Consumer Protection Law Commons^™

Protecting Consumers Through Mandatory Disclosures: An Experimental Investigation Of Extended Warranties, Breagin K. Riley

Villanova Law Review (1956 - )

No abstract provided.

Anticompetitive Mergers In Labor Markets, Ioana Marinescu, Herbert J. Hovenkamp

Indiana Law Journal

Mergers of competitors are conventionally challenged under the federal antitrust laws when they threaten to lessen competition in some product or service market in which the merging firms sell. In many of these cases the threat is that in concentrated markets—those with only a few sellers—the merger increases the likelihood of collusion or collusion-like behavior. The result will be that the post-merger firm will reduce the volume of sales in the affected market and prices will rise.

Mergers can also injure competition in markets in which the firms purchase, however. Although that principle is widely recognized, very few litigated cases …

An Empirical Investigation Of Third Party Consumer Litigant Funding, Ronen Avraham, Anthony J. Sebok

Articles

This is the first large-scale empirical study of consumer third-party litigation funding in the United States. Despite being part of the American legal system for more than two decades there has been almost no real data-driven empirical study to date. We analyzed funding requests from American consumers in over 100,000 cases over a twelve year period. This proprietary data set was provided to us by one of the largest consumer litigation funder in the United States.

Our results are striking and important. We find that the funder plays an important role in the American legal system by screening cases. Our …

From Fitbits To Pacemakers: Protecting Consumer Privacy And Security In The Healthtech Age, Justin Evans, Katelyn Ringrose

Et Cetera

As wearable and analytics technology continues to be aggressively adopted, there is a congruent rise in data collection from wearable healthtech devices. This unprecedented rise in data collection poses massive privacy and security issues. This note addresses the benefits of IoT healthcare wearables and implants, as well as identifies where the privacy and security of data accrued by such devices could be improved. In an effort to better encapsulate the issue surrounding wearable device data collection, the authors analyze the many benefits of wearable healthcare devices, as well as look into the false sense of trust consumers have in the …

The [Un]Fair Debt Collection Practices Act: A Critique Of Henson V. Santander, Monica Paladini

Pepperdine Law Review

Congress was clear about its purposes and motivations behind enacting the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act of 1977. Namely, it set out to protect consumers from abusive debt collectors and to protect ethical debt collectors from being competitively disadvantaged by those who employ abusive tactics. Although Congress gave much time and effort to crafting the definition of “debt collectors” at the time of the Act’s passage, changes in the debt collection industry over the last four decades have greatly impacted the scope and reach of the FDCPA. Specifically, the advent and rise of debt purchasing have introduced an entirely new …

The Path To Standing: Asserting The Inherent Injury Of The Data Breach, Jennifer M. Joslin

Utah Law Review

Data breaches are on the rise as consumers continue to exchange personally identifiable information for goods and services in sectors from retail to healthcare. In the aftermath of a data breach, it has been difficult for victims of the breach to establish Article III standing to sue in federal courts. The primary hurdle for those seeking a remedy for the theft of their data has been showing that they have suffered an injury-in-fact. Plaintiffs typically assert an injury based on the increased risk of identity theft following a breach. However, courts have divided on whether such an injury satisfies the …

Privacy And Connected Objects, Nicolas Karsenti

Canadian Journal of Law and Technology

Our society perennially seeks to multiply its connectivity in the name of greater efficiency. Over the past few years, several devices that had previously been quite basic have been made ‘‘smarter” in order to facilitate a consumer’s life. A recent study highlights that some of the most common reasons for using ‘‘smart” objects are home automation and remote control. Thus, convenience is driving companies, particularly appliance makers, to connect their devices to the internet in order to make them ‘‘smart”. These range from intelligent thermostats, smart fridges, connected pacemakers, smart watches and personal assistants (PAs) such as Alexa, Siri or …

Assent To Terms In Consumer Contracts, Anthony J. Majestro Esq.

Center for Consumer Law and Education Events

No abstract provided.

The West Virginia Consumer Credit & Protection Act, Sandra M. Murphy Esq.

Center for Consumer Law and Education Events

No abstract provided.

Cfpb Proposed Rule-Making Highlights, Bruce M. Jacobs Esq.

Center for Consumer Law and Education Events

No abstract provided.

Your Home, Your Car, Your Money, Your Privacy, Our State, Norman Googel Esq.

Center for Consumer Law and Education Events

No abstract provided.

The Telephone Consumer Protection Act Of 1991, Danielle Waltz Esq.

Center for Consumer Law and Education Events

No abstract provided.

Consumer Protection: Addressing Unintended Costs, Mark Mangano Esq.

Center for Consumer Law and Education Events

No abstract provided.

Wv Division Of Financial Institutions: Regulatory Trends And Issues On The Horizon, Tracy Hudson Esq.

Center for Consumer Law and Education Events

No abstract provided.

Financial Exploitation In West Virginia, James L. Lindsay Esq.

Center for Consumer Law and Education Events

No abstract provided.

Implementation Of Civil Litigation Strategies In Consumer Cases, Troy Giatras Esq.

Center for Consumer Law and Education Events

No abstract provided.

Taxation Of Attorney's Fees, Jason Causey Esq.

Center for Consumer Law and Education Events

No abstract provided.

The Resurrection Of The Consumer Expectations Test: A Regression In American Products Liability, Tiffany Colt

University of Miami International and Comparative Law Review

No abstract provided.

