Consumer Law

Times Reports on Federal Bailout for Mortgage Crisis, the Riegel v. Medtronic Medical Device Case, and CPSC

By Jeff Sovern

The lead story in today's Times reports that "the Bush administration and Congress are considering costly new proposals for the government to rescue hundreds of thousands of homeowners whose mortgages are higher than the value of their houses."  According to the article, "nearly 8.8 million homeowners, or 10.3 percent of the total, are underwater."  Among the ideas being considered are "a federal mortgage guarantee for troubled borrowers . . . [and us[ing] government funds to purchase and refinance billions of dollars in mortgages now in danger of default."`  Meanwhile, on Monday the Times ran a story, "No Lull in Mortgage Pitches," about just that.  The article mentions advertising by Countrywide and the Bank of America, which is in the process of acquiring Countrywide, while today's piece notes that the Bank of America has proposed that a federal agency buy delinquent mortgages at a "deep discount."  Bank of America knows how to make a strong argument.

The Times has devoted a lot of space to the Supreme Court's Riegel v. Medtronic decision on medical devices and preemption.  An editorial in today's paper, "No Recourse for the Injured," criticizes the decision.  Here is an article about the effect of the decision on pending law suits.  Yesterday's issue had a news analysis, "Justices Add Legal Complications to Debate on F.D.A.'s Competence."  An excerpt:

The Institute of Medicine, the Government Accountability Office and the F.D.A.?s own science board have all issued reports concluding that poor management and scientific inadequacies have made the agency incapable of protecting the country against unsafe drugs, medical devices and food.

A result, said David Vladeck, a professor at Georgetown University Law Center, is that the public is facing the worst of both worlds: a government health agency that cannot protect them and rules that block them from winning compensation when injured.

Wednesday's paper included "Sears Case Cited by Critics of Safety Panel," which reported on criticism of the CPSC by Public Citizen.

Full post as published by CL&P Blog on February 22, 2008 (boomark / email).