Law Commons^™

Dodd-Frank, Regulatory Innovation, And The Safety Of Consumer Financial Products, Melissa Jacoby

Melissa B. Jacoby

Among the many parts of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act, few have received as much mainstream attention as the creation of the Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection. As is often the case with legislation in recent years, though, some of the most vocalized critiques of the Bureau lack a foundation in Dodd-Frank as enacted or in the Bureau’s start-up efforts. This brief essay explores the nature of the Bureau and its promising possibilities for regulatory innovation that should transcend stale debates about regulatory overreach or command-and-control approaches. This commentary also reviews the unusual dialogue preceding Dodd-Frank …

In Or Out Of Mortgage Trouble? A Study Of Bankrupt Homeowners, Melissa B. Jacoby, Daniel T. Mccue, Eric M. Belsky

Melissa B. Jacoby

We examine the determinants of missed payments and foreclosure initiation among a national sample of homeowners who filed for personal bankruptcy in 2007, using a rich dataset from the 2007 Consumer Bankruptcy Project.

Credit access had a significant effect on keeping mortgages current across all of our models: access to, and reliance on, credit cards reduced the chance of missed payments and default, increasing the likelihood that bankruptcy could produce a fresh start. Missed mortgage payments also were associated with a substantial drop in income and with the use of a mortgage broker. The probability of foreclosure initiation was lower …

Making Debtor Remedies More Effective, Melissa B. Jacoby

Melissa B. Jacoby

Commissioned for a conference on credit markets at Harvard Business School in February 2010, this paper explores functional system design and the role of lawyers and intermediaries in providing debtor remedies in a complex legal system. The thesis of this paper, which proceeds in the “law and society” tradition, is that the location of a remedial right within the debtor-creditor system substantially affects the costs and benefits of the remedy for debtors, creditors, the system, and society. In other words, merely adding specific substantive provisions does not directly translate into actual protection. Relatedly, policymakers must recognize that lawyers and other …

The Value(S) Of Foreclosure Law Reform, Melissa Jacoby

Melissa B. Jacoby

This symposium contribution examines the starkly different values reflected in traditional legal literature on foreclosure law reform in the U.S. as compared to some more recent entries in the wake of the rise of subprime lending and higher rates of residential mortgage default. I highlight economist Dean Baker’s “right to rent” proposal, which would give former homeowners leasehold rights at market rates, to illustrate a more progressive set of housing policy considerations and to challenge the assumption that ownership is essential or optimal to promoting various housing objectives.

Credit For Motherhood, Melissa Jacoby

Melissa B. Jacoby

This essay builds on prior work exploring the impact of consumer lenders who sell credit products for assisted reproduction and adoption. After reviewing some basic attributes of the parenthood lending market, the essay discusses how not-for-profit lenders promote traditional conceptions of motherhood and the division of carework in ways that credit discrimination laws were not designed to address. The essay also articulates some incentives of for-profit lenders to sell motherhood and potential implications for women who are ambivalent about becoming parents.

Managing Medical Bills On The Brink Of Bankruptcy, Melissa B. Jacoby, Mirya Holman

Melissa B. Jacoby

This paper presents original empirical evidence on financial interactions between medical providers and their patients who go bankrupt. We use a nationally representative sample of people who filed for bankruptcy in 2007 to compare two popular but hotly contested methods of measuring medical burden. By applying both methods to the same filers, we find that nearly four out of five respondents had some financial obligation for medical care not covered by insurance in the two years prior to filing as measured by the survey method. The court record method paints a different picture, with only half of the cases containing …

Empirical And Policy Perspectives On Consumer Bankruptcy Law In The United States (In Endeudamiento Del Consumidor E Insolvencia Familiar), Melissa Jacoby

Melissa B. Jacoby

This chapter, published in Spanish, offers new empirical data from the U.S. on consumer bankruptcy filers from the 2007 Consumer Bankruptcy Project, an evaluation of the two-chapter bankruptcy system, and proposals for structural reform.

