| Volume 112 Number 4 |
Subscribe to the Newsletter
Forward this news alert to your family and friends
Helpful Links
Texas Consumer Complaint Center
Credit Reports and Identity Theft
Your Guide to Small Claims Court
Contact Us
1-713-743-2168
The People’s Lawyer’s Tip of the Day
Considering joining a gym or getting a fitness membership? Read your contract carefully, because many people feel tricked by the sales job after they begin paying the monthly dues. Most contracts, including those for fitness clubs, include a statement that the written contract is the only agreement of the parties, regardless of what the sales person said. Because of this, you should read the contract, and all the fine print, before you sign. Here is a good link to what you should consider before signing that fitness contract. Click here for more.
U.S. Adds 280,000 Jobs in May
A very strong May jobs report shows good momentum for the economy. The strong jobs report joined positive manufacturing and automobile sales data to suggest an improving economy. Further, average hourly earnings edged up 8 cents, which is a positive move in a recovery that has largely left wages flat. Click here for more.
Your Money
A recent study by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau indicates that you shouldn’t believe everything advertisements tell you about reverse mortgages. The study showed that much of the advertising for reverse mortgages is misleading, and that many homeowners don’t understand that reverse mortgages are still loans that will have to be paid back. Reverse mortgages are loans that people 62 and over can use to borrow against the equity in their homes, deferring payment of that loan until they move, sell the home, or die. Despite this, many homeowners thought that they could “never lose their home” with a reverse mortgage, did not understand that the loan would someday have to be paid back, and may not have known that they will still be responsible for the payment of insurance, property taxes, and maintenance of the property. Click here for more.
For the Lawyers
Truth in Lending requires a security interest in a primary residence. The Eleventh Circuit affirmed a grant of summary judgment in favor of the defendant, alleged to have failed to make proper disclosures. The court concluded that defendant did not take the requisite interest in plaintiffs’ primary residence to trigger the TILA protections on which plaintiffs rely. Lankhorst v. Indep. Savings Plan Co. (11th Cir. 2015) Click here for more.