Law Commons^™

Rethinking Principals Of Comparative Fault In Light Of California's Proposition 51, James A. Gash

Pepperdine Law Review

No abstract provided.

Big Business Beware: Punitive Damages Do Not Violate Fourteenth Amendment According To Pacific Mutual Life Insurance Co. V. Haslip, Christopher V. Carlyle

Pepperdine Law Review

No abstract provided.

Vaccines And The Law, Michael Sanzo Ph.D.

Pepperdine Law Review

The last twenty years have seen a sea-change in the area of proving causation in the toxic tort setting, with courts demanding stronger, scientifically tested evidence. At the same time, a closely related debate has been raging about separating cause from coincidence under the National Childhood Vaccine Injury Act compensation program for injuries that might have been the result of vaccinations. The Vaccine Act created a no-fault compensation fund financed by a tax on childhood vaccines to address harms resulting from those vaccines. Unfortunately, Congress gave little direction with regard to the level of causal certainty that would be required …

An Analysis Of Warranty Claims Instituted By Non-Privity Plaintiffs In Jurisdictions That Have Adopted Uniform Commercial Code Section 2-318 (Alternative A), William L. Stallworth

Pepperdine Law Review

No abstract provided.

"You May Have Already Won. . .": Telemarketing Fraud And The Need For A Federal Legislative Solution , Patrick E. Michela

Pepperdine Law Review

No abstract provided.

Outsourcing Regulation: How Insurance Reduces Moral Hazard, Omri Ben-Shahar, Kyle D. Logue

Michigan Law Review

This Article explores the potential value of insurance as a substitute for government regulation of safety. Successful regulation of behavior requires information in setting standards, licensing conduct, verifying outcomes, and assessing remedies. In various areas, the private insurance sector has technological advantages in collecting and administering the information relevant to setting standards and could outperform the government in creating incentives for optimal behavior. We explore several areas that are regulated more by private insurance than by government. In those areas, the role of the law diminishes to the administration of simple rules of absolute liability or no liability, and affected …

Smoking Out Big Tobacco: Some Lessons About Academic Freedom, The World Wide Web, Media Conglomeration, And Public Service Pedagogy From The Battle Over The Brown & Williamson Documents, Clay Calvert

Pepperdine Law Review

No abstract provided.

Selling Structured Settlements: The Uncertain Effect Of Anti-Assignment Clauses , Gregory Scott Crespi

Pepperdine Law Review

No abstract provided.

Buying A Lie: The Harms And Deceptions Of Ghostwriting, T. J. Fosko

University of Arkansas at Little Rock Law Review

Ghostwriters are hired by politicians, celebrities, professionals and even established authors to do the work of writing for significant monetary compensation. Although ghostwriters receive no professional credit for their authorship, publishers who employ ghostwriters enjoy the financial windfall of marketing a book by a well-known person. While the economic harm of purchasing a relatively inexpensive book from what the consumer thought was a best-selling author is relatively slight, the serious harm of ghostwriting is the message received by the consumer who thinks that the ideas and message of the book come from the purported author.

Despite the inherently deceptive nature …

Ip Protection Of Fashion Design: To Be Or Not To Be, That Is The Question, Xinbo Li

IP Theory

No abstract provided.

From Representation To Research And Back Again: Reflections On Developing An Empirical Project, Mary Spector

University of the District of Columbia Law Review

No abstract provided.

Grave Consequences For Economic Liberty: The Funeral Industry's Protectionist Occupational Licensing Scheme, The Circuit Split, And Why It Matters, Lana Harfoush

The Journal of Business, Entrepreneurship & the Law

This article examines a current circuit split regarding the constitutionality of restrictive occupational licensing schemes that exist only for protectionist purposes. The Sixth Circuit in Craigmiles v. Giles and the Tenth Circuit case Powers v. Harris, are cases that revolve around similar facts but reach opposite outcomes. The two cases profile state funeral industry licensing restrictions. In both cases, the plaintiffs were penalized for selling caskets without state-issued licenses. Though licensing restrictions in the funeral industry affect most Americans as consumers, the scope of this circuit split reaches into nearly every industry. When businesses lobby governments to enact legislation, they …

Access To Consumer Remedies In The Squeaky Wheel System , Amy J. Schmitz

Pepperdine Law Review

This article explores the “Squeaky Wheel System” (“SWS”) in business-to-consumer (“B2C”) contexts, referring to merchants’ reservation of purchase remedies and other contract benefits for only the relatively few “squeaky wheel” consumers who have the requisite information and resources to persistently seek assistance. The article uncovers how this system fosters contractual discrimination and hinders consumers’ awareness and access with respect to contract remedies. It also adds empirical insights from my recent e-survey, and offers suggestions for using the internet to empower consumers of all economic and status levels with efficient and accessible means for learning about their purchase rights and asserting …

The Protection Of Consumers’ Rights And The Application Of Criminal Law In The Unlawful Operation Of Services And Content Service Applications, Edmon Makarim

Indonesia Law Review

Media reports on cases of the theft of pre-paid pulses taking place nowadays have created a misunderstanding in terms of the appropriate application of criminal law. In the context of existing legal provisions concerning consumer protection as setf orth both under the Consumer Protection Law as well as in part under the Telecommunications Law, law enforcement agencies are leaning towards applying general criminal provisions (theft) which, after a careful observation of the Indonesian Criminal Code, in fact do not extend to corporate criminal acts. This paper purports to explain that the currently occurring cases of the theft of pre-paid pulses …

The Informational And Institutional Theories Of Off-Label Promotion, Miguel A. Lopez

San Diego Law Review

This Article contends that there are two distinct theories of the offense of off-label promotion—the informational theory and the institutional theory. One is concerned with controlling the flow of medical knowledge and the other is concerned with protecting regulatory legitimacy. Different kinds of evidence are key under each theory. I argue that although the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (FD&C Act) and its accompanying regulations emphasize the informational theory, federal prosecutors rely more heavily on the legal arguments that underpin the institutional theory of enforcement. A corollary to this contention is that the informational theory of off-label promotion does …

Determining The Proper Pleading Standard Under The Private Securities Litigation Reform Act Of 1995 After In Re Silicon Graphics , Erin Brady

Pepperdine Law Review

No abstract provided.

