is clearly defined in the legislation. However, section 254 of the Telecommunications Act of 1996 operates as an unconstitutional delegation of Congress' authority to tax. This legislation provides the FCC with unfettered discretion in defining the boundaries of universal service and the authority to mandate that all consumers of telecommunications services subsidize the cost for low-income and rural consumers, as well as schools, libraries, and health care providers.

Hanging Up On Consumers: Why The Fcc Cannot Stop Slamming In The New Telecommunications Market , Christopher R. Day

American University Law Review

No abstract provided.

Product Liability And Legal Leverage: The Perverse Effect Of Stiff Penalties, Michael S. Knoll

All Faculty Scholarship

No abstract provided.

Dashing Consumer Hopes: Strict Products Liability And The Demise Of The Consumer Expectations Test, Rebecca Korzec

All Faculty Scholarship

The threshold issue in American products liability litigation is whether the product was defective at the time it left the manufacturer's control. Traditionally, courts and scholars define “defect” in three functional categories: manufacturing defects, design defects and marketing defects. American products liability doctrine employs two major tests to determine whether a "defect” exists: the seller-oriented risk-utility test and the buyer-oriented consumer expectations test. The Draft of the Restatement Third of Torts: Products Liability, like some American jurisdictions, rejects the “consumer expectations” test as an independent standard in defective warning and design cases. Ironically, this limitation of the use of the …

Stored Value Cards And The Consumer: The Need For Regulation , Mark E. Budnitz

American University Law Review

No abstract provided.

An Implied Cause Of Action Under The Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act, Chris Sagers

Law Faculty Articles and Essays

This Note contends that consumers should have a private damages action under section 10. Part I discusses the method federal courts currently employ to determine whether a private cause of action should be recognized under a given federal statute. Part II applies this standard to section 10, and it argues that, although the federal courts currently exhibit a fairly restrictive attitude toward implication of remedies, an action should be implied under section 10 because the Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act of 1974 (RESPA) was enacted at a time when Congress relied on a more permissive judicial implication doctrine. Finally, Part …

Fcc Reform: Governing Requires A New Standard, William H. Read, Ronald Alan Weiner

Federal Communications Law Journal

Perhaps one of the most crucial questions legislators need to address after passing the 1996 Act is the reform of the Federal Communications Commission. Some suggest that the Commission should be abolished altogether, while others recommend merely curtailing some of the Commission's responsibilities. However, true reform of the FCC recognizes that the Commission still has a vital role to play in the shaping of the telecommunications industry. Instead of dismantling the FCC altogether, Congress should redefine the public interest standard under which the FCC operates. The 1934 Communications Act charged the Federal Communications Commission with protecting "the public interest." While …

Do You Feel The Sunshine? Government In The Sunshine Act: Its Objectives, Goals, And Effect On The Fcc And You, Kathy Bradley

Federal Communications Law Journal

This Note posits that the Sunshine Act should be narrowed to allow the FCC to operate in the same way as Congress and the Federal courts. The FCC should be allowed to engage in open and frank discussion of issues facing the Commission without rigid restrictions on collegial conversation between Commission members.

Consumer Sovereignty: A Unified Theory Of Antitrust And Consumer Protection Law, Neil W. Averitt, Robert H. Lande

All Faculty Scholarship

This article is about the relationship between antitrust and consumer protection law. Its purpose is to define each area of law, to delineate the boundary between them, to show how they interact with each other, and to show how they ultimately support one another as the two component parts of an overarching unity: effective consumer choice (also called consumer sovereignty).

Consumer choice only is effective when two fundamental conditions are present. There must be a range of consumer options made possible through competition, and consumers must be able to choose effectively among these options. The antitrust laws are intended to …

Faulty Fire-Retardant Plywood Continues To Cause Homeowners Headaches, Allison E. Cahill

Loyola Consumer Law Review

No abstract provided.

Acquisition Of Credit Report Did Not Violate Fair Credit Reporting Act (Fcra), Patrick Mcgovern

Loyola Consumer Law Review

No abstract provided.

Recent Legislative Activity, Kevin Riley

Loyola Consumer Law Review

No abstract provided.

The Communications Decency Act, Congress' First Attempt To Censor Speech Over The Internet, Lorraine Mercier

Loyola Consumer Law Review

No abstract provided.

