| Volume 116 Number 3 |
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The People’s Lawyer’s Tip of the Day
It may be sometime before the Federal Government and VW figure out what needs to be done to fix the estimated 11 million vehicles worldwide that are affected by it's emissions cheating scheme. When something is known, registered owners of the vehicles should receive a notice, but you don't have to wait. You can check out the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration's website on recalls and defects for all cars. Enter your VIN or information about your car and see if there are any recalls affecting your vehicle. Click here for more.
CFPB Proposes New Arbitration Rules in Financial Services Contracts
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is proposing new rules that would allow consumers to again file lawsuits in the courts against credit card companies and banks. Most consumer contracts for financial services, such as with credit cards and banks, prevent consumers from taking disputes to court, and instead require them to submit disputes to private arbitration. Studies show most consumers are unaware that they have signed away these rights, and many consumer organizations argue that the private arbitration process favors big business over the consumer. While the proposed rules would not ban arbitration in consumer contracts, they would require the reporting of arbitration decisions, and prevent the arbitration clauses from being used to defeat class actions filed on behalf of consumers in court. Click here for more.
Your Money
A popular financial guru bases advice to retirees on the assumption that when you retire you will actually spend more than you did before you retired. In fact, the vast majority of retirees spend less in retirement. Click here for more.
For the Lawyers
Identity theft suit not preempted by the federal Fair Credit Reporting Act. The second Circuit held that a suit under state law based on identity theft was not preempted. The court held that 15 U.S.C. 1681t(b)(1)(F) preempts only those claims that concern a defendant’s responsibilities as a furnisher of information under the FCRA. These identity theft claims were not preempted because they did not concern Chase’s responsibilities as a furnisher. The court further concluded that, to the extent that plaintiff’s complaint seeks relief based on Chase’s erroneous or otherwise improper furnishing of information to consumer reporting agencies, those claims were preempted. Galper v. JP Morgan Chase Bank, N.A. Click here for more.