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| Professor Rustad Publishes Consumer Rights Handbook |
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| <i>Everyday Law for Consumers,</i> a new book from Suffolk Law Professor Michael Rustad, provides a practical guide to consumer rights in language non-lawyers can understand. <p> “Many legal concepts are like Russian eggs with layer upon layer of meaning,” Rustad said. “My goal is to help ordinary Americans without legal training to understand and vindicate their rights.” <p> The book covers many consumer-related topics common in daily life, from credit repair and identity theft to home shopping and telemarketing. “Relatively few Americans understand the consumer protections built into the law of sales,” Rustad said. Everyday Law for Consumers outlines these protections and features sample complaint letters, forms, and advice on small claims court. <p> Rustad, co-director of the Intellectual Property Law Concentration at Suffolk Law, has previously written books on tort law, copyright law, and sales, leases, and licenses. His articles and chapters on punitive damages were cited by the U.S. Supreme Court in 1994. <p> But to Rustad, consumer law is a particularly pressing topic in 2008. <p> “Since the Reagan Revolution, the free market ideology has pervaded popular discourse, leading to a backlash against consumer rights,” he said. “One of the most troubling aspects is the decline in consumer rights marked by mandatory arbitration agreements. Consumers are required to waive their right to a jury trial in nearly every consumer transaction today.” <p> Rustad’s book has attracted attention from other consumer advocates, including Ralph Nader, who called it a “toolkit for prevention, redemption, and occasionally retribution when your dollars, your credit, your health and safety and peace of mind are at stake.” |
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