| Volume 105 Number 1 |
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The People’s Lawyer’s Tip of the Day
Now is the time to be thinking about returning a holiday gift!
Return policies are a matter of contract law and are determined at the time of purchase. If the store has a notice posted saying, “no returns-exchange only” the person who receives the gift will be bound by this rule. It is always a good idea to ask the store about its return or exchange policy before you purchase the gift.
For more general information about the law, check out my website.
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Black Friday Sales Down 11%
After months of cheaper gas prices, many analysts predicted this to be the biggest holiday season ever for retailers. Every year, Black Friday kicks off the holiday sale season with deep discounts on popular electronics, appliances, clothing, and toys. This year, stores like Walmart, Best Buy, and Target rolled out impressive sales with the hope of bringing in customers.
To the surprise of many, it didn't work.
This year, Black Friday sales were down 11%. Some analysts are now suggesting that consumers are much more financially constrained. According to Macy's CFO Karen Hoguet, consumers are spending more money on things like health care. Since 2013, insurance premiums have increased 39% to 56%.
Will holiday sales turn around? Are consumers strapped?
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Sprint to Offer Half Price Plans
Do you want to ditch your current mobile phone service provider? If you are with AT&T or Verizon, Sprint is willing to help you.
Starting this Friday, Sprint will offer current AT&T and Verizon customers unlimited call and text, along with the same amount of data they currently receive, at half the price they currently pay. For customers still tied to contracts, Sprint will also fork over up to $350 per line to cover early termination fees.
Sprint is aggressively going after new customers. Is the latest deal enough to get you to change your provider?
Click here for more.
Takata Refusing to Expand Airbag Recall
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration gave Takata until midnight to expand its recall of defective airbags or face further legal action. Takata, however, resisted calls for an expanded recall. Although the company recognized regulator requests for expanded recall, it stopped short of actually making a change.
Defective Takata airbags have been the cause of deaths and serious injuries, prompting companies like BMW, Chrysler, Ford, Honda, Mazda, Nissan, and Toyota to recall over three million vehicles.
Does your vehicle have a defective airbag? What does Takata's failure to act mean for consumers and automakers?
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Your Money
What is the impact of increasing your 401(k) contribution?
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For the Lawyers
Class action settlement reversed.
The Seventh Circuit reversed a negotiated class action settlement that required defendant to pay $1.93 million in fees to class counsel, plus $179,676 in expenses, $1.5 million in notice and administration costs, $1.13 million to the Orthopedic Research and Education Foundation, $865,284 to the 30,245 class members who submitted claims, and $30,000 to the six named plaintiffs ($5,000 apiece).
Class members, led by the Center for Class Action Fairness, objected.
The Seventh Circuit reversed.
The Court noted the settlement was “a selfish deal between class counsel and the defendant, disserves the class.” It questioned: “for conferring these meager benefits class counsel should receive almost $2 million?”
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