| Volume 91 Number 8 |
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The People’s Lawyer’s Tip of the Day
Buying a gift "all sales final" means the person you give it to cannot return it simply because he or she doesn't like it or it doesn't fit. But "all sales final" does not mean you are out of luck if it is broken or defective. Even in a final sale, the seller warrants the goods are not defective. Only when goods are sold "as is" should buyer beware.
For more general information about the law, check out my website.
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Study Finds Too Many Teens Smoke Cigars
What makes a cigar a cigar? Pursuant to federal regulations, the distinction comes in the paper. While a cigarette is wrapped in white paper, a cigar is wrapped in brown paper that contains "some" tobacco leaf.
The distinction may seem trivial, but it's not insignificant. Cigars are not taxed or regulated like cigarettes. Yet, many small cigars are virtually indistinguishable from cigarettes. They can contain filters and taste just like traditional cigarettes.
Despite the lack of taxing and regulation, small cigars contain the same harmful and addictive chemicals and tars found in cigarettes.
Small cigars are often significantly cheaper than traditional cigarettes. As a result, they're extremely popular among teenagers. A recent study citing data collected in 2011 found that two out of every five teenager smokers uses small cigars.
Why do small cigars skirt regulation despite the similarities to traditional cigarettes?
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FTC Expected to Approve Office Depot & Office Max Merger
The Federal Trade Commission has cleared the pathway for a potential merger between Office Max and Office Depot.
Back on February 20th, Office Depot announced plans to buy out Office Max in an all stock deal worth close to $1 billion.
If the merger goes through, it will combine the second- and third-largest office supply stores.
What impact will the merger have on consumer prices?
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Iran Minister Say No Need to Re-Hang
An unusual thing happened in Iran earlier this month. After a receiving a hanging conviction for smuggling drugs, a man was sentenced to hanging. However, unlike most hangings, the convicted man survived the attempted execution.
Some legal experts in the region believed the man should be hanged again.
The Iran Minister disagreed. Instead, it is assumed the man will go free.
He remains in serious condition after the failed hanging.
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Your Money
Are you ready for retirement or is it still too early?
This retirement shortfall calculator can help you make an informed decision.
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For the Lawyers
Arbitration agreement providing for NAF rule is still enforceable.
The Seventh Circuit compelled arbitration even though the parties’ loan agreement provided for “binding arbitration by one arbitrator by and under the Code of Procedure of the National Arbitration Forum [NAF],“ notwithstanding that the NAF had not accepted consumer cases since July of 2009. The district court had refused to compel arbitration, finding the NAF was an “integral part of the agreement” and without it the arbitration agreement was void. Noting a circuit split in which the 3rd and 11th Circuits have compelled arbitration, despite selection of the NAF, while the 5th Circuit has declared agreements calling for the NAF unenforceable, the 7th Circuit sided with those compelling arbitration. The decision engaged in a lengthy analysis suggesting that the line of cases finding one aspect of an arbitration clause “integral” contradicts Section 5 of the FAA and does not come from a general state law principle allowable under Section 2.
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