Consumer Protection Law Commons^™

The Misuse Of Product Misuse: Victim Blaming At Its Worst, Robert A. Adler, Andrew F. Popper

William & Mary Business Law Review

This Paper addresses the legal consequences that surface when a consumer uses a product in a manner not specifically intended by that product’s designer or manufacturer. If a product is used in a reasonably foreseeable manner, the fact that the use is at odds with a manufacturer’s intention should not be a basis to deny tort liability or limit the regulatory options of the Consumer Product Safety Commission. If a product proves to be unsafe, defective, dangerous, or otherwise hazardous to users and consumers, use patterns should not be the primary determinant in assessing regulatory and common law sanctions or …

Market-Based Innovation In Consumer Protection, Kelli Alces Williams

Scholarly Publications

In the aftermath of the financial crisis of 2008, low-income borrowers have been virtually shut out of the housing market. The spectacular failure of overzealous subprime lending at the beginning of the century is the culprit. Creditworthy borrowers exist in that underserved population, though regulation and the continued dominance of traditional banks in the mortgage market have conspired to deny those borrowers access to credit. A market solution to this problem exists and is gaining momentum. Financial technology firms have begun to focus on the borrower experience and to create tools to help unsophisticated borrowers navigate complex financial products. This …

Gorsuch's Purgatory: Attempting To Define Debt Collector Under The Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, Matthew Haan

Georgia State University Law Review

Part I of this Note provides background on the FDCPA and the federal agencies charged with its enforcement. Part I also provides background on judicial analysis of the FDCPA before Henson v. Santander and explains the nature of the Supreme Court’s decision. Part II analyzes the ramifications of Henson v. Santander for debtors and debt purchasers. Part II also analyzes how the Supreme Court’s decision can affect the CFPB. Part III proposes and discusses a three-tiered solution that involves congressional and CFPB action and discusses what would happen if Congress and the CFPB left the solution up to the courts.

A Flood-Not A Ripple-Of Harm: Proximate Cause Under The Fair Housing Act, Justin P. Steil, Daniel Traficonte

Cardozo Law Review

Over the past decade, several city governments across the country have filed suits against banks pursuant to the Fair Housing Act seeking redress for municipal damages caused by the banks' discriminatory lending practices. Following the ruling in Bank of America Corp. v. City of Miami, lower courts are now confronting the question of where to "draw the line" of proximate causation under the Fair Housing Act, and specifically whether the harms experienced by cities as a result of banks' discriminatory lending meet the requirements of proximate causation. In suggesting a direction for lower courts, the Court in City of …

Data-Informed Duties In Ai Development, Frank A. Pasquale

Faculty Scholarship

Law should help direct—and not merely constrain—the development of artificial intelligence (AI). One path to influence is the development of standards of care both supplemented and informed by rigorous regulatory guidance. Such standards are particularly important given the potential for inaccurate and inappropriate data to contaminate machine learning. Firms relying on faulty data can be required to compensate those harmed by that data use—and should be subject to punitive damages when such use is repeated or willful. Regulatory standards for data collection, analysis, use, and stewardship can inform and complement generalist judges. Such regulation will not only provide guidance to …

American Usury Law And The Military Lending Act, Paul Kantwill, Christopher L. Peterson

Utah Law Faculty Scholarship

In 2006 Congress adopted the Military Lending Act (“MLA”) to protect active duty military service members and their families from high-cost, predatory loans. The core provision of the statute is a usury limit capping interest rates at no more than 36 percent per annum. The United States Department of Defense finalized regulations implementing the MLA in 2007 and then later issued substantially revised regulations in 2015. The MLA is America’s first modern, national usury law that is applicable to all types of creditors and was adopted after the evolution of our national credit card market. After over a decade, the …

Antitrust And Consumer Protection, Leslie Sara Hyman, Matthew J. Mcgowan

Student Scholarship

Consumer welfare is the common concern of the antitrust laws, the Texas Deceptive Trade Practices-Consumer Protection Act (DTPA), the Texas Insurance Code (TIC), and various other statutes prohibiting fraudulent conduct in dealing with consumers. Antitrust laws, however, primarily address the misuse of market power to harm consumers, while anti-deception statutes focus on consumer harm brought about through

deception and a litany of other unlawful practices. The antitrust laws and the anti-fraud statutory schemes therefore are best viewed as focusing on complementary aspects of consumer welfare.

