| Volume 96 Number 2 |
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The People’s Lawyer’s Tip of the Day
Federal law prohibits a debt collector from calling you at work, but only after he knows your employer prohibits such calls.
If a debt collector calls you at work, let him know that your employer does not allow such calls and that you assume he will never call again. If the debt collector calls back, he has violated federal law and you could be entitled to a penalty of up to $1,000.
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Teen Sues Parents for Tuition & Housing
An eighteen year old New Jersey girl is suing her parents for financial support. The high school cheerleader, Rachel Canning, claims her parents kicked her out of the house. However, her parents tell a different story. The parents claim, although they believe their daughter to be a good person, she refused to follow house rules and left voluntarily.
Rachel is now living with the family of her best friend. John Inglesino, father of the best friend, is an attorney helping the teenager pursue the action
against her parents. According to Inglesino, a lawsuit is the only way to protect Rachel's interest in becoming an engineer. Rachel is seeking tuition payments for her private high school, tuition for private college, and other support.
Rachel's father, Sean Canning, is a retired police officer. He insists the household rules are simple - be respectful, do some minor chores, and keep a curfew (usually after 11PM).
Do parents have a legal responsibility to support their children after they pass the age of eighteen? Can an adult teenager force her parents to pay for college?
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Psychic Defrauded $17.8M From Clients
A Florida and New York-based "Psychic," Rose Marks, was sentenced to ten years in prison for defrauding clients. Although it's legal to charge for "fortunes," Marks violated the law by promising to return clients' money with no intent to ever do it.
Prosecutors pushed for 22 to 27 years in prison. The judge, however, opted for 10 years due to the nature of the facts. He stated:
"I'm certainly not a psychologist and I can't try to figure out why any rational human being would have believed any of the representations being made. These people, for whatever reason, wanted to believe these crazy stories that were being told to them. There's something else in their mental makeup, their psychological make up, that caused them to want to believe in this."
Mara convinced victims that she could swap people's souls between bodies and use her psychic powers to prevent pregnancy or IRS investigation. In at least one instance, Mara claimed she could help get a client's dead son out of hell.
In total, Mara scammed more than $17.8 million out of her clients. Where did the money go? Did Mara deserve more or less time behind bars?
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United Cracking Down on Carry-On Bags
If you're planning to fly with United Airlines sometime soon, you may want to double-check the size of your carry-on bag. That's because United plans to crack down on passengers who skirt the size requirement and stuff their luggage into the overhead compartment anyway. The airline hopes that installing new sizers before security checkpoints and having passengers check oversized bags will speed up the boarding process.
United will charge passengers $25 to check oversized carry-on baggage.
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Your Money
How long will your money last with systematic withdrawals?
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For the Lawyers
Law school tuition not paid for personal, family or household purpose was primarily for the purpose of operating a business.
The Sixth circuit held that the Michigan Consumer Protection Act did not apply to law school graduates action against law school. The court relied on the students’ complaint that stated they intended to use their law degrees to better themselves, “through the attainment of full-time employment in the legal sector.”
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