Alternative Energy Supplier Forbidden By Law And Contract From Being Electric Utility Company's Competitor, Sara E. Neff

Loyola Consumer Law Review

No abstract provided.

Aplicaciones Paneuropeas De La Rdsi (Derecho De Telecomunicaciones En Europa), Gabriel Martinez Medrano

Gabriel Martinez Medrano

Trabajo presentado para corresponder a Beca otorgada por Telefonica de España para el cursado del Master en Propiedad Industrial e Intelectual en la Universidad de Alicante en 1997.

Constituição, Soberania E Ditadura Em Carl Schmitt, Ronaldo Porto Macedo Junior

Ronaldo Porto Macedo Junior

On the basis of a reconstruction of Schmitt's decisionism and of the analysis of its effects on key terms of his conception like democracy, sovereignty and dictatorship, Schmitt'sthought is examined regarding his theoretical and practical positions on the constitutional issues of Weimar's Germany and of National-socialism. Special attention is given to how for him the unity and the hierarchy of the political powers and of the lae demand a strong State and a centralized command instead of a pluralistic balance.

Apuntes Sobre El Régimen Legal De La Factura De Crédito (Ley 24.760), Martin Paolantonio, Salvador Bergel

Martin Paolantonio

Análisis inicial del régimen de la ley 24.760 y la instauración de la factura de crédito como reemplazo de la factura conformada

Cuestiones Probatorias En Derecho Cambiario, Martin Paolantonio, Salvador Bergel

Martin Paolantonio

Enfocado desde la perspectiva de reglas sustanciales en materia probatoria, un análisis de las disposiciones pertinentes de la legislación sobre letras de cambio, pagarés y cheques

Inexistencia De La Cuenta Corriente Bancaria Y Su Alegación En El Juicio Ejecutivo, Martin Paolantonio

Martin Paolantonio

Análisis breve de una sentencia que autorizó la alegación de la inexistencia del contrato en un proceso de ejecución

Facultades Del Fiduciario En El Fideicomiso De Garantía, Martin Paolantonio

Martin Paolantonio

Análisis de las facultades para realizar la garantía por el fiduciario en el fideicomiso de garantía, posibilidad y límites de la aplicación analógica de disposiciones sobre derechos reales

La Inversión En Activos Extranjeros De Los Fondos Comunes De Inversión Y Una Limitación Que Debe Replantearse, Martin Paolantonio

Martin Paolantonio

Crítica de la solución normativa que restringe la inversión en activos extranjeros por parte de fondos comunes de inversión

La Oferta Pública En La Argentina De Participaciones De Fondos De Inversión Constituidos En El Extranjero (Resolución General 286 De La Cnv), Martin Paolantonio

Martin Paolantonio

Análisis de la primera reglamentación en la Argentina para la oferta pública de fondos de inversión extranjeros

Notas Sobre El Régimen De Las Alteraciones En El Derecho Cambiario Argentino, Martin Paolantonio, Diego Serebrinsky

Martin Paolantonio

Nota a fallo vinculado con la existencia de testaduras no salvadas en el documento cambiario y su consideración como alteraciones irrelevantes

Keeping Business Out Of The Bedroom: Protecting Personal Privacy Interests From The Retail World, 15 J. Marshall J. Computer & Info. L. 391 (1997), David J. Klein

UIC John Marshall Journal of Information Technology & Privacy Law

The federal government as well as private companies maintain personality profile lists containing records of personal information touching on many aspects of an individual's life. Some companies seek to acquire these lists from the federal government or from other businesses in order to increase their profits by targeting those individuals within the lists who appear most likely to buy their products or services. Therefore, personal information that consumers initially disclosed to a business in confidence becomes public knowledge shared among other businesses. As a result, consumers feel that the list creator invaded their privacy. Frustrated consumers attempt to keep such …

The Taiwan Consumer Protection Law: Attempt To Protect Consumers Proves Ineffective, Carol T. Juang

Washington International Law Journal

Consumer protection is a relatively new social issue in Taiwan. With the passage of the Taiwan Consumer Protection Law ("CPL"), the government of Taiwan has taken a tremendous step towards the protection of its consumers' rights. However, industry leaders as well as consumers have voiced concerns over many of the provisions and terms in the CPL. Consumers have not taken advantage of the CPL as a means of legal recourse for product-related injuries, and industry groups have asked the government to reexamine particular aspects of the CPL. Such reaction has essentially rendered the CPL an unproductive piece of legislation.