| Volume 76 Number 8 |
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The People’s Lawyer’s Tip of the Day
For purposes of inheritance, if you die without a will, your adopted children and those naturally born will be treated the same, but a step-child will receive nothing. If you want a step child to inherit property you must have a will. Click here for more.
Amazon: Get Ready for Sales Tax
At the beginning of July, Amazon.com ("Amazon") started collecting sales tax on items shipped to Texas. As of now, Texas, Kansas, Kentucky, New York, North Dakota, and Washington are the only states that require Amazon to collect sales tax. In fact, Amazon has long fought off attempts by states to force the online retailer to collect sales tax. States estimate that they lose $11.5 billion in taxes from online purchases. Considering the potential for new revenue, it should be no surprise that many other states will soon require Amazon to collect sales tax in their states as well. As of now, it appears that customers in California, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Indiana, Nevada, Tennessee, and South Carolina will soon have to dig a little deeper into their pockets whenever they purchase an item from Amazon. When will Amazon start collecting taxes in your state? Click here for more.
CFPB Fines Capital One $210 Million
In its first enforcement action since opening, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau fined Capital One Financial $210 million for tricking consumers into paying for extra credit card products. $150 million of the fine will go to reimburse consumers with the remaining $60 million to be split between the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. To read about the Capital One case, Click here for more.
Your Money
What will it take to save a million dollars? Click here for more.
For the Lawyers
Rewards program promises made in advertisements may be enforced. The Ninth Circuit held that a cigarette company may have made promises in advertising for a rewards program that customers could enforce in a breach of contract suit. The court found the promises enforceable, despite the fact that they were made in an advertisement. "[W]e find no reason to presume that RJR’s communications did not constitute an offer merely because they were addressed to the general public in the form of advertisements. The operative question under California law … is simply ‘whether the advertiser, in clear and positive terms, promised to render performance in exchange for something requested by the advertiser, and whether the recipient of the advertisement reasonably might have concluded that by acting in accordance with the request a contract would be formed." Click here for more.