Teaching Consumer Credit Law in an Evolving Australian Economy

THE LAST WORD
As Editor of the Journal, I always try to include a little something for everyone. I think you
will agree that with this issue, I was successful. No matter what your interest is in consumer
law, I am pretty confident that this issue has something you will enjoy, and find
informative. The articles deal with topics as diverse as teaching consumer law in Australia,
health law privacy, debt collection and DTPA tie-in statutes. The News Alert and Recent Development sections
discuss dozens of cases decided during the past few months, Theoretical/practical, short/long, reportorial/analytical—whatever
is your cup of tea, you will find it in this issue.
And one comment on recent developments in the United States Supreme Court. The last week of the
Supreme Court term was closely watched, as the court issued major opinions dealing with health care and
immigration. But for consumer attorneys, what the Court did not do may have been more significant. The
court did not issue an opinion in Edwards v. First American Corp., 610 F.3d 514 (9th Cir. 2010), cert granted
in part, 131 S. Ct. 3022 (2011), instead dismissing its grant of certiorari as improvidently granted. The
Court’s dismissal is significant because Edwards raised the question of whether Congress may give consumers
the right to enforce consumer protection statutes without showing actual damages. In Edwards, the Ninth
Circuit, similar to all other circuits that have considered the issue, held that proof of economic injury was not
required. A contrary ruling by the Supreme Court would have substantially weakened consumers’ ability to
enforce consumer protection statutes on both an individual and class basis.
Richard M. Alderman
Editor-in-Chief
56 Journal of Consumer & Commercial Law