Public Justice
March 26, 2015
In Blog
CFPB’s Proposed Payday Lending Rules: A Big Step in the Right Direction
Photo via Scurzuzu on Flickr By Sarah BeltonCartwright-Baron Attorney Reckoning day for payday lenders has finally arrived. To quote President Obama’s prepared remarks for his speech in Birmingham, Ala., “if you’re making a profit by trapping hard-working Americans in a vicious cycle of debt, then you…
March 18, 2015
In Blog
Trans Fat by Any Other Name: Court Reinstates False Advertising Lawsuit in Food Safety Win
photo credit: Mykl Roventine via Flickr By Leslie A. BruecknerSenior Attorney If you care about food safety and consumer rights, then I have good news for you. On Friday, March 13, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit issued a satisfyingly pro-consumer decision reinstating…
March 11, 2015
In Blog
CFPB Hearing: Data on One Side, Empty Rhetoric on the Other
photo credit: cfpb 36794 via photopin (license) By Gabriel HopkinsThornton-Robb Attorney In today’s era of Big Data, analytics, and sabermetrics, the cheeky motto “in God we trust, all others must bring data” has never seemed more relevant. Well, in the arena of mandatory arbitration provisions…
March 10, 2015
In Updates
CFPB Report Finds Forced Arbitration is Bad for Consumers
photo credit: plastic please via photopin (license) By Aidan O’SheaCommunications Specialist A report released today by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has found that forced arbitration clauses – language in consumer contracts that pushes any customer dispute out of court and into a private, secret,…
March 5, 2015
In Blog
Payday Lending: Boon or Boondoggle for Tribes?
By Leslie BaileyStaff Attorney Earlier this week, the Washington Post published a fascinating piece profiling the Lac Vieux Desert Band of Lake Superior Chippewa Indians, a small Native American tribe that ostensibly went into the payday loan business in a quest for much-needed funding for…
March 4, 2015
In Blog
Trinity Guardrails Court Files Must Be Open, Court Rules
An image from the Harman v. Trinity complaint. By Leah NichollsStaff Attorney Good news! Yesterday, in a high-profile case involving the safety of highway guardrails, Harman v. Trinity, the court ordered that all the court records in the case be made open to the public….
February 17, 2015
In Updates
California Supreme Court Poised to Rule in Fight for the Integrity of Organic Food Labeling
By Aidan O’SheaCommunications Specialist& Leslie BruecknerSenior Attorney The principle that you should get what you pay for is central to consumer rights in America. When someone chooses to pay more for food marked as “100 percent Organic,” they should be able to expect that they’re…
February 6, 2015
In Blog
Federal Judge: Corporations Can’t Slip Fine Print on Websites By Consumers
photo credit: LendingMemo via photopin cc By
January 26, 2015
In Updates
Public Justice Attorney Jim Hecker to Receive 2015 Kerry Rydberg Award for Environmental Activism
By Aidan O’SheaCommunications Specialist Jim Hecker Update: On March 6, Jim Hecker received the Kerry Rydberg Award at the Publc Interest Environmental Law Conference in Eugene, Ore. In the below video (the presentation begins around the ten-minute mark), past winners honor Hecker for making…