Consumer Protection Law Commons^™

Article Iii Standing, The Sword And The Shield: Resolving A Circuit Split In Favor Of Data Breach Plaintiffs, R. Andrew Grindstaff

William & Mary Bill of Rights Journal

The recent proliferation of data breaches is one such event requiring a rethreading of standing doctrine. The Courts of Appeal are currently split on whether to allow or deny standing for data breach plaintiffs—those persons seeking recourse from the entities that fell victim to the breach and therein lost plaintiffs’ data to an unknown third party. Standing requires plaintiffs to show some injury, and how courts approach the concept of injury in these data breach cases determines whether plaintiffs will survive the standing analysis. Despite the disparate treatment of litigants across the circuits, the Supreme Court has repeatedly punted when …

Consumer Protection In Ecommerce: A Case Study Of Egypt, Heba Habib

Theses and Dissertations

This paper examines electronic contract regulation in the context of business-to-consumer transactions. The technological advancement and cross-border nature of e-commerce have posed significant challenges to the Egyptian legal framework highlighting the limitations of general commercial contract rules with regards to electronic contracts. This thesis argues that access to the courts is hindered by restrictive terms in the electronic contracts over which the Egyptian law has no jurisdictional power. Accordingly, private institutions set the rules in the e-contracts and enforce them through private methods leaving no room for state intervention to ensure the protection of consumers. Hence, the application of national …

Throw The Book At Them: Why The Ftc Needs To Get Tough With Influencers, Christopher Terry, Eliezer Joseph Silberberg, Stephen Schmitz

Journal of Law and Policy

The Federal Trade Commission is an administrative agency that has traditionally been aggressive when deploying its delegated authority. At the core of these actions is the FTC’s interpretive definition of deception as based upon a reasonable consumer standard. Specifically, the commission has regularly used Section 5(a) of the FTC Act, in tandem with its interpretive definition of deception, as a sword in a variety of contexts, including enforcement actions for deceptive advertising, endorsements, and claim substantiation against a range of industries. These include successfully brought actions or consent decrees obtained in enforcement proceedings against powerful economic entities, including Google and …

Bully No More: Why Trademark Owners Engage In Trademark Overreach And How To Prevent It, Quynh La

Washington Law Review

At its core, trademark law exists as a tool for consumer protection. Thus, trademark owners use policing and enforcement to maintain a trademark’s goodwill, which in turn protects consumers from confusion. But policing and enforcement can lead to trademark overreach and bullying—which undermine the goal of trademark law. This Comment explains that trademark owners are incentivized to engage in aggressive enforcement tactics because courts weigh enforcement efforts in favor of trademark strength. And strong trademarks receive strong protection because such marks are more likely to succeed in trademark infringement litigation. To curb trademark bullying and realign trademark law with its …

Predatory Fintech And The Politics Of Banking, Christopher K. Odinet

Faculty Scholarship

With American families living on the financial edge and seeking out high-cost loans even before COVID-19, the term financial technology or “fintech” has been used like an incantation aimed at remedying everything that’s wrong with America’s financial system. Scholars and supporters from both the public and private sector proclaim that innovations in financial technology will “bank the unbanked” and open new channels to affordable credit. This exuberance for all things tech in finance has led to a quiet yet aggressive deregulatory agenda, including, as of late, a federal assault via rulemaking on the ability of states to police the cost …

Cy Prés Settlements In Privacy Class Actions / Acuerdos Cy Prés En Acciones De Clase Sobre Privacidad, Thomas E. Kadri, Ignacio N. Cofone

Articles

This essay considers the potential for using cy prés settlements in privacy class actions. These settlements are a procedural mechanism to overcome distribution challenges in class actions. When it is too burdensome to prove individual claims or too costly to distribute damages to class members, courts on occasions award damages to a charity or non-profit organization involved in work serving the class members' interests. These controversial settlements have been gaining attention in various legal systems. The U.S. Supreme Court recently considered their propriety in Frank v. Gaos, while courts in Canada and several Latin American countries have been experimenting with …

Let's Stop Playing Games: Why Better Congressional Interaction Is Required To Protect Young Gamers, Dominick Tarantino

