Consumer Finance Monitor Podcast Episode: A Look at a New Approach to Consumer Contracts
Consumer Finance Monitor Podcast Episode: Reasons Why the CFPB Should Deny the Petition for Rulemaking on Post-Dispute Consumer Arbitration Agreements
In a recent decision, EDVA Judge Rossie Alston invalidated the arbitration clause in the terms and conditions for online sales through the Lowe’s Home Centers website on the grounds that the terms and conditions were illusory...more
A recent trend in litigation has emerged that is causing companies to re-think conventional wisdom. Until now, it has been a widely adopted best practice for retailers and other consumer-facing companies to include mandatory...more
The Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act 2024 (DMCCA) has recently received royal assent, following the announcement of the July General Election. We examine the key developments in our previous article. One very...more
Exclusion clauses are a common feature of agreements of purchase and sale and other commercial contracts. While often subject to negotiation, parties sometimes proceed with standard form exclusion clauses that may inject...more
On May 31, 2024, the Supreme Court of Canada released its highly anticipated decision in Earthco Soil Mixtures Inc. v. Pine Valley Enterprises Inc., 2024 SCC 20 (“Pine Valley”), clarifying how contracting parties can exclude...more
The North Carolina Supreme Court on Thursday, May 23 held that a credit union’s unilateral update to add an arbitration provision and class action waiver to its contract with one of its customers was valid under North...more
Online terms and conditions have long been a challenge for businesses. How can you simultaneously ensure a consumer is made aware of the key terms of an online contract (so they are incorporated into the contract) whilst also...more
Eversheds Sutherland presents periodic updates to inform companies entering or already established in the US market about newly enacted rules or trends that may be traps for the unwary. The purpose of these updates is to...more
During the last several years, many states have adopted automatic renewal contract, or ARC, laws for the protection of consumers, driven in large part by new subscription-based contracts sold in digital distribution and...more
It’s that time of year again. Regardless of what you call them—subscriptions, negative option programs, automatic renewals, or continuous service offers—states are continuing to enact and enforce new laws with increasingly...more
A state appellate court in California reversed a superior court’s denial of a massage franchisor’s motion to compel arbitration. Jane Doe #1 (I.G.) v. Massage Envy Franchising, LLC, 2023 WL 8801517 (Cal. Ct. App. Dec. 20,...more
Recently, the State of New York enacted SB 5941-B (the “Act”), which revises the general business law, focusing on the obligation of businesses to inform consumers about an impending automatic renewal or continuous service...more
In recent weeks, class action plaintiffs have brought a new tranche of lawsuits challenging companies’ online terms and conditions. In them, plaintiffs allege that the terms violate California’s law prohibiting contracts for...more
IN BRIEF - Following a year's 'grace' to allow businesses to be prepared, changes to the Australian Consumer Law (ACL) and the Australian Securities and Investments Commission Act 2001 (ASIC Act), which commenced on 9...more
Michigan law requires contracts for the sale of goods worth $1,000 or more to be in writing and provide a quantity term. On July 11, 2023, the Michigan Supreme Court ruled in MSSC, Inc. v. Airboss Flexible Products Co....more
The District of Massachusetts’s recent decision in Fairfield v. DCD Auto. Holdings, Inc., No. 22-cv-11977, 2023 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 109463 (D. Mass. June 26, 2023) serves as a key reminder for businesses not only to have...more
On June 28, the Connecticut governor signed HB 5314 (the “Act”), enacting measures relating to automatic renewal offers and consumer agreements. The Act, among other things, includes newly defined terms such as “automatic...more
One of the downsides of working with the public is that sometimes the public will be disappointed with the service you offer. And in this era of the internet, the number one remedy consumers have is to complain about...more
In October 2018, Eva Cornell opened checking and savings accounts with Desert Financial Credit Union. In so doing, Cornell agreed to terms and conditions, including an agreement that Desert Financial could “change those terms...more
Automatic Renewal Laws (ARLs)—statutes governing continuity programs and automatically renewing contracts—have proliferated throughout the United States since 2010. Companies that offer automatic renewal programs face an...more
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau recently proposed a rule that would establish a public registry of supervised nonbanks' terms and conditions in "take it or leave it" form contracts that claim to waive or limit...more
On December 27, 2022, New Jersey's Attorney General and Office of Consumer Protection and Yellowstone Capital, LLC and several other associate companies signed a consent order to resolve a lawsuit that alleged violations of...more
On Friday, the FTC announced what would ordinarily be an unremarkable enforcement action against a company for unsubstantiated earnings claims. The FTC alleges that WealthPress, an investment advice company purporting to...more
The Roman empire dominated the Mediterranean with their fearsome fleet of ships. One of their secrets? They apparently outsourced the crewing of some ships to private merchants. Some merchants would agree to ensure the ships...more
Australia has significantly increased penalties for competition and consumer law breaches and also expanded the scope of the law that prohibits unfair contract terms ("UCT")....more