| Volume 88 Number 10 |
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The People’s Lawyer’s Tip of the Day
Don't let anyone steal your identity when they go "phishing". Phishing is when an identity thief sends you a fake notice that looks like it's from a bank, creditor, credit card company or PayPal, telling you there is a problem with your account and to reply. Never reply to any email asking for personal information. If you think it is a real request, call the creditor to confirm it.
For more general information about the law, check out my website.
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Consumer Wins $18.6M in Credit Report Case
An Oregon jury awarded $18.6 million to a woman who unsuccessfully spent more than two years trying to get Equifax to fix major errors on her credit report. The award includes $18.4 million in punitive damages and nearly $200,000 in compensatory damages.
According to the evidence in the case, the major credit reporting bureau failed to remove erroneous accounts, an incorrect social security number, and the wrong birthday. As a result, the woman's credit suffered, damaging her reputation and limiting her ability to seek affordable credit.
Earlier this year, the FTC conducted a survey of credit reports and found that more than 20% contained errors.
Will the award stand?
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NTSB Wants Cars to Talk to One Another
Last week, the National Transportation Safety Bureau recommended that the federal government require all new vehicles come equipped with technology that would allow the vehicles to communicate.
The hope, according to NTSB Chairwoman Debbie Hersman, is to prevent accidents and save lives. The recommendation is based on a device that would send and receive information on speed, location, and direction data ten times every second.
Are talking cars the wave of the future?
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Your Money
What are the advantages of a Coverdell ESA?
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For the Lawyers
Montana state law pre-empted by Federal Arbitration Act.
The Ninth Circuit considered whether a Montana state-law contract rule, that says that adhesive contracts containing provisions "not in the reasonable expectations of both parties when contracting" are void as against public policy, and can be used to void an arbitration provision.
The question before the court was whether the Montana rule was overriden by section 2 of the Federal Arbitration Act (FAA).
Relying on AT&T Mobility v. Concepcion, the court upheld the arbitration clause.
The court noted, "We take Concepcion to mean what its plain language says: Any general state-law contract defense, based in unconscionability or otherwise, that has a disproportionate effect on arbitration is displaced by the FAA. We find support for this reading from the illustration in Concepcion involving a case “finding unconscionable or unenforceable as against public policy consumer arbitration agreements that fail to provide for judicially monitored discovery.”"
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