Brooklyn Journal of Corporate, Financial & Commercial Law

This Note addresses the predatory nature of video game microtransactions, the serious risks they pose, and why an improved plan of legislative intervention is necessary to protect young, vulnerable video game consumers. With loot box microtransactions driving a flourishing industry that has reached unprecedented levels of success, adequate consumer protection cannot properly be achieved through self-regulation. Senator Josh Hawley’s Protecting Children from Abusive Games Act is a step in the right direction, but its broad language will result in unintended consequences that can cripple the entire industry. Revising the bill’s language will protect the intended young consumer and allow for …

The Commodification Of Personal Data And The Road To Consumer Autonomy Through The Ccpa, Blaire Rose

Brooklyn Journal of Corporate, Financial & Commercial Law

The internet has transformed into a museum of personal information collected through the digital footprint we leave behind after each act performed on the web. Businesses have monetized this collection of personal data in various ways. For instance, many companies analyze this information through predicting analytics and data profiling to identify consumer interests that they can exploit as a means to generate revenue. Though user data promotes many benefits for businesses and consumers alike, the recent data breaches of massive companies, coupled with hazy privacy disclosures that beget consent disputes, have left both users and businesses perturbed and exposed to …

Consumer Electronic Right To Repair Laws: Focusing On An Environmental Foundation, Joshua Turiel

William & Mary Environmental Law and Policy Review

No abstract provided.

Getting Away With Murder: How California State Law Determined Recovery In First Roundup Cancer Case Johnson V. Monsato Co., Eliza L. Quattlebaum

Villanova Environmental Law Journal (1991 - )

No abstract provided.

A Storm Is Brewing: How Federal Ambivalence Regarding Below-Cost Pricing Turns A Blind Eye To Monopoly Risk In The Beer Market, Daniel Croxall

Loyola of Los Angeles Law Review

Large beer manufacturers, known colloquially as “Big Beer,” have been steadily losing market share to small, independent craft breweries. Big Beer wants it market share back, and in some cases will go to great lengths to try to defend its dominance—even anticompetitive conduct. Below-cost pricing is one avenue that presents a risk to independent craft breweries. This Article examines how Big Beer can manipulate the beer market in its favor by engaging in predatory pricing. Further, this Article proposes a solution that could be implemented on a nation-wide scale to curtail Big Beer’s anticompetitive activities with respect to pricing.

No Shirt, No Shoes, No Mask, No Entry, And (Hopefully) No Lawsuits Under The Georgia Covid-19 Business Safety Act!, Franklin Schrum

Mercer Law Review

The COVID-19 Pandemic continues to send shockwaves throughout the United States and all other nations by impacting much more than just the way we live and go about our normal day. Today, in most states, it is considered a common norm to see someone wearing a mask, frequently using sanitizer, or even stocking up on an abnormal amount of household items like toilet paper. Globally, over a million lives have been lost, businesses have become bankrupt, and the economy initially fallen substantially due to the Pandemic. Prominent retailers such as Brooks Brothers, J. Crew, and JCPenney have all filed for …

Attempting—And Failing—To Balance Fairness And Efficiency In The Arbitral System: How Arbitration Institutions Are Defeating The Purpose Of Arbitration, Hannah N Myslik

Texas A&M Law Review

The Supreme Court has actively expanded the Federal Arbitration Act into realms not originally contemplated by Congress. This harms consumers who are parties to pre-dispute, binding arbitration agreements. If consumers sign a contract containing an arbitration agreement, they may be required to arbitrate everything within the agreement’s scope, including their statutory rights. Simultaneously, the Court has restricted class action arbitration—a device on which consumers have relied when they are forced to arbitrate.

The Court’s expansion of arbitration and restriction of class action arbitration has led many to distrust and advocate for changing the arbitral system. Arbitration institutions have directly reacted …

Preparing Halal Tourism Regulations In Indonesia, Deden Effendi, Aden Rosadi, Yoyok Prasetyo, Cucu Susilawati, Mohamad Anton Athoillah

International Journal of Religious Tourism and Pilgrimage

The study discusses the preparation of halal tourism regulations in Indonesia. The aim is to illustrate the importance of halal tourism regulations and how this may strengthen the Indonesian economy. This study is a qualitative one, using academic books and articles in addition to a review of law and regulations as the analysis method. It demonstrates that halal tourism requires principal regulations to be used as guidelines for halal tourism implementation. These can be used both by halal tourism business operators and tourists as halal tourism consumers. Law Number 33 of 2014 concerning Halal Product Guarantee and Government Regulation Number …

