| Volume 100 Number 5 |
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The People’s Lawyer’s Tip of the Day
In most cases, buying an extended warranty is a bad deal. Most stores try hard to sell you an extended warranty for almost anything and it is because of their profit not your needs. Before buying an extended warranty do some research. Most products do not break down during the extended warranty period, and most repairs cost less than the warranty.
For more general information about the law, check out my website.
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Beware of Public Hotel Computers
According to the Secret Service, consumers should exercise great caution when using a public computer at a hotel business center. In fact, the Secret Service is warning hotels that it has found keylogging software on many hotel computers and that any public hotel computer could be vulnerable to the same type of attack.
Since public hotel computers are so easily accessible, hackers can use the computers to take advantage of consumers in many unique ways. By uploading keylogging software to the hotel computer, hackers can record every keystroke, giving them access to sensitive passwords, credit card numbers, and more of every person who uses the infected computer.
Next time you visit a hotel, think twice before you use the public computer. Using your mobile device or laptop computer will be much more secure.
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Court: UT Can Use Race in Admissions
In June 2013, the Supreme Court of the United States had the opportunity to make a landmark ruling on affirmative action. However, instead of setting a history-making precedent, the Supreme Court asked the lower court to take another look.
Now, just over a year later, a Circuit Court ruled in a 2 to 1 vote that the University of Texas can use race as a factor in admissions.
The court said,
"We are persuaded that to deny UT Austin its limited use of race in its search for holistic diversity would hobble the richness of the educational experience."
The ruling stems from a 2008 case filed by Abigail Fisher after she was denied admission to the University of Texas.
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Best Hospitals for 2014
US News has released its annual hospital rankings and there are some new faces at the top of the list.
For the first time, the Mayo Clinic has received top honors as the best overall hospital. Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston took second place.
For cancer-specific hospitals, New York's Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center topped the list, followed by Houston's University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center.
What hospitals made the cut?
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Your Money
What is the value of a call or put option?
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For the Lawyers
Jurisdictional amount in federal court in a consumer case may include Lemon Law’s additional damages and attorneys’ fees.
The Seventh Circuit affirmed a judgment of $95,000 under Magnuson-Moss and the Wisconsin Lemon Law. The court first noted the unusual jurisdictional issue. The district court had original jurisdiction over the state law claim but only supplemental jurisdiction over the federal law claim.
The court held that additional damages under the Lemon Law as well as the award of attorneys’ fees could be used to establish diversity jurisdiction over the state law claim, which would give the court supplemental jurisdiction over the federal claim under Magnuson-Moss. The court also considered the fact that the manufacturer told the consumer to get the vehicle repaired at an unauthorized facility. Finding that the manufacturer’s instructions did not defeat the Lemon Law claims, the court stated, “We cannot imagine that the Wisconsin courts would hold that Burzlaff lost his rights under the Lemon Law by relying on the manufacturer’s instruction.”
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