| Volume 35 Number 6 |
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The People’s Lawyer’s Tip of the Day
You should review your bank statements for errors as soon as you receive it. Promptly report any problems, such as forged checks or calculation errors, to your bank. A short delay may cost you your legal rights. Click here for more.
Foreclosures Jump 30%
Despite many banks putting a temporary stop to foreclosures, foreclosure filings rose 30% in February. According to Rick Sharga, vice president for marketing at RealtyTrac, the trend in foreclosures will continue for the foreseeable future. How are states dealing with the increase? Click here for more.
AT&T to Add 3,000 Jobs
As part of the AT&T multibillion-dollar capital-spending plan, the company will add 3,000 new jobs. AT&T plans to add infrastructure to increase support for wireless, broadband, and video. However, as AT&T plans to add jobs in one area, it plans to cut 12,000 jobs in another. What caused the unusual move? Click here for more.
Smart 401(k) Moves
If you're like many Americans, you've lost a big chunk of your retirement savings. Many Americans have decided to "ride it out" and wait for their investments to rebound. Is that a smart move, or should you consider redirecting your investments? Click here for more.
BEWARE: Fake HUD Website
There is a deceptive website out there that is posing as HUD. This website tries to dupe people into giving out personal information (known as "phishing"). Beware - they’ve made their site appear to be as an "official US Government website." Click here for more.
Your Money
Should I borrow from my 401(k)? Click here for more.
For the Lawyers
Manifest disregard of the law is not a valid, non-statutory basis for vacating an aribtration award subject to the Federal Arbitration Act. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit said that its ruling was demanded by the reasoning of the Supreme Court's decision last year in Hall Street Associates v. Mattel, 128 S. Ct. 1396 (2008). "The question before us now is whether, under the FAA, manifest disregard of the law remains valid, as an independent ground for vacatur, after Hall Street. The answer seems clear. Hall Street unequivocally held that the statutory grounds are the exclusive means for vacatur under the FAA. Our case law defines manifest disregard of the law as a nonstatutory ground for vacatur. Thus, to the extent that manifest disregard of the law constitutes a nonstatutory ground for vacatur, it is no longer a basis for vacating awards under the FAA." Click here for more.