This article covers significant developments under federal and Texas antitrust laws and consumer protection laws …

The Tethered Economy, Aaron K. Perzanowski, Chris Jay Hoofnagle, Aniket Kesari

Faculty Publications

Imagine a future in which every purchase decision is as complex as choosing a mobile phone. What will ongoing service cost? Is it compatible with other devices you use? Can you move data and applications across de- vices? Can you switch providers? These are just some of the questions one must consider when a product is “tethered” or persistently linked to the seller. The Internet of Things, but more broadly, consumer products with embedded software, are already tethered. While tethered products bring the benefits of connection, they also carry its pathologies. As sellers blend hardware and software—as well as product …

Property And Equity In Trademark Law, Mark P. Mckenna

Marquette Intellectual Property Law Review

This lecture focuses on the relationship between trademark and unfair competition. Specifically, this lecture discusses the way trademark law has evolved over time with respect to property concepts. There has been a lot of discussion in the literature about the ways trademark law has come to treat trademarks as property. Many scholars who have written about this “propertization” have described it as a shift from consumer to producer protection.

I have written a lot about this narrative over the course of my career—I think it is overly simplistic, and in some ways, wrong. Trademark law has al-ways protected marks as …

Finding A Forest Through The Trees: Georgia-Pacific As Guidance For Arbitration Of International Compulsory Licensing Disputes, Karen Mckenzie

Marquette Intellectual Property Law Review

This paper will examine the challenges of international compulsory licensing by examining the issue historically and legally as well as offer possible solutions. Thus, this paper will explore the challenge of balancing corporate interests against the affordability and availability of pharmaceuticals by focusing on discrete situations in developing countries, the history of compulsory licensing, and how the World Health Organization (the “WHO”) and the WTO have attempted to tackle these challenges through compulsory licensing, and it will suggest a possible framework for use in arbitration, which balances equities through a Georgia-Pacific analysis.

How States And Localities Are In A Better Position Than The Fda To Address Youth Use Of E-Cigarettes, Kevin Kanavy

Loyola Consumer Law Review

No abstract provided.

Table Of Contents, Loyola Consumer Law Review

Loyola Consumer Law Review

No abstract provided.

Connecting The Dots: Quality, Antitrust, And Medicine, Theodosia Stavroulaki

Loyola Consumer Law Review

Antitrust applies to healthcare. Questioning the wisdom of this universal truth, medical professionals actively insisted and still insist on professional discretion, self-regulations and other practices that violate the antitrust laws. What do medical professionals aim to achieve by resisting the application of antitrust into their profession? What do antitrust enforcers aim to achieve by applying antitrust law to the medical profession? The answer is simple. Among others, both antitrust enforcers and medical professionals aim to ensure quality. Interestingly, albeit their goal is identical, their approach is different. Why? This essay explores this enigma by analyzing some seminal healthcare antitrust cases. …

The Law Of The Middle Class: Consumer Finance In The Law School Curriculum, Adam J. Levitin

Loyola Consumer Law Review

America is defined by its broad middle class, but the middle class is virtually absent from the law school curriculum. Law school courses deal with general concerns (contracts, torts, property, and taxes), the concerns of the rich (trusts and estates), and occasionally the law of the poor, but there are no courses dedicated to the financial concerns of the middle class. This Essay argues 'that the defining feature of the American middle class is its reliance on credit to finance its essential purchases: a home, a car, and an education. The law of the middle class is the law of …

American Usury Law And The Military Lending Act, Paul E. Kantwill, Christopher L. Peterson

Loyola Consumer Law Review

No abstract provided.

The Cfpb's New Direction, James Orescanin

Loyola Consumer Law Review

No abstract provided.

Table Of Contents, Loyola Consumer Law Review

Loyola Consumer Law Review

No abstract provided.

Consumer Financial Protection Bureau Reverses Course, Rebecca Garcia

Loyola Consumer Law Review

No abstract provided.

Collaborative Approaches To Blockchain Regulation: The Brooklyn Project Example, Patrick Berarducci

Cleveland State Law Review

Today, I am going to discuss, at a high level, blockchain technology—what it is, what are its unique features that could revolutionize markets and economies, and how it could impact law and regulation. That is a lot to cover—far too much in the time allotted. So I will keep things at a very high level and hopefully pique some interest in everyone to dig deeper on their own.

Securing The Nation Or Entrenching The Board? The Evolution Of Cfius Review Of Corporate Acquisitions, Amy Deen Westbrook

Marquette Law Review

The Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS), which reviews transactions based on national security concerns, has recently become critical to the operation of the U.S. economy. In March of 2018, CFIUS review led to the prohibition of Broadcom Limited’s acquisition of Qualcomm Corp., which would have been the largest technology merger in history. In August of 2018, CFIUS was dramatically expanded with the enactment of the Foreign Investment Risk Review Modernization Act of 2018 (FIRRMA). Major transactions must now reckon with the uncertainties of CFIUS review.

Created over thirty years ago as a reporting and monitoring committee, …