| Volume 141 Number 37 |
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REGISTER NOW for the next session of the People's Law School, held at the University of Houston Law Center on Saturday, October 6.Click here for more.
The People’s Lawyer’s Tip of the Day
You get a call saying your electricity or water will be shut off unless you pay a past due bill. You may not think you have a past due bill. But the caller sounds convincing, and you can’t afford to ignore it, especially if you’re running a small business. Actually, you can’t afford to believe it. Click here for more.
How to Stay Safe After a Hurricane
In the aftermath of a hurricane, it’s more important than ever to keep your family, your pets, and your home safe. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention want to ensure the safety of residents affected by hurricanes and has posted helpful tips for those in the path of a storm. Whether indoors or outdoors, it’s important to know -- and follow -- the best protocol after a storm.
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Your Money
What happened 10 years ago nearly brought down the world's financial system, and a decade later it is still affecting consumers. On September 15, 2008 Lehman Brothers, not just an investment bank but a Wall Street institution, filed for bankruptcy. It was heavily invested in mortgage backed securities that were quickly on their way to becoming worthless because of a wave of subprime foreclosures. Almost overnight, credit dried up and the economy contracted, throwing millions of people out of work and taking a huge bite out of investment portfolios. Home prices plunged, trapping many homeowners underwater for years. Click here for more.
For the Lawyers
Customer not forced to arbitrate based on contract with acquiring company. A California federal court held DirecTV can’t force the customer behind a proposed class action accusing the company of placing unauthorized robocalls to arbitrate his claims. The judge found the customer signed a contract with AT&T, not its recently acquired DirecTV unit. The judge stated, “It was not the parties’ intent to enter into an arbitration agreement that would cover claims against an entity (like DirecTV) that became affiliated with AT&T Mobility years after [Revitch] entered into the contract ... as the result of an acquisition by AT&T Mobility’s parent company and not due to an assignment of any obligations in the original contract,” Jeremy Revitch v. DirecTV LLC, case number 3:18-cv-01127, in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California. Click here for more.