| Volume 94 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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Price of Stamps Go Up Again
The price of a stamp increased 3 cents to 49 cents on Saturday. Although fewer Americans use the United States Postal Service for traditional mail, the price hike will still affect millions. The United States Postal Service plans to ask for additional rate increases in the coming years.
"Forever" stamps can still be used without adding additional postage.
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FAA Orders Check of Boeing 767 Aircraft
Federal regulators plan to order inspection of 400 Boeing 767 aircraft. A moveable section of the tail can jam, causing pilots to lose control of the plane. The part, known as the "elevator," helps the plane climb and descend.
Regulators first became aware of the problem in 2000. Suspicious parts must be replaced within six years.
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Top Six United States Scams
The National Consumers League recently released a list of the top six United States scams. Although scammers still use traditional means, like the telephone, to con Americans, modern scams can be a little more difficult to spot. In fact, some of the scams are downright irresistible.
The most popular scams involve checks. For instance, someone offers you a large check, asks for you to return a portion, and then allows you to keep the rest. Long after the scammer has taken the money and left, the check will bounce, leaving you in a hole.
What are the top six scams?
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Your Money
How much self employment tax will you pay?
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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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