Who Decides Whether Clarity Is Clear?: An Analysis Of Tila’S Clarity Of Disclosure Requirement In Actions By Consumers Against Creditor Card Companies, Brandon Mohr

Pace Law Review

Section 1 begins by discussing credit card usage and the levels of debt of American consumers. Section 2 outlines the history of TILA, which was promulgated by Congress in 1968, as well as the enforcement power bestowed by Congress on the Federal Reserve Board to implement TILA. This exploration also includes descriptions of Regulation Z and the Schumer Box requirements that state exactly what information needs to be clearly and conspicuously displayed in credit card application materials as well as how the information is to be displayed for consumers to review. Section 3 discusses the recent Ninth Circuit case Rubio …

Settling With Your Hands Tied: Why Judicial Intervention Is Needed To Curb An Expanding Interpretation Of The Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, Pete J. Georgis

Golden Gate University Law Review

This Comment argues that the broad interpretation of the FCPA’s business nexus requirement, which criminalizes payments that both directly and indirectly “obtain or retain business,” encourages prosecutorial abuse and deviates from the intended purpose of the Act. The Justice Department’s expansive approach to FCPA enforcement has cost companies tremendously, even though the Act’s drafters intended for a more balanced approach. Part I of this Comment will discuss the history and background of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act of 1977 and its amendments in 1988 and 1998. Part II will examine the application of the business nexus requirement in United States …

Reforming Retransmission Consent, Meg Burton

Federal Communications Law Journal

Under the retransmission consent regulations of the 1992 Cable Act, broadcasters and cable providers must negotiate with one another for permission to retransmit a broadcast signal over a cable system. While the majority of such negotiations are resolved amicably, there has been a growing trend of negotiations resulting in signal blackouts that harm consumers. In March 2010, cable providers filed a Petition for Rulemaking with the FCC arguing that the current regulations are outdated and asking that the FCC alter the regulations to curb harmful negotiation tactics employed by broadcasters. Broadcasters replied that the retransmission consent scheme is working as …

Behavioral Advertising: The Cryptic Hunter And Gatherer Of The Internet, Joanna Penn

Federal Communications Law Journal

In an era where three out of every four Americans have Internet access, the term "surfing" has transformed from riding waves into running the risk of having private information gathered, stored, and disseminated-all without the user's knowledge or permission. This new found online practice, known as "behavioral advertising," is a veritable goldmine for those companies that know the game. But will the FTC or Congress soon make new rules concerning how to play? This Note begins by explaining the differences between behavioral targeting and retargeting and the techniques that the two methods use to collect data. This Note then explores …

“Strong Words, Gentle Deeds”: Evaluating The Effectiveness Of The Maryland Immigration Consultant Act Five Years On, Cori Alonso-Marsden

Legislation and Policy Brief

On February 7, 2005, legislators introduced in the Maryland General Assembly a bill entitled “Consumer Protection – Immigration Consulting Services.” Designated as House Bill 691, the legislation sought to protect Maryland consumers through a series of civil and criminal provisions targeting consultants for unauthorized immigration legal practice. Primarily, House Bill 691 limited the types of services an immigration consultant could offer and the claims she could make regarding those services. In addition, the law required that the consultant provide the client with a posted disclaimer regarding the scope of the service, and a written contract prior to the provision of …

Judicial Policing Of Consumer Arbitration , Edward A. Dauer

Pepperdine Dispute Resolution Law Journal

Adhesive consumer arbitration agreements pose questions that go beyond the problems of adhesion contracting generally. This essay describes why standard-form consumer arbitration requirements may be particularly troublesome. Despite its superficial neutrality, arbitration between individual consumers and business entities may be systematically more favorable to the business entities. The rules of arbitration law, however, inhibit effective judicial policing of the consequences of those inequalities. The federal sources of arbitration law further diminish the ability of state-based contract law to police the more subtle abuses. The result is a particularly difficult jurisprudential problem with a specially weakened legal solution. This essay offers, …

Charge Me, Pay Me, But Don't Even Think Of Litigating Me: The Dominance Of Arbitration In Truth-In-Lending Claims , M. Susan Hale

Pepperdine Dispute Resolution Law Journal

This article analyzes the impact of the courts' ever increasing priority to enforce arbitration agreements in Truth In Lending Act (TILA) claims and reform. Part I entails a general discussion of TILA's logistics; the goals, the means, and the remedies. Part II briefly traces the rise of arbitration as well as evaluating its various advantages and disadvantages. Part III reports on the current emphasis of enforcing arbitration agreements in federal courts by explaining the basis of enforcing the agreement. Part IV explores the impact of arbitrating TILA claims on the claim and on individuals. Part V provides an analysis of …