Consumer Protection Law Commons^™

Labeling Of Credence Attributes In Livestock Production: Verifying Attributes Which Are More Than "Meet The Eye", Nicole J. Olynk, Christopher A. Wolf, Glynn T. Tonsor

Journal of Food Law & Policy

Americans are increasingly sensitive to the conditions under which the foods they purchase and consume are produced. It is becoming commonplace for consumers to incorporate perceived environmental impacts, animal welfare concerns, and other process attributes into food purchase decisions. Increased interest in production practices and technologies employed in food production has been seen in the U.S. specifically concerning irradiation, antibiotics, and hormone and pesticide use. Perhaps one of the most controversial technologies employed in food production today is the use of genetic engineering. Not surprisingly, consumers are particularly sensitive about practices employed or technologies used in foods produced specifically for …

Fighting Freestyle: The First Amendment, Fairness, And Corporate Reputation, Rebecca Tushnet

Georgetown Law Faculty Publications and Other Works

There are three distinct groups who might want to engage in speech about commercial entities or to constrain those commercial entities from making particular claims of their own. Competitors may sue each other for false advertising, consumers may sue businesses, and government regulators may impose requirements on what businesses must and may not say. In this context, this Article will evaluate a facially persuasive but ultimately misguided claim about corporate speech: that because consumers regularly get to say nasty things about corporations under the lax standards governing defamation of public figures, corporations must be free to make factual claims subject …

Canadian Food Law Update, Patricia L. Farnese

Journal of Food Law & Policy

Provided below is an overview of developments in Canadian food law and policy in 2009. This update primarily analyzes the regulatory and policy developments and litigation activities by the federal government. This focus reflects the significance of federal activities in the food policy realm. In 2009, regulatory and policy developments continue to be dominated by the 2008 Listeriosis outbreak in ready-to-eat, deli meats. Other noted activities include Canada's ongoing efforts to minimize the effects of infectious diseases related to meat production, Canada's request for a WTO panel to consider the effects of American Country of Origin Labelling, and an initiative …

A Healthy Diet Of Preemption: The Power Of The Fda And The Battle Over Restricting High Fructose Corn Syrup From Food And Beverages Labeled 'Natural', Adam C. Schlosser

Journal of Food Law & Policy

America is unhealthy. America faces an obesity epidemic. The food consumed by Americans is making them fat. Americans, bombarded every single day by negative headlines like these, are becoming more and more health conscious. This newfound commitment to health is reflected in the food and beverages Americans purchase.

Dietary Supplements And Structure-Function Claims: The Dysfunctional Structure Of Current Regulation, Matthew W. Lindsey

Journal of Food Law & Policy

Twenty percent of Americans report using one of the more than thirty thousand dietary supplement products generated by an estimated one thousand manufacturers, contributing to an industry exceeding twenty billion dollars globally. Fueled by increasing public interest in individual health, dietary supplement manufacturers in the United States (U.S.) continue to exploit the weaknesses in the way the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) regulates these products. Dietary supplement manufacturers perpetuate the perceived safety of supplements through the advertisement of structure-function claims, which many consumers mistakenly assume to be the same as FDA-regulated health claims.

European Union Food Law Update, Emilie H. Leibovitch

Journal of Food Law & Policy

In June 2009, citizens of the European Union elected a new European Parliament. Some Members of the European Parliament (MEPs) were reelected while some were not. The majority party is the EPP, the Group of the European People's Party, and the Group of the Progressive Alliance of Socialists & Democrats has the second majority of the seats. The elections were still governed by the Treaty of Nice, since up until very recently, the future of the Treaty of Lisbon was still uncertain. The Treaty of Lisbon was up until now rejected by a few Member States, who, by their reluctance …

United States Food Law Update: Food Allergy Labels, Reaching Organic Equivalence, Misbranding Litigation And Regulatory Takings, A. Bryan Endres, Michaela N. Tarr

Journal of Food Law & Policy

The start of 2009 found the nation transitioning to a new presidential administration, speculating on the impact new appointees to the executive branch may have on regulatory priorities and monitoring a bill' making its way through Congress that seeks a substantial overhaul of the food regulatory system. This version of the Food Law Update will analyze two major developments in food allergy labeling: finalization of rules requiring the labeling of Cochineal extract/ carmine and an analysis of the proposed "gluten-free" product labels. The update next discusses the execution of an equivalency agreement between the United States and Canada with respect …

Commercial Speech, "Irrational" Clients, And The Persistence Of Bans On Subjective Lawyer Advertising, Nat Stern

BYU Law Review

No abstract provided.