The Rise Of "Fringetech": Regulatory Risks In Earned-Wage Access, Nakita Q. Cuttino

Northwestern University Law Review

By many accounts, the financial technology, or FinTech, sector appears to have developed an innovative solution to assist low-income workers with income shortfalls between standard paydays by displacing fringe financial service providers, namely payday lenders. Earned wage access programs facilitate early transfers of earned-but-unpaid wages to low- income workers through mobile platforms, algorithmic technology, and GPS tracking. To many, earned wage access programs represent a win-win for employees and employers. These programs are believed to be cheaper and safer alternatives to payday loans. Preliminary research also suggests these programs improve labor-retention rates for employers and help reduce financial distress for …

Corruption In Capsules: How It Is Legal For Companies To Put Harmful Ingredients In Vitamins And Dietary Supplements, Emily Leggiero

English Department: Research for Change - Wicked Problems in Our World

The vitamin and supplement industry has increased exponentially in profits as well as potential products on the market since the turn of the century. However, these products are not regulated, nor do they undergo any premarket clinical research or testing. Public health is compromised by vitamins and supplements that are available for American consumption that is disproportionately unregulated to their chemically similar counterparts. This wicked problem is facilitated through the combination of historical legislative definitions that has since been distorted for corrupt administrative gain through the allotment of corporate expenditures. Company disbursements are made to the same policymakers that create …

Standing Up For Consumers: Whether Third Party Payors Can Establish Standing To Sue Against Drug Manufacturers Under Civil Rico, Brianna Vollman

University of Cincinnati Law Review

No abstract provided.

Did Monsanto Pay A Plaintiff To Force Preemption Appeal? Plus: Judges Debate Vices And Virtues Of Virtual Mdl Hearings, Elizabeth Chamblee Burch, Amanda Bronstad

Popular Media

Welcome to Critical Mass, Law.com’s weekly briefing for class action and mass tort attorneys. Monsanto insists a “high-low settlement” with a Roundup plaintiff wasn’t designed to manufacture an appellate ruling. The chairwoman of the U.S. Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation, which has continued to hold hearings amid the pandemic, says there is “something missing” in virtual oral arguments. What does President Joe Biden’s recognition of the Armenian genocide mean for lawyers representing descendants of the victims?

The Power Of The "Internet Of Things" To Mislead And Manipulate Consumers: A Regulatory Challenge, Kate Tokeley

Notre Dame Journal on Emerging Technologies

The “Internet of Things” revolution is on its way, and with it comes an unprecedented risk of unregulated misleading marketing and a dramatic increase in the power of personalized manipulative marketing. IoT is a term that refers to a growing network of internet-connected physical “smart” objects accumulating in our homes and cities. These include “smart” versions of traditional objects such as refrigerators, thermostats, watches, toys, light bulbs, cars, and Alexa-style digital assistants. The corporations who develop IoT are able to utilize a far greater depth of data than is possible from merely tracking our web browsing in regular online environments. …

The Rental Crisis Will Not Be Televised: The Case For Protecting Tenants Under Consumer Protection Regimes, Eric Sirota

University of Michigan Journal of Law Reform

The Foreclosure Crisis of the 2000s has likely hurt renters more than homeowners. Incongruously, however, consumer enforcement agencies have been far more zealous in protecting mortgagors than tenants. This Article explores the under-protection of tenants as a class of consumers, particularly in a “commoditized” rental market, and examines how consumer enforcement agencies can more zealously incorporate tenant-protection into their mandates.

Much of the prior literature on the legal protections afforded tenants was published in the wake of the consumer rights revolution of the 1970s. This Article is the first to carefully reexamine, in the context of the modern rental market, …

The Mdl Revolution And Consumer Legal Funding, Ronen Avraham, Lynn A. Baker, Anthony J. Sebok

Articles

Third-party consumer legal funding, where financial companies advance money on a nonrecourse basis to assist individual plaintiffs with living expenses, is an increasingly popular and controversial part of American litigation. And consumers with mass tort claims pending in Multi-District Litigations (MDLs) constitute the fastest growing sector of those seeking assistance from this billion-dollar funding industry. Policy makers, mass tort plaintiffs' lawyers, and scholars have increasingly raised concerns about exorbitant interest rates and have called for regulations to protect vulnerable consumers from “predatory lending.” To date, however, the policy debate has largely relied on anecdotes and speculation because flinders have not …

Taking It With You: Platform Barriers To Entry And The Limits Of Data Portability, Gabriel Nicholas

Michigan Technology Law Review

Policymakers are faced with a vexing problem: how to increase competition in a tech sector dominated by a few giants. One answer proposed and adopted by regulators in the United States and abroad is to require large platforms to allow consumers to move their data from one platform to another, an approach known as data portability. Facebook, Google, Apple, and other major tech companies have enthusiastically supported data portability through their own technical and political initiatives. Today, data portability has taken hold as one of the go-to solutions to address the tech industry’s competition concerns.

