Scholarship@WashULaw

Document Type

Essay

Publication Date

2011

Publication Title

Harvard Law & Policy Review

Abstract

This Essay provides an overview and criticism of predatory lending laws then proposes a new Uniform Code of Consumer Credit (UCCC) to work alongside the Truth in Lending Act. The proposed UCCC would provide a complete and behaviorally informed system of consumer financial protection that strives to keep credit affordable and to encourage innovative credit products. The Essay argues that a uniform law will create sufficient state-to-state consistency to reduce the need for federal preemption and thereby bring the benefits of federalism - protection from agency capture, legislative responsiveness and experimentation at the state level - into consumer financial protection. Finally, it suggests five starting principles for drafting a UCCC: legal realism, the jurisprudence of unfair and deceptive acts and practices, rationalizing consumer credit contracts with the law of contracts, incentives for safe and affordable credit, and effective remedies.

Keywords

Truth in Lending, Consumer Protection, Mortgages, Uniform Laws

Publication Citation

Danielle D'Onfro, A New Uniform Code of Consumer Credit,5 Harv. L. & Pol'y Rev. 449 (2011)

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