| Volume 84 Number 9 |
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The People’s Lawyer’s Tip of the Day
The People's Law School returns Saturday, April 6!
Have you ever had a family law, wills, or landlord/tenant question? Are you being harassed by a debt collector, stuck with a lemon or interested in starting a business? These are just some of the legal topics taught at the People’s Law School!
The People's Law school is a free program focused on sharing information with the public about their legal rights and the role these rights play in their daily lives. More than 50,000 people have attended classes at the People’s Law School, taught by volunteer judges, lawyers and law professors. Although the People's Law School is free, you must register to attend.
To register,
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T-Mobile Eliminates Long Term Contracts
Stuck in fourth place and ready to make a move, T-Mobile announced on Tuesday plans to eliminate long-term contracts in favor of bargain month-to-month pricing. For $50 a month, consumers can get unlimited calls, text and data. At $50 a month, the T-Mobile plan is significantly less than similar Verizon and AT&T contracts. Additionally, T-Mobile now offers the iPhone 5 and access to a 4G LTE network.
Will the dramatic T-Mobile announcement change the landscape of the mobile phone market?
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Twitter Hit With $50 Million Lawsuit
Popular social networking site, Twitter, is under fire from French authorities for failing to produce the identities of users who posted anti-Semitic tweets. Last week, the Union of Jewish French Students filed a $50 million lawsuit against Twitter under France's anti-hate speech laws.
In January, a French court ordered Twitter to produce the identities of the users who posted the insensitive content. Twitter removed the insensitive user tweets and hashtags, but will likely file an appeal in leu of releasing the user identities.
Should Twitter be forced to disclose user information to French authorities?
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FDA Graffic Cigarette Labels Abandoned
Over the last few years, the Food and Drug Administration has been developing plans to include graphic warning labels on packs of cigarettes. Several cigarette companies, including RJ Reynolds, sued to block the mandate to include warnings on cigarette packs.
After losing a recent lawsuit on free speech grounds, the United States Attorney Generals says the Food and Drug Administration will not pursue an appeal to the Supreme Court of the United States. The announcement effectively ends plans to include any graphic warning labels on packs of cigarettes, and marks a big victory for cigarette companies.
To read about the lawsuit,
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Your Money
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For the Lawyers
Agreement to submit a dispute to a third party is an “arbitration agreement,” subject to the FAA, even if the word arbitration is not used. The Second Circuit held that an agreement to name a third doctor to decide a dispute if the doctors chosen by each of the parties cannot agree, was an arbitration agreement within the meaning of the Federal Arbitration Act. In essence, the court noted that any time “the parties have agreed to submit a dispute for a decision by a third party, they have agreed to arbitration.”
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