This Article argues that despite …

Dignity, Freedom, And Digital Rights: Comparing American And European Approaches To Privacy, Virginia Kozemczak

Cardozo International & Comparative Law Review

The note examines the contrasting approaches of the United States and the European Union to digital privacy, emphasizing how the US prioritizes liberty while the EU focuses on dignity. It argues that US privacy law, particularly under the Fourth Amendment, struggles to adapt to technological advancements, as seen in cases like Carpenter v. United States. In contrast, the EU's framework, guided by Article 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights, offers more comprehensive protections by addressing the broader context of data collection and processing. The author suggests that the US could enhance its privacy protections by adopting elements …

Implikasi Atas Objek Perjanjian Yang Keliru Dalam Akta Pengakuan Utang Dan Kuasa Menjual Yang Dibuat Notaris Berdasarkan Putusan Mahkamah Agung Nomor 279 K/Pdt/2017, Hana Theresia Lamtarida

Indonesian Notary

Notaris memiliki kewenangan utama yakni untuk membuat suatu akta autentik. Akta yang dihasilkan Notaris mempunyai kekuatan pembuktian yang sempurna jika telah memenuhi suatu syarat autentisitas dan terpenuhinya syarat sahnya suatu perjanjian. Syarat objektif yang tidak terpenuhi oleh para pihak dalam syarat sahnya suatu perjanjian ini mengakibatkan kebatalan pada Akta Pengakuan Utang dan Kuasa Menjual serta kedudukan dari suatu Kuasa Menjual itu sendiri yang tidak tepat karena dijadikan sebagai suatu jaminan atas pelunasan utang piutang dalam kasus tersebut. Sebagai Notaris, seharusnya dapat menjalankan tugas dan jabatannya sesuai dengan sumpah jabatannya yang tertera dalam Undang-Undang Jabatan Notaris. Adapun rumusan masalah yang dibahas …

Perlindungan Hukum Bagi Pembeli Dalam Akta Jual Beli Yang Batal Demi Hukum Berdasarkan Putusan Hakim, Kory Ulama Sari Budiarti

Indonesian Notary

Pelaksanaan jual beli dalam realitanya seringkali ditemukan permasalahan, baik itu permasalahan langsung terjadi pada saat pelaksanaan jual beli maupun permasalahan yang baru muncul di masa mendatang. Permasalahan yang terjadi dalam pelaksanaan jual beli jika tidak menemukan penyelesaian dapat mengakibatkan batalnya akta jual beli. Salah satu permasalahan yang terjadi dalam pelaksanaan jual beli adalah ketidakwenangan seseorang menjual objek jual beli. Keberhasilan pelaksanaan jual beli dilakukan oleh penjual yang tidak memiliki kewenangan atas objek tentunya menyimpang dari ketentuan prosedur jual beli. Kurangnya pemahaman pembeli dan PPAT dalam melakukan jual beli menjadikan pembeli dan PPAT membiarkan perjanjian jual beli berlangsung tanpa memikirkan akibat …

Ketidakabsahan Pemindahan Hak Atas Saham Akibat Transaksi Menggunakan Cek Kosong (Studi Putusan Pengadilan Tinggi Dki Jakarta Register Perkara Nomor 51/Pdt/2019/Pt.Dki.), Lize Maydner

Indonesian Notary

This research discusses the implementation of the transfer of rights to shares in PT Permitra Parahyangan Prakasa, with a buying and selling mechanism that is paid using a cheque as the decision of the High Court of DKI Jakarta Register Case No. 51/PDT/2019/PT.DKI. The dispute occurred as a result of the use of cheque with an effective postponed date which was later proven in the trial to be a blank check, so that from the beginning at the time of the signing of the deed of sale can be ascertained there will never be an implementation of payment obligations on …