Bankruptcy Reform And The Financial Crisis, Melissa Jacoby

Melissa B. Jacoby

No abstract provided.

The Debt Financing Of Parenthood, Melissa B. Jacoby

Melissa B. Jacoby

In this contribution to the symposium Show Me the Money: Making Markets in Forbidden Exchange, I explore an under-appreciated participant in the assisted reproduction and adoption industries: consumer lenders. Through fertility clinics and other service providers, financial institutions market and distribute loans specifically to finance acquisition of treatments, drugs, and human eggs. Adoption foundations and agencies advertise for-profit loans to intended parents, while small foundations offer adoption loans that appear to be low-cost financially but may condition loan approval on intended parent characteristics such as religious observance, marital status, sexual orientation, and adherence to traditional gender roles. After discussing how …

Home Mortgage Problems Through The Lens Of Bankruptcy, Melissa B. Jacoby

Melissa B. Jacoby

Based on a lecture at a predatory lending conference at Loyola University New Orleans School of Law, this brief paper discusses the 2007 Consumer Bankruptcy Project and how the empirical study of bankruptcy law informs our understanding of the intersection of mortgages and homeownership with financial distress, and whether bankruptcy can provide meaningful redress.

Home Ownership Beyond A Subprime Crisis: The Role Of Delinquency Management, Melissa B. Jacoby

Melissa B. Jacoby

No abstract provided.

The Debtor-Patient Revisited, Melissa B. Jacoby

Melissa B. Jacoby

No abstract provided.

Bankruptcy Reform And Homeownership Risk, Melissa Jacoby

Melissa B. Jacoby

No abstract provided.

Individual Health Insurance Mandates And Financial Distress: A Few Notes From The Debtor-Creditor Research And Debates, Melissa B. Jacoby

Melissa B. Jacoby

No abstract provided.

Bankruptcy Reform And The Cost Of Sickness: Exploring The Intersections, Melissa B. Jacoby

Melissa B. Jacoby

No abstract provided.

Fast, Cheap, And Creditor Controlled: Is Corporate Reorganization Failing?, Melissa Jacoby

Melissa B. Jacoby

No abstract provided.

Beyond Hospital Misbehavior: An Alternative Account Of Medical Related Financial Distress, Melissa B. Jacoby, Elizabeth Warren

Melissa B. Jacoby

No abstract provided.

Ripple Or Revolution? The Indeterminacy Of Statutory Bankruptcy Reform, Melissa B. Jacoby

Melissa B. Jacoby

No abstract provided.

The Debtor-Patient: In Search Of Non-Debt Alternatives, Melissa Jacoby

Melissa B. Jacoby

No abstract provided.

Congressional Testimony: A Review Of Hospital Billing And Collection Practices, Melissa Jacoby

Melissa B. Jacoby

No abstract provided.

Negotiating Bankruptcy Legislation Through The News Media, Melissa B. Jacoby

Melissa B. Jacoby

No abstract provided.

Does Indebtedness Influence Health? A Preliminary Inquiry, Melissa Jacoby

Melissa B. Jacoby

Winner of the Young Scholar Award from the American Society of Law, Medicine, and Ethics

Foreclosing On Fame: Exploring The Uncharted Boundaries Of The Right Of Publicity, Melissa B. Jacoby, Dianne Leenheer Zimmerman

Melissa B. Jacoby

No abstract provided.

Rethinking The Debates Over Health Care Financing: Evidence From The Bankruptcy Courts, Melissa B. Jacoby, Teresa A. Sullivan, Elizabeth Warren

Melissa B. Jacoby

No abstract provided.

Collecting Debts From The Ill And Injured; The Rhetorical Significance, But Practical Irrelevance, Of Culpability And Ability To Pay, Melissa Jacoby

Melissa B. Jacoby

No abstract provided.

Medical Problems And Bankruptcy Filings, Melissa B. Jacoby, Teresa A. Sullivan, Elizabeth Warren

Melissa B. Jacoby

No abstract provided.