| Volume 125 Number 5 |
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The People’s Lawyer’s Tip of the Day
If you have a dispute with someone over how much money you owe, a check marked, “accepted in full and complete satisfaction” can settle the dispute. If the check is cashed you will not owe any additional money. But if the amount you owe in not in dispute, putting payment in full on a check has no legal effect. Click here for more.
Samsung's New Water-Resistant Phone Fails Test
Consumer Reports, a non-profit organization, recently tested out Samsung's Galaxy S7 Active, which is being advertised as water-resistant and found that it actually isn't. The organization said it couldn't recommend the phone because it can't meet Samsung's claims. The Active is designed to survive in up to 5 feet of water for 30 minutes. However, Consumer Reports placed two phones in water and both phones had issues. Click here for more.
Your Money
Find a good brand-name item on Amazon that is well below its retail price? But is it a good deal or just a counterfeit in brand-name clothing? A new report from CNBC claims that the number of products sold by third parties on Amazon are fakes, and that the retailer is having a difficult time getting a handle on the problem. These orders, because they come from an Amazon fulfillment center, often contain a FBA (Fulfilled By Amazon) tag even though the merchandise are counterfeits. If customers can verify that they’ve bought counterfeit goods, Amazon will push sellers to refund the purchase or remove the sellers from the site. Click here for more.
For the Lawyers
Standing under Fair Credit Reporting Act requires “injury in fact.” In the instant case, Robins filed a class-action complaint claiming, among other things, that Spokeo willfully failed to comply with the FCRA. The Court noted that to establish injury in fact, a plaintiff must show that he or she suffered “an invasion of a legally protected interest” that is “concrete and particularized” and “actual or imminent, not conjectural or hypothetical.” A “concrete” injury must be “de facto”; that is, it must actually exist— “real,” and not “abstract.”. The Ninth Circuit’s analysis focused on the second characteristic (particularity), but it overlooked the first (concreteness). It did not address the question of whether the particular procedural violations alleged in the case entailed a degree of risk sufficient to meet the concreteness requirement. The U.S. Supreme Court remanded the case back to the 9th Circuit for further review of the standing question. Spokeo, Inc. v. Robins (U.S.). Click here for more.