Perlindungan Hukum Bagi Pemenang Lelang Pada Pelaksanaan Lelang Berdasarkan Pasal 6 Undang-Undang Hak Tanggungan Dalam Putusan Pengadilan Negeri Bandung Nomor 517/Pdt.G/2017/Pn.Bdg., R. Yismoyo Amanta

Indonesian Notary

Tulisan ini membahas Putusan Pengadilan Negeri Bandung Nomor 517/Pdt.G/2017/PN.Bdg mengenai pemenang lelang yang belum terpenuhi haknya terhadap objek lelang dalam pelaksanaan lelang eksekusi hak tanggungan. Tidak terpenuhinya hak pemenang lelang tersebut didasarkan pada pemilik objek lelang belum menyerahkan objek lelang kepada pemenang lelang, mengingat pelaksanaan lelang eksekusi hak tanggungan tersebut telah memenuhi syarat pelaksanaan lelang. Permasalahan dalam penelitian ini adalah perlindungan hukum bagi pemenang lelang dalam pelaksanaan lelang eksekusi hak tanggungan serta penyelesaian hukum terhadap belum diserahkannya objek lelang kepada pemenang lelang. Metode penelitian yang digunakan adalah metode yuridis normatif. Sedangkan tipologi yang digunakan dalam penelitian ini adalah penelitian deskriptif …

Akta Notaris Sebagai Bukti Kepemilikan Dan Keabsahan Jual Beli Saham Berkaitan Dengan Penyetoran Modal Oleh Pendiri Perseroan (Analisis Putusan Pengadilan Tinggi Dki Jakarta Tanggal 29 Agustus 2018 Nomor 374/Pdt/2018/Pt.Dki.), Asteria Tiar Novita

Indonesian Notary

Saham dalam Perseroan Terbatas yang diambil oleh pemgenga saham harus ditempatkan dan disetor penuh. Dalam proses pendirian maupun perubahan struktur permodalan, bukti setor harus dilampirkan untuk mendapat pengesahan atau persetujuan dari Kementerian Hukum dan HAM. Pembuatan akta mengenai saham Perseroan Terbatas pada umumnya dibuat secara notaril untuk selanjutnya disampaikan ke Kementerian Hukum dan HAM. Dalam praktik masih terdapat anggapan bahwa bukti setor modal merupakan hal yang menjadi salah satu dasar keabsahan kepemilikan saham dalam perseroan. Hal tersebut seolah maragukan kekuatan pembuktian akta autentik sebagai alat bukti yang valid dalam membuktikan kedudukan pemegang saham perseroan atas kepemilikan sahamnya. Selanjutnya masih ditemukan …

Konversi Utang Menjadi Saham Sebagai Kompensasi Tagihan Yang Mengakibatkan Dilusi Saham (Studi Kasus: Putusan Mahkamah Agung Republik Indonesia Nomor 118 Pk/Pdt/2017), Cyntia Catharina Junita

Indonesian Notary

Setiap pemegang saham memiliki hak untuk mendapatkan keuntungan dan manfaat dari penyertaannya dalam suatu perseroan sesuai dengan besaran kepemilikan sahamnya, dimana perseroan memiliki kewajiban untuk memenuhi hak masing-masing pemegang saham tersebut, termasuk pemegang saham minoritas. Suatu perseroan terbatas dapat melakukan penambahan modal sewaktu-waktu sebagaimana diperlukan. Perseroan terbatas wajib untuk menawarkan saham kepada para pemegang saham yang telah ada atas saham baru yang dikeluarkannya tersebut, atau dikenal dengan hak memesan efek terlebih dahulu. Atas kewajiban untuk menawarkan saham baru tersebut terdapat beberapa pengecualian, dimana salah satunya adalah dalam hal konversi utang menjadi penyertaan saham dalam perseroan terbatas yang telah disetujui oleh …

Open World Regulation: The Urgent Need For Federal Legislation On Video Game Loot Boxes, Alex Reyes

Washington Journal of Law, Technology & Arts

Loot boxes are items in video games that contain randomized prizes that players can purchase with real-world money. In recent years, loot boxes have come under scrutiny because the relationship between behavior and the underlying mechanics of loot boxes are similar to that of addictive behaviors associated with real-world gambling. Many papers suggest solutions focused on industry changes without direct regulation. However, these papers neglect the enormous profit incentive to maintain a business practice which can have detrimental behavioral effects on children. The United States federal government must take example from a growing number of European countries and ban the …