| Volume 89 Number 7 |
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The People’s Lawyer’s Tip of the Day
Voluntarily returning a car you can't pay for may not get you off the hook. In most cases, the car will be sold and you will owe the difference between your debt and what the car sells for. If you think the car is being accepted in exchange for release for your debt, get that agreement in writing.
For more general information about the law, check out my website.
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Fed Up Consumers Sue Time Warner Cable
For the past few weeks, some Time Warner customers have been without CBS programming. All of them have been without Showtime. Despite removing the programming from package lineups, Time Warner has continued to collect full subscription rates from its customers.
In Los Angeles, three plaintiffs are suing Time Warner for breach of contract and unjust enrichment. The plaintiffs are seeking approval for class action status.
The case isn't likely to last long. Time Warner includes an arbitration provision in its contracts, meaning this case will likely be removed from the court system entirely.
Do consumers have any real recourse against Time Warner?
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Compounding Pharmacy Problems Continue
Earlier this year, the Food and Drug Administration sent out warnings to consumers, hospitals, and medical professionals to choose compounding pharmacies wisely. According to the FDA, some compounding pharmacies haven't been using a sterile environment to create products and medications.
On May 18, 2013, the FDA singled out NuVision Pharmacy sterile products, asking medical professionals to quarantine the products and avoid giving them to patients. For its part, NuVision refused to recall any of its products.
In an unusual move, the FDA is now recommending that consumers and medical professionals stay away from NuVision entirely. Due to holes in the law, compounding pharmacies elude FDA oversight. As a result, the FDA can't directly regulate compounding pharmacies like NuVision. Instead, it can only voice its recommendations publicly.
According to the FDA, many compounding pharmacies are producing products and medications that wouldn't meet its strict standards. Is your compounding pharmacy pharmacy safe?
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Your Money
What is the impact of making extra payments on your debt?
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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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