| Volume 109 Number 3 |
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The People’s Lawyer’s Tip of the Day
The FTC has declared April to be "Financial Literacy Month." The FTC wants consumers to take some time to "think before they shop," and has helpful suggestions for consumers such as recommending that consumers compare the price of items online before they buy. Click here for more.
Summer Gas Prices Forecast to Hit Six Year Low
This Summer is shaping up to be a good one for a road trip. The U.S. Department of Energy predicts that this Summer the worldwide glut of crude oil will result in the lowest gas prices in six years. Barring natural disaster or a major disruption, the national average price of a regular gas is forecast to be $2.45/gallon.
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Your Money
It is well known that services like Google provide free services such as email and search to consumers in exchange for the use of their data. Increasingly, other businesses are getting into the game, such as Insurance companies, some of which are now offering discounts in return for the ability to monitor a consumer’s data. Click here for more.
For the Lawyers
Fees in excess of plaintiff’s possible recovery not enough to invalidate prohibition against class action. Relying on American Express Co. v. Italian Colors, the Eighth Circuit noted that courts were not interested in the comparison between each class member’s damage and their potential costs of arbitration. Instead, it focused on whether plaintiffs had proven that the costs of arbitration were so high that they could not proceed. It found the plaintiffs’ themselves did not submit any affidavits stating that they could not afford the costs of arbitration, relying on an affidavit of their lawyer to that effect. The Court held “[t]he Appellants failed to carry their burden to show that the costs of individual arbitration ‘are so high as to make access to the forum impracticable’ or to prevent them from effectively vindicating their rights in the arbitral forum.” Torres v. Simpatico, Inc. (8th Cir. 2015) Click here for more.