| Volume 130 Number 6 |
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The People’s Lawyer’s Tip of the Day
The most dangerous scams today involve counterfeit cashier's, bank, or certified checks. Don't ever give someone you don't know anything in exchange for a check until your bank tells you in writing the check has been "finally paid." Click here for more.
New Law Funds Cancer Research and Streamlines FDA Approval
Yesterday President Obama signed the 21st Century Cares Act into law. The Act provides $6.3 billion dollars into cancer research and makes it easier for the Food Drug Administration to approve new drugs and medical devices. Instead of hard clinical trial evidence, the FDA can now rely on data summaries and "real world evidence" when approving existing drugs for new uses. The FDA will also be able to expedite approval for new medical technology for patients with life-threatening diseases. Some patient advocacy criticize these new FDA procedures for risking the safety of the patients. Click here for more.
Your Money
Are you considering paying off student loan debt with a credit card? If you have a federal student loan, you should explore an income-based repayment plan before transferring your balance to a credit card. This plan limits your monthly payment to 15 percent, 10 percent for new borrowers, of discretionary income over the poverty line for your family size. Also, most government and private loans have interest rates around 6-8%. Compare that to the average credit card interest rate of 15%. Unless you can pay off your loan within the zero or low introductory interest rate period, which can average from six to 24 months, your interest rate will likely be higher with a credit card. Click here for more.
For the Lawyers
Bank may owe a duty of care to a noncustomer and thus be liable under a negligence theory. Chang brought suit against Chase Bank when a third-party stole $750,000 from him through a wire under fraudulent pretenses that it would be held in escrow in a Chase account. Chang sued Chase to recover the money under claims that a Chase employee had assisted the third-party in the fraud. The court found that the third-party had a fiduciary duty to Chang. Thus, the Eleventh Circuit reversed the district court's dismissal of Chang's claims, because a bank may be liable to a noncustomer for its customer's misappropriation when a fiduciary relationship exists between the customer and noncustomer. Chang v. JP Morgan Chase Bank (11th Cir. 2016). Click here for more.