Something To Wine About: What Proposed Revisions To Wine Labeling Requirements Mean For Growers, Producers, And Consumers, Deborah Soh

Brooklyn Journal of Corporate, Financial & Commercial Law

Title 27 of the Code of Federal Regulations governs the standards for the information that is printed on wine bottle labels, including the appellation of origin. Currently, however, wines are exempt from these regulations if they will not be introduced in interstate commerce. There is a proposed amendment to the Code that would bring all wines, regardless of whether they are sold interstate or solely intrastate, under the federal standards for wine labeling. Between the current system, which permits exempt wines to sidestep the regulations, and the proposal, which would exact strict standards of compliance uniformly, lies a middle-ground approach …

Proxy Voting Reform: What Is On The Agenda, What Is Not On The Agenda, And Why It Matters For Asset Owners., Cynthia A. Williams

Articles by Maurer Faculty

Investor proxy voting practices have entered the public spotlight again in 2018 as Congress and the Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC") consider changes to the rules which govern proxy voting and regulation of proxy advisors. The focus has largely been on companies 'frustration with an asserted out-sized influence of proxy advisory firms and the corporate community's long standing pushback to shareholder proposals, especially those dealing with environmental, social, and governance ("ESG') issues. However, an accurate recognition of the longstanding principles which underlie institutional investors 'fiduciary duties and provide the legal context for the exercise ofproxy voting rights has been largely …

The Dark Side Of The Pharmaceutical Industry: A Compound Of Issues, Geoffrey A. Marcus

University of Miami Inter-American Law Review

No abstract provided.

Makeup Call: How Cosmetic Product Use Affects Women Absent Federal Regulation, Gabrielle Eriquez

William & Mary Journal of Race, Gender, and Social Justice

No abstract provided.

Planned Obsolescence And Consumer Protection: The Unregulated Extended Warranty And Service Contract Industry, Larry A. Dimatteo, Stefan Wrbka

Cornell Journal of Law and Public Policy

This Article analyzes the billion-dollar market, mostly unregulated, for Extended Warranties and Service Contracts (EWSCs). EWSCs are ubiquitous in the modern marketplace, offered at every automobile dealership, electronics and appliance store either by a salesperson or the cashier. Incredibly, there is little legal scholarship in this important area where manufacturer-sellers often overreach by preying on consumer vulnerabilities. It will be argued that most sales of EWSCs result in price gouging due to informational asymmetry and behavioral manipulation. This Article looks at two core concepts that are inexorably interconnected- one in the legal world and the other in the world of …

States Empowering Plaintiff Cities, Eli Savit

University of Michigan Journal of Law Reform

Across the country, cities are becoming major players in plaintiff’s-side litigation. With increasing frequency, cities, counties, and other municipalities are filing lawsuits to vindicate the public interest. Cities’ aggressive use of lawsuits, however, has been met with some skepticism from both scholars and states. At times, states have taken action—both legislative and via litigation—to preempt city-initiated suits.

This Article contends that states should welcome city-initiated public-interest lawsuits. Such litigation, this Article demonstrates, vindicates the principles of local control that cities exist to facilitate. What is more, a motivated plaintiff city can accomplish public-policy goals that are important not just to …

Coty, Amazon, And The Future Of Vertical Restraints: Evolving Distribution Norms On Both Atlantic Shores, Chris Sagers

Law Faculty Articles and Essays

No abstract provided.

Procompetitive Justifications In Antitrust Law, John M. Newman

Indiana Law Journal

The Rule of Reason, which has come to dominate modern antitrust law, allows defendants the opportunity to justify their conduct by demonstrating procompetitive effects. Seizing the opportunity, defendants have begun offering increasingly numerous and creative explanations for their behavior.

But which of these myriad justifications are valid? To leading jurists and scholars, this has remained an “open question,” even an “absolute mystery.” Examination of the relevant case law reveals multiple competing approaches and seemingly irreconcilable opinions. The ongoing lack of clarity in this area is inexcusable: procompetitive-justification analysis is vital to a properly functioning antitrust enterprise.

This Article provides answers …

Time For A Fresh Look At Strict Liability For Pharmaceuticals, Mary J. Davis

Law Faculty Scholarly Articles

Part I provides a brief and basic explanation of pharmaceutical liability treatment. Part II explains the impact of federal preemption doctrine, which has dramatically limited the operation of tort law in pharmaceutical liability cases. Part III explains the parallel trends in the marketing and use of pharmaceuticals that increase the incidence of adverse drug events, affect prescribing practices, and fail to enhance informed practitioner and consumer choice in use of pharmaceuticals. Part IV provides support for the application of strict liability given the convergence of these trends. This Part also provides a theoretical justification for strict liability in tort for …

Legal Implications Of "Organic" Seafood Labeling Based On Foreign Standards, Read Porter, Kathryn Kulaga

Sea Grant Law Fellow Publications

No abstract provided.

Why Consumer Defendants Lump It, Emily S. Taylor Poppe

Northwestern Journal of Law & Social Policy

No abstract provided.

Why The Latest Ruling In The Sandy Hook Shooting Litigation Matters, Heidi Li Feldman

Georgetown Law Faculty Publications and Other Works

On March 19, 2019 the Connecticut Supreme Court officially released its opinion in Soto v. Bushmaster Firearms International, LLC. Because the decision greenlights civil discovery and trial for the Sandy Hook plaintiffs seeking compensation from the maker, distributor,and retailer of the gun used by the shooter, the ruling received much attention in the popular press. It is, however, very easy to get the wrong impression about the significance of the Connecticut Supreme Court’s decision and the avenues it creates for both the plaintiffs and the defendants in the litigation. The decision is both more and less significant than it seems …