Consumer Interest In Corporate Law, David Yosifon

Faculty Publications

This Article provides a comprehensive assessment of the consumer interest in dominant theories of the corporation and in the fundamental doctrines of corporate law. In so doing, the Article fills a void in contemporary corporate law scholarship, which has failed to give sustained attention to consumers in favor of exploring the interests of other corporate stakeholders, especially shareholders, creditors, and workers. Utilizing insights derived from the law and behavioralism movement, this Article examines, in particular, the limitations of the shareholder primacy norm at the heart of prevailing "nexus of contracts" and "team production" theories of the firm. The Article concludes …

Introduction: The Boundaries Of Intellectual Property Symposium, I. Trotter Hardy

William & Mary Law Review

No abstract provided.

Trademarks As A Media For False Advertising, J. Shahar Dillbary

Cardozo Law Review

This Article explores an unnoticed aspect of trademark law which in some instances may constitute a license to cheat. It shows that under certain circumstances a seller can use its own trademark to mislead its customers, free from legal sanction, in contexts where the same behavior would be sanctioned if the seller used other advertising media. The Article then explores how an alternate conception of the economic function of trademarks can be used to understand the informational value of trademarks and their advertising function. After identifying circumstances appropriate for legal intervention, the Article concludes with a proposal for a new …

Terms Subject To Change: Assent And Unconscionability In Contracts That Contemplate Amendment, Daniel Watkins

Cardozo Law Review

No abstract provided.

Fraud Is Fun: Or How A Foreclosure Rescue Scam Changed My Life, Peter A. Holland

Faculty Scholarship

No abstract provided.

Advertising Trends And Consumer Protection: Hearing Before The S. Comm. On Commerce, Science And Transportation, 111th Cong., July 22, 2009 (Statement Of David Vladeck, Geo. U. L. Center), David C. Vladeck

Testimony Before Congress

No abstract provided.

Demand-Side Gatekeepers In The Market For Home Loans, Edward J. Janger, Susan Block-Lieb

Faculty Scholarship

No abstract provided.

The Duty Of Care And The Data Control Systems In The Wake Of Sarbanes-Oxley, Michael R. Siebecker

Chicago-Kent Law Review

The essay examines the wisdom of exempting small public companies from Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 (SOX), which requires companies to provide management assessment and external auditing of a company's internal control systems over financial data. In particular, the essay questions whether a fiduciary duty of care might require officers and directors to adopt internal control systems, perhaps substantially similar to those envisioned by SOX, even if small public companies were exempt from the ambit of the statute.

Reasons Why We Should Amend The Constitution To Protect Privacy, Deborah Pierce

Chicago-Kent Law Review

Threats to consumer privacy are many, and varied. Some threats come from corporate entities such as data aggregators and social networking sites; while others come from panoptics government surveillance systems such as Secure Flight. Not only can the data be compromised, but consumers may be adversely affected by incorrect information in their files. The time may be right to explicitly protect privacy via a constitutional amendment to the U.S. Constitution.

Coding Privacy, Lilian Edwards

Chicago-Kent Law Review

Lawrence Lessig famously and usefully argues that cyberspace is regulated not just by law but also by norms, markets and architecture or "code." His insightful work might also lead the unwary to conclude, however, that code is inherently anti-privacy, and thus that an increasingly digital world must therefore also be increasingly devoid of privacy. This paper argues briefly that since technology is a neutral tool, code can be designed as much to fight for privacy as against it, and that what matters now is to look at what incentivizes the creation of pro- rather than anti-privacy code in the mainstream …

Unlocking The Wireless Safe: Opening Up The Wireless World For Consumers, Adam Clay

Federal Communications Law Journal

Facing resistance to the use of its Voice-over-Internet Protocol application on mobile phones, in February 2007, Skype Communications filed a petition with the FCC asking for application of the Carterfone standards to the wireless phone industry. This Note discusses Carterfone and the merits of Skype's petition in light of the recent auction of the C Block, which carries open network requirements, and developments in wireless technology. This Note argues that the FCC should require carriers to provide technical standards for access to their networks, whereby individuals will be able to connect any approved device and application of their choosing.

