Consumer Protection Law Commons^™

Digital Content Contracts For Consumers, Marco Loos, Chantal Mak, Lucie Guibault, Lodewijk Pessers, Natali Helberger

Articles, Book Chapters, & Popular Press

The application of consumer law to digital content contracts encounters a number of obstacles. Some of these are rather typical for digital content markets, e.g., the legal consequences of the classification of digital content as “goods” or “services”, and more importantly, the absence of general benchmarks to evaluate the conformity of digital content. Other problems, such as the limited usefulness of consumer information and the position of underage consumers, are not as such reserved to digital consumers, but they are amplified in the digital content markets. Moreover, particular attention is paid to the complex relationship between copyright law and consumer …

Consumer Litigation Financing In Illinois: Seeking Security And Legitimization Through Regulation, Michael J. Howlett

Loyola Consumer Law Review

No abstract provided.

When Toning Shoes Strengthen Nothing More Than Likelihood Of Lawsuit: Why The Federal Trade Commission Needs Guidelines Regarding Proper Substantiation Of Fitness Advertisements, Heather M. Mandelkehr

Jeffrey S. Moorad Sports Law Journal

No abstract provided.

Improving The Lives Of Individuals In Financial Distress Using A Randomized Control Trial: A Research And Clinical Approach, Lois R. Lupica, Dalie´ Jimenez, D. James Greiner, Rebecca L. Sandefur

Faculty Publications

This Article describes an ambitious Randomized Control Trial (RCT) in the area of consumer debt collection. Randomized trials are the same kind of evaluation that the law requires (or at least strongly encourages) before new drugs and medical devices may be sold to the public. Although they have not yet gained widespread popularity in the evaluation of legal systems, randomized trials are uniquely effective ways of assessing whether any benefits observed after implementation of legal or educational assistance programs are really due to those programs as compared to other factors, such as unusual levels of competence or motivation of program …

The Significance Of The Distinction Between Children And Adults For Consumer Protection, M. Neil Browne, Lauren Biksacky

Loyola Consumer Law Review

No abstract provided.

New Powers Under Food Safety Modernizaton Act: Fda Proposes New Rules To Cobat Foodborne Illness , Agostino S. Filippone

Loyola Consumer Law Review

No abstract provided.

Hitting Calories Out Of The Ballpark: An Examination Of The Fda's New Menu Labeling Laws And Their Impact On Sports Spectatorship, Crystal T. Williams Esq., Antonio S. Williams Ph.D.

Loyola Consumer Law Review

No abstract provided.

After Ten Years, Sarbanes-Oxley Might Be Statutory Overkill, Harvey Gilmore

Loyola Consumer Law Review

No abstract provided.

Hipaa's Influence On Consumers: Friend Or Foe?, Anna Covert

Loyola Consumer Law Review

No abstract provided.

The Foreclosure Echo: How Abandoned Foreclosures Are Re-Entering The Market Through Debt Buyers, Judith Fox

Loyola Consumer Law Review

No abstract provided.

Suitability And Non-Maleficence: A Proposal For Insurance Producer Regulatory Reform , Mark Franke

Loyola Consumer Law Review

No abstract provided.

Consumer Subject Review Boards: A Thought Experiment, Ryan Calo

Articles

The adequacy of consumer privacy law in America is a constant topic of debate. The majority position is that United States privacy law is a “patchwork,” that the dominant model of notice and choice has broken down, and that decades of self-regulation have left the fox in charge of the henhouse. A minority position chronicles the sometimes surprising efficacy of our current legal infrastructure.

