LAW-3042: Consumer Law

This course examines contemporary consumer law. The class is organized around a consumer transaction, including how businesses attract consumers, the terms of the products or services purchased, and the remedies or enforcement tools available if the deal goes awry. The course considers how consumer protection statutes and regulations have origins in the common law of tort and contract. In addition to traditional topics such as unfair or deceptive acts and practices, warranties, and consumer finance, the class examines how the legal landscape is changing. Issues include technological advances that raise privacy concerns; the increase in automobile debt and student loans; and the work of the newest federal agency, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. This class will not be exclusively about “consumer protection” but instead will consider consumer law from multiple viewpoints, including those of businesses that are regulated by consumer law and those of policymakers who are charged with protecting the public interest in a fair marketplace.