Who Needs Tickets? Examining Problems In The Growing Online Ticket Resale Industry, Clark P. Kirkman

Federal Communications Law Journal

The Internet has dramatically changed the methods by which people purchase tickets to events. In the past decade, the secondary ticket market has grown exponentially, and today the online ticket resale industry is valued at approximately $4 billion. Although there are consumer benefits to this industry growth, some of the industry practices have precipitated a consumer backlash. This was typified in 2007 when many parents, hoping to purchase tickets to the Hannah Montana "Best of Both Worlds Tour," watched as tickets sold out online in only a few minutes or less. Coupled with this episode was the Ticketmaster v. RMG …

The Price Of Abuse: Intel And The European Commission Decision, Robert H. Lande

All Faculty Scholarship

The May 13, 2009 decision by the European Commission ('EC') holding that Intel violated Article 82 of the Treaty of Rome and should be fined a record amount and prohibited from engaging in certain conduct, set off a predictable four part chorus of denunciations:

1. Intel did nothing wrong and was just competing hard;
2. Intel's discounts were good for consumers;;
3. The entire matter is just another example of Europeans protecting their own against a more efficient U.S. company; and;
4. Even if Intel did engage in anticompetitive activity, the fine was much too large. These assertions will be addressed in turn.;

Acknowledgements, Michel Rosenfeld

Cardozo Law Review

No abstract provided.

United States Food Law Update: Pasteurized Almonds And Country Of Origin Labeling, A. Bryan Endres

Journal of Food Law & Policy

The last six months of 2008 found the nation occupied with a heated presidential election campaign and the transition to a new party's control of the executive branch. The outgoing president, as is often the case in the waning months of an administration's time in office, attempted to finalize several policy initiatives. This version of the Food Law Update will discuss two major developments with significant long-term impact on the law of food: the implementation of mandatory country of origin labeling (COOL) for most unprocessed agricultural commodities; and the increasing use of the United States Department of Agriculture's (USDA) Agricultural …

Whatever Happened To Old Mac Donald's Farm… Concentrated Animal Feeding Operation, Factory Farming And The Safety Of The Nation's Food Supply, Julie Follmer, Roseann B. Termini

Journal of Food Law & Policy

Today, livestock farming is a far stretch from the nostalgic notion of animals grazing in green pastures, roaming free in the fresh country air and returning at the end of the day to a cozy barn. Simply stated, livestock farming is a large scale business, where tens of thousands of animals are swiftly raised industrial-style for maximum profit. Under the "factory farm" model, large corporate owned operations grow quantities of animals for slaughter for human consumption as food. In fact, livestock farms now raise 40% of all animals in the United States.

Equalizing The Playing Field: The Time Has Come For Secondary Meaning In The Making In Small Restaurant Trade Dress Infringement Cases, John Pesek

Journal of Food Law & Policy

Imagine it is opening day for your first restaurant. It has taken months, if not years, to get to this point and you have spent a lot of money in developing the menu, artist style, and feel for the restaurant. A few months after the opening of your restaurant, a competing restaurant, right down the block from your restaurant, opens its doors; its menu and overall look are virtually indistinguishable from your restaurant. You are left wondering what remedies, if any, you have as a small restaurant owner. This was the case for Chef Rebecca Charles and her Pearl Oyster …

Consumer Debt - Are Credit Cards Bankrupting Americans: Hearing Before The Subcomm. On Commercial & Administrative Law Of The H. Comm. On The Judiciary, 111th Cong., April 2, 2009 (Statement Of Associate Professor Adam J. Levitin, Geo. U. L. Center), Adam J. Levitin

Testimony Before Congress

I urge the Congress to take up a comprehensive program of credit card reform legislation. While repealing parts of the BAPCPA is a key element to creating a fair and sustainable card lending industry, that alone will not eliminate predatory lending models. Instead, I strongly urge the Congress to consider mandating term standardization and price structure simplification for credit cards.

Implied Reverse Preemption, Anita Bernstein

Faculty Scholarship

No abstract provided.

The Rebate "Rip-Off": New York's Legislative Responses To Common Consumer Rebate Complaints, Matthew A. Edwards

Pace Law Review

No abstract provided.

Monopoly Pricing On Campus: New York's Textbook Access Act, Gary Minda

Pace Law Review

No abstract provided.

Abusive Credit Card Practices And Bankruptcy: Hearing Before The S. Comm. On The Judiciary, 111th Cong., March 24, 2009 (Statement Of Associate Professor Adam J. Levitin, Geo. U. L. Center), Adam J. Levitin

Testimony Before Congress

The Marquette decision created a regulatory arbitrage possibility that set off a regulatory race to the bottom. Congress should act to close this loophole. There is a reasonable debate to be had on usury regulations, but that is one that should be held in legislatures, not determined by the Supreme Court's interpretation of a hoary statute. A 1970s interpretation of an 1863 law should not be what determines 21st century consumer credit regulation. Congress should permit the states, the laboratories of democracy, to go further than S.257 if they wish in regulating high-interest-rate consumer credit. This essential consumer protection power …