| Volume 128 Number 4 |
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The People’s Lawyer’s Tip of the Day
Buying a gift "all sales final" means the person you give it to cannot return it simply because he or she doesn't like it or it doesn't fit. But "all sales final" does not mean you are out of luck if it is broken or defective. Even in a final sale, the seller warrants the goods are not defective. Only when goods are sold "as is" should buyer beware. Click here for more.
Mylan Settles with Department of Justice for $465 Million
In another series of missteps, Mylan, the embattled pharmaceutical company, has agreed to pay $465 million dollars to settle claims that it overcharged the government for EpiPens. Federal health officials and senators recently claimed that Mylan impropertly classified the EpiPen as a generic product, not as a brand product. This allowed Mylan to pay a smaller rebate on EpiPen sales to Medicaid programs, which provide health care to the poor. By law drug companies must pay rebates for sales to Medicaid patients. By classifying EpiPen as a generic, avoided the higher rebate cost for brand-name drugs. Mylan underpaid for over five years. Click here for more.
Your Money
Once you start taking out payday loans, getting out of the endless cycle is tough, but possible. Many Americans live paycheck to paycheck and see paydays as a temporary and immediate solution. To end the payday trap, try to save money each month to create an emergency fund. Even $10 each paycheck will help. Develop a household budget to keep track of income and expenses. Before you are late with a payment, talk to the creditor. If it’s a utility or telephone bill, ask about making payments. Avoid taking on a second payday loan to pay for the first one. Ask the lender to enter a payment plan. If you are having trouble working with them, contact your state regulator. Click here for more.
For the Lawyers
Credit reporting agency has no obligation to hire expert to verify signature. TransUnion prepared a credit report which revealed, based on information obtained from Toyota, that the Plaintiff, Brill, was in arrears on an extension of a vehicle lease. Brill claimed that his signature was forged by a former girlfriend. He demanded that TransUnion “conduct a reasonable reinvestigation” under the Fair Credit Reporting Act, 15 U.S.C. 1681i(a)(1)(A). At TransUnion's request, Toyota confirmed that the name on the extension was Brill’s; it did not try, and was not asked to try, to determine whether the signature was a forgery. The Seventh Circuit affirmed dismissal of Brill’s suit against Transunion. TransUnion had no duty to verify the accuracy of Brill’s signature. The court stated: “Forcing a credit reporting agency to hire a handwriting expert in every case of alleged forgery would impose an expense disproportionate to the likelihood of an accurate resolution of the dispute over whether it was indeed forgery. And so the Fair Credit Reporting Act’s provisions for identity theft, 15 U.S.C. §§ 1681c-1, c-2, sensibly ask persons who believe they are or may be victims of credit fraud to report to the police before turning to the credit reporting agency. As far as we know, Brill didn’t do that.” Brill v. TransUnion LLC (7th Cir. 2016) Click here for more.