Public Goals by Private Means, & Public Actors Protecting Private Interests: A Response to Professor Jones

Abstract

In his thoughtful paper on the relative advantages and deficiencies of private and public enforcement mechanisms for improving consumer protection, Craig Jones forces us to ask a fundamental question about our choice of legal tools: under what circumstances, if ever, should reliance be placed on public regulatory bodies, and when should the protection of the public be left to private litigation, principally through class actions?

In this paper, I join Prof. Jones in his view that both our current regulatory model and class action regime are deficient in relation to consumer protection. I have a different diagnosis, however, of the class action problem and its possible remedy. In addition, I argue that greater emphasis ought to be placed on reforming the regulatory model, and look to other jurisdictions as potential models for consideration.

Keywords: class actions, private enforcement, regulatory agencies, consumer protection

JEL Classification: K10, K23, K40