Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) guidance offers new opportunities for homeowners with VA loans to avoid foreclosure without increasing their interest rates, called a VA Partial Claim. Servicers are just now starting to offer the option and this article sets out the top five facts practitioners should know about this new policy, including interest-free loans, limits to “one bite at the apple,” and problems for heirs.

This article sets out 8 new ways to avoid arbitration: non-preempted state law; delegation clauses inapplicable to non-parties; disputes always outside arbitration’s scope; expanded arbitration ban involving servicemembers; broad-based relief in California despite arbitration restrictions; threat of mass arbitration allows cases in court; new ways to attack digital consent; arbitration as the best way to get into court.

This article describes how state unfair and deceptive acts and practices (UDAP) statutes offer a powerful tool to combat private companies’ financial exploitation of incarcerated people and their loved ones, such as price gouging, unfair contracts, and denial of free services to force paid services. The article explains how UDAP statutes have been and can be used, as well as potential obstacles to their use.