Consumer Protection Law Commons^™

Modernizing Consumer Protection In The Financial Regulatory System; Strengthening Credit Card Protections: Hearing Before The S. Comm. On Banking, Housing, And Urban Affairs, 111th Cong., Feb. 12, 2009 (Statement Of Associate Professor Adam J. Levitin, Geo. U. L. Center), Adam J. Levitin

Testimony Before Congress

Transparent pricing is a prerequisite for an efficient, competitive market and responsible consumer behavior. If the card industry were required to price its products in a straightforward manner, and it were less costly for consumers to switch cards, deceptive practices would be harder to maintain, Truth-in-Lending disclosures would be more effective, as consumers would be able to easily compare cards and make informed decisions about card usage, and competitive pressures would push down total card, prices, forcing the card industry to operate more efficiently, benefiting all consumers.

I strongly urge Congress to pass legislation that creates transparency in credit card …

Study On Online Hotel Reservation Systems, Frank Alleweldt, Klaus Tonner, Marc Mcdonald

Articles

This study, conducted by Civic Consulting, looks at both pre-contractual and contractual matters concerning online hotel reservation systems, examines relevant Community rules, identifies gaps and, where needed, discusses possible policy options. Key conclusions The study shows that the impact of Community law on online hotel

Revitalizing Section 5 Of The Ftc Act Using “Consumer Choice” Analysis, Robert H. Lande

All Faculty Scholarship

This paper makes two points. First, Section 5 of the FTC Act, properly construed, is indeed significantly broader and more encompassing than the Sherman Act or Clayton Act. Section 5 violations include incipient violations of the other antitrust laws, and also violations of their policy or spirit.

Second, the best - and probably the only - way to interpret Section 5 in an expansive manner is to do so in a way that also is relatively definite, predictable, principled and clearly bounded. This best can be done if Section 5 is articulated using the consumer choice framework. Without the discipline …

When Patients Say No (To Save Money): An Essay On The Tectonics Of Health Law., Mark A. Hall, Carl E. Schneider

Articles

The ultimate aim of health care public policy is good care at good prices. Managed care stalled at achieving this goal by trying to influence providers, so health policy has turned to the only market-based option left: treating patients like consumers. Health insurance and tax policy are now pressuring patients to spend their own money when they select health plans, providers, and treatments. Expecting patients to choose what they need at the price they want, consumerists believe that market competition will constrain costs while optimizing quality. This classic form of consumerism is today's watchword. This Article evaluates this ideal type …

Student Comprehension Of Privacy Issues In Sns, Collaborative Project

Dyson College- Seidenberg School of CSIS : Collaborative Projects and Presentations

This entry adheres to the use of the quad chart template to provide for a succint description only of the current research project undertaken by the participants. It provides for the following information:

1. Participant/s
2. Overall project goals
3. Illustrative picture/s
4.Specific research/artistic/pedagogic foci

Consumer Harm Acts? An Economic Analysis Of Private Actions Under State Consumer Protection Acts, Henry N. Butler, Jason S. Johnston

Faculty Working Papers

State Consumer Protection Acts (CPAs) were adopted in the 1960s and 1970s to protect consumers from unfair and deceptive practices that would not be redressed but for the existence of the acts. In this sense, CPAs were designed to fill existing gaps in market, legal and regulatory protections of consumers. CPAs were designed to solve two simple economic problems: 1) individual consumers often do not have the incentive or means to pursue individual claims against mass marketers who engage in unfair and deceptive practices; and, 2) because of the difficulty of establishing elements of either common law fraud or breach …

The Pending Credit Card Debt Meltdown: What's Happening In Your Wallet, Kathleen M. Moore

St. Thomas Law Review

AIG, the sub-prime market meltdown, bailouts for the Big Three automakers-it would be nice if bad things really only came in threes. But there is another crisis looming on the horizon, burgeoning credit card debt. Indeed, a coalition of organizations has banded together to urge Senate leaders to protect credit card consumers as part of the bailout package. As an examination of the existing laws reveals, there is little or no control or oversight of credit card issuers. To date, the credit card companies have successfully avoided any detrimental federal legislation. Instead, credit card companies were the biggest beneficiaries of …

The Ftc Takes Action On Stop-Foreclosure Scams, Kyle Gaffaney

Loyola Consumer Law Review

No abstract provided.

Editor's Note, Sarah Tennant

Loyola Consumer Law Review

No abstract provided.

Some Thoughts On The Methodological Approach To Ec Consumer Law Reform, Cristina Poncibo

Loyola Consumer Law Review

The reform of the Consumer Acquis is underway. In this paper, I aim to contribute to the current debate by focusing upon methodological questions. In particular, I claim that - in order to understand the current problems in consumer protection - comparative private scholarship needs to broaden its horizon and develop a dialogue with public law scholars involved in the field of New Governance. I propose to rely on a methodology that I call the "hybrid approach", a method that could bridge the current divide between private and public lawyers. I also stress the need to focus on comparative studies, …

Calculating Projected Disposable Income Of An Above-Median Chapter 13 Debtor, Matthew Showel

Loyola Consumer Law Review

No abstract provided.

The Great Transformation. Administrative And Judicial Enforcement In Consumer Protection: A Remedial Perspective, Fabrizio Cafaggi

Loyola Consumer Law Review

No abstract provided.

Competition Remedies In Consumer Markets, Luke Garrod, Morton Hviid, Graham Loomes, Catherine Waddams Price

Loyola Consumer Law Review

No abstract provided.

Checks And Balances: European Competition Law And The Rule Of Law, Philip Marsden

Loyola Consumer Law Review

No abstract provided.