But the challenges posed by big data to consumer protection feel different. They seem to gesture beyond privacy’s foundations or buzzwords, beyond “fair information practice principles” or “privacy by design.” The challenges of big data may …

Where The Fcra Meets The Fdcpa: The Impact Of Unfair Collection Practices On The Credit Report, Mary B. Spector

Faculty Journal Articles and Book Chapters

This Article explores the impact that contemporary practices in consumer debt collection litigation may have on credit reporting and scoring. In doing so, it pays particular attention to available data regarding the use of unfair collection practices in such litigation, and considers whether consumer reports of such litigation unfairly burden consumers’ ability to obtain housing, employment, insurance, or credit. It highlights some of the obstacles consumers face at the intersection of the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act and the Fair Credit Reporting Act and considers alternative proposals to provide fair and accurate information relating to consumer debts while also preventing …

The Psychology Of Contract Precautions, David A. Hoffman, Tess Wilkinson-Ryan

All Faculty Scholarship

This research tests the intuition that parties to a contract approach each other differently before the contract is formed than they do once it is finalized. We argue that one of the most important determinants of self-protective behavior is whether the promisee considers herself to be in negotiations or already in an ongoing contract relationship. That shift affects precaution-taking even when it has no practical bearing on the costs and benefits of self-protection: the moment of contracting is a reference point that frames the costs and benefits of taking precautions. We present the results of three questionnaire studies in which …

Sacrificial Lambs: Compensating First Subscribers To Fda-Approved Medications For Postmarketing Injuries Resulting From Unlabeled Adverse Events, Rodney K. Miller

Catholic University Law Review

No abstract provided.

Giving Consumers A Leg To Stand On: Finding Plaintiffs A Legislative Solution To The Barrier From Federal Courts In Data Security Breach Suits, Patricia Cave

Catholic University Law Review

No abstract provided.

The Litigation Financing Industry: Regulation To Protect And Inform Consumers, Martin J. Estevao

University of Colorado Law Review

Litigation financing companies ("LFCs") provide nonrecourse cash advances to plaintiffs in exchange for a portion of their lawsuits' potential future proceeds. While this arrangement allows individuals to continue to litigate without having to accept unjust settlement offers, desperate consumers are often forced to pay inequitable interest rates for the cases they finance. Because there is no absolute obligation to repay the LFC, the industry manages to avoid regulation under state interest rate ceilings for consumer loans. The few existing litigation financing laws do not restrict the interest rates that LFCs may charge, and even if some courts are willing to …

Products Liability And Economic Activity: An Empirical Analysis Of Tort Reform's Impact On Businesses, Employment, And Production, Joanna M. Shepherd

Vanderbilt Law Review

For decades, advocates of tort reform have argued that expansive products liability stifles economic activity by imposing excessive and unpredictable liability costs on businesses. Although politicians aspiring to create jobs, attract businesses, and improve the economy have relied on this argument to enact hundreds of reforms, it has largely gone empirically untested. No longer. Using the most comprehensive dataset to date on products liability reforms and economic activity, I find that many reforms that restrict the scope of products liability improve economic conditions. Specifically, these reforms increase the number of businesses, employment, and production in the industries that face most …

The Electronic Silk Road: How The Web Binds The World In Commerce, Anupam Chander

Georgetown Law Faculty Publications and Other Works

On the ancient Silk Road, treasure-laden caravans made their arduous way through deserts and mountain passes, establishing trade between Asia and the civilizations of Europe and the Mediterranean. Today’s electronic Silk Roads ferry information across continents, enabling individuals and corporations anywhere to provide or receive services without obtaining a visa. But the legal infrastructure for such trade is yet rudimentary and uncertain. If an event in cyberspace occurs at once everywhere and nowhere, what law applies? How can consumers be protected when engaging with companies across the world?

In this accessible book, cyber-law expert Anupam Chander provides the first thorough …

The Protected Profits Benchmark: Responses To Comments, Steven C. Salop

Georgetown Law Faculty Publications and Other Works

In my earlier article, I proposed the “Protected Profits Benchmark” (PPB) price standard for determining whether or not a vertically integrated monopolist is engaged in a refusal to deal or price squeeze in violation of Section 2 of the Sherman Act. The PPB would be used where market benchmarks do not exist or do not apply. Violating the PPB price involves profit-sacrifice, which suggests anticompetitive animus. When products are homogeneous, a wholesale price that violates this price standard would exclude an equally efficient entrant. As a result, there will be less competition in the downstream (output) market in which the …