| Volume 91 Number 2 |
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The People’s Lawyer’s Tip of the Day
Do you receive unwanted junk faxes? Federal law allows you to cover $500 for an unsolicited fax, and $1,500 if the sender acted willfully or knowingly.
Find out how you can stop junk faxes!
Click here for more.
Politics Behind the Debt Limit
A week into the government shutdown, politicians in Washington are still without a deal to increase the debt limit to prevent a government default.
Over the weekend, House Speaker John Boehner hit the television circuit to pitch his case. According to the republican leader, the House of Representatives will not approve a debt limit increase without new spending cuts. When asked if the United States would default on its obligations without spending cuts, Speaker Boehner said, "That's the path we're on."
Democrats and some republicans are concerned the House playing hardball could result in a serious economic situation in the wake of a United States credit default. As one leader put it, it's simply "reckless."
On Sunday, the White House responded to Speaker Boehner by asking the House to vote on a "clean" funding bill. Political analysts believe the House is avoiding such a vote for fear of further damaging party reputation.
Will congressional leaders get a deal done before the middle of the month?
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United Adds Smaller Seats to Fit More
As part of an aircraft refurbishing process, United Airlines is pulling out old seats and replacing them with new, smaller seats. By using smaller seats, United hopes to fit more people on aircraft and thus generate more revenue per flight.
What kind of impact will the new seats have on your United experience?
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Websites Down During Government Closure
Over the past week, you may have noticed that many government websites are offline during the government shutdown.
The Federal Trade Commission, United States Department of Agriculture, and many other government agencies are without an online presence during the shutdown. As a result, consumers can't do basic things like sign up for the "Do Not Call" registry.
What websites are impacted by the government shutdown?
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Your Money
How do closing costs impact the interest rate?
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For the Lawyers
Hawaii Supreme Court says no arbitration without meaningful consent.
The trial court enforced an arbitration clause that would have required the plaintiff to pay substantial costs to arbitrate, had sharp limitations on the plaintiff's ability to take discovery, and had onerous secrecy provisions.
The Hawaii Supreme Court reversed, finding that there had been no mutual assent or meeting of the minds. The court noted that the burden was on Kaiser, as the party moving to compel arbitration, to demonstrate that the patient had assented to arbitration. The court held that to form an agreement to arbitrate, a contract must be unambiguous as to the intent of the parties to submit disputes to arbitration.
Click here for more.