Federal Ban On Automated Prerecorded Messages, So-Called "Robocalls," Goes Into Effect, Kyle Gaffaney

Loyola Consumer Law Review

No abstract provided.

Checks And Balances: European Competition Law And The Rule Of Law, Philip Marsden

Loyola Consumer Law Review

No abstract provided.

Does Antitrust Regulation Violate The Rule Of Law?, Elbert L. Robertson

Loyola Consumer Law Review

No abstract provided.

Financial Regulatory Reform: A New Foundation Or More Of The Same?, Michael W. Boyer

Loyola Consumer Law Review

No abstract provided.

You Can Move In But You Can't Stay: To Protect Occupancy Rights After Halprin, The Fair Housing Act Needs To Be Amended To Prohibit Post-Acquisition Discrimination, 42 J. Marshall L. Rev. 751 (2009), Scott N. Gilbert

UIC Law Review

No abstract provided.

The Unaccountability Of The Accounting Regulators: Analyzing The Constitutionality Of The Public Company Accounting Oversight Board, 42 J. Marshall L. Rev. 1019 (2009), Whitney Innes

UIC Law Review

No abstract provided.

Who's In Charge Here? Requiring More Transparency In Corporate America: Advancements In Beneficial Ownership For Privately Held Companies, 42 J. Marshall L. Rev. 1049 (2009), Dean Kalant

UIC Law Review

No abstract provided.

Redefining Disposable Income In Chapter 13 Plans: Moving Forward Into A "New Era In The History Of Bankruptcy Law", 42 J. Marshall L. Rev. 1107 (2009), Lauren Sylvester

UIC Law Review

No abstract provided.

A License To Deceive: Enforcing Contractual Myths Despite Consumer Psychological Realities, 5 N.Y.U. J. L. & Bus. 617 (2009), Debra Pogrund Stark, Jessica M. Choplin

UIC Law Open Access Faculty Scholarship

No abstract provided.

Over-Indebtedness, The Subprime Mortgage Crisis, And The Effect On U.S. Cities, A. Mechele Dickerson

Fordham Urban Law Journal

This article discusses the rise of consumer debt in the United States, and argues that relaxed lending standards resulting in more people buying unaffordable homes. The current financial crisis and its effects on homeowners are examined, as well as policy responses to the crisis. The author suggests that instead of waiting for federal bailouts, localities take proactive steps to prevent the crisis from destroying their cities. Finally, the article stresses that the crisis threatens to leave urban areas with a significant number of abandoned homes and that an increase in distressed neighborhoods may reverse years of urban renewal projects.

Reducing Home Mortgage Foreclosures In A Predatory Lending Environment: A Case Study Of Mid-Sized City In Central New York, Sandra Phillips

Fordham Urban Law Journal

This article discusses the growing problem of predatory lending, particularly in low-income, inner city neighborhoods, with a case study of communities in Syracuse, New York. The author documents mortgage lending activities and foreclosure patterns in central New York and argues for continued education throughout the home-buying process. A program that reduced foreclosures in low-income urban neighborhoods is discussed. The article also identifies red flags for those involved in the eradication of predatory lending to be altered to, and examines recent federal legislation to strengthen mortgage lending guidelines and reduce foreclosures. The author concludes that Congress should support foreclosure-prevention education initiatives.

Rewriting Contracts, Wholesale: Data On Voluntary Mortgage Modifications From 2007 And 2008 Remittance Reports, Alan M. White

Fordham Urban Law Journal

This article examines voluntary efforts by mortgage servicers to resolve the mortgage debt overhang by renegotiating mortgage terms with borrowers. Data from national reports on mortgage modifications, as well as from monthly remittance reports by mortgage servicers to their investors is analyzed. The author provides background of the voluntary plan to resolve the subprime mortgage crisis and previous reports on voluntary loan modifications, and presents data on loan modification outcomes. The author concludes that the voluntary mortgage renegotiation plan, while significantly reducing hardship for individual homeowners temporarily, does little to get at the underlying problem of debt overhang. Furthermore, that …

Ratings Failure: The Need For A Consumer Protection Agenda In Rating Agency Regulation, David J. Reiss

Cornell Law Faculty Working Papers

As the credit crisis unfolds, rating agencies have been properly identified as playing a central role in causing the crisis and misleading investors. What has been forgotten in this acrimonious environment is that in their quest to increase the market for their services, rating agencies also took positions that were particularly bad for many homeowners.

This article first reviews the explosive growth of the subprime mortgage market. It then discusses the ways in which the leading rating agencies, Standard & Poor’s, Moody’s and Fitch, acted as government-approved gatekeepers to the financial markets and contributed to the rapid expansion of the …

Challenging The Roots Of The Subprime Mortgage Crisis: The Occ's Operating Subsidiaries Regulations And Watters V. Wachovia Bank, Wook Bai Kim

Loyola Consumer Law Review

In 2007, the Supreme Court in Watters v. Wachovia Bank finally sided with the OCC's preemption of state consumer protection laws which had policed operating subsidiaries of national banks. In drawing this conclusion, the OCC's unchallenged interpretations of the incidental powers of the NBA-the argument that "the national bank has incidental power to conduct business through operating subsidiaries"--played a determinative role, effectively rendering those subsidiaries subject to the exclusive regulation of the OCC. However, this paper argues that the OCC's construction is contrary to law and is unreasonable given the plain language of the NBA, precedential case law and the …

Organic Foods Production: What Consumers Might Not Know About The Use Of Synthetic Substances, Aubrey Parlet

Loyola Consumer Law Review

No abstract provided.

Disparity Out Of Uniformity: Rethinking The Continued Vitality Of The Carmack Amendment's Pre-Emption Of State Consumer Protection Laws, Scott Davis

Loyola Consumer Law Review

No abstract provided.