| Volume 79 Number 1 |
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The People’s Lawyer’s Tip of the Day
Never give someone "change" for a cashier's check. If someone offers to pay for something with a larger cashier's check and asks you for the difference in cash, it probably is a scam and the cashier's check is counterfeit. Remember, until a check is actually paid by the bank, it is nothing more than a worthless piece of paper. Click here for more.
FTC Fines Bogus 'Platinum Card' Sellers
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has been busy lately, cracking down on scams that prey on financially strapped consumers. Recently, the FTC settled charges with a company behind a bogus “platinum” credit card scheme. According to the complaint, consumers were offered a payday loan-like "platinum" credit card that could be used anywhere that accepts Visa, MasterCard, or American Express. For an upfront $99 and a monthly $19 fee, consumers were promised a $9,500 credit line. According to the FTC, the "platinum" credit card could only be used from the company's online store for off-brand, over-priced items. To read about the $7.5 million settlement,
Click here for more.
GM Recalls 40,000 Cars for Fuel Pump Crack
If you own a Chevrolet Cobalt, Chevrolet Equinox, Pontiac G5, Pontiac Torrent, or Saturn Ion, your vehicle may be prone to fire in the event of a fuel leak. As a result, GM informed the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration that the company would recall more than 40,000 vehicles in order to fix a problem with the fuel pump. The recall, which spans models made from 2007 through 2009, is just the latest in a string of large-scale recalls for the American manufacturer. Is your vehicle included in the recall? Click here for more.
Your Money
Which is better - a 15 year or 30 year mortgage? Click here for more.
For the Lawyers
Estate isn’t bound by nursing home arbitration clause. The Illinois Supreme Court held that the estate of a nursing home patient was not required to arbitrate a wrongful death claim pursuant to a clause in the defendant’s admissions contract. The court decided that, under state law, a wrongful death action is not a true asset of a decedent’s estate that a decedent may limit via an arbitration agreement. “[A] wrongful death action does not accrue until death and is not brought for the benefit of the decedent’s estate, but for the next of kin who are the true parties in interest. [The plaintiff in this case], as [the patient’s] personal representative in the wrongful death action, is merely a nominal party, effectively filing suit as a statutory trustee on behalf of the next of kin. [The plaintiff] is not prosecuting the wrongful death claim on behalf of [the patient], and thus the plaintiff is not bound by [the patient’s] agreement to arbitrate for purposes of this cause of action,” the court said. Click here for more.