| Volume 141 Number 45 |
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The People’s Lawyer’s Tip of the Day
You’ve heard about the new law that makes credit freezes free and fraud alerts last one year. If you have questions, you’re not alone. Here are answers to some of the most asked questions. Click here for more.
Mattress Firm to Close 700 Stores
Amid declining sales, in part stemming from the success of online mattress retailers, Mattress Firm has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. The company plans to close as many as 700 of its 3,500 stores nationwide. The company, which has nearly 10,000 employees, said it filed motions to support the continued payment of employee wages and health and welfare benefits. Mattress Firm said it has financing that will allow it to keep running its business and said it expects the restructuring process to wrap up within 45 to 60 days. Click here for more.
Your Money
Late summer and early fall is the best time to get your house in order because come winter, small problems can turn into expensive nightmares. Consumer Reports’ money-saving checklist covers many things, including your yard and your furnace. And many of these fall chores cost little more than time and effort. Click here for more.
For the Lawyers
Court rejects attorneys’ fees in settlement. The Ninth Circuit panel vacated an $8.7 million attorneys’ fees award in a $38 million settlement resolving claims that the company enrolled consumers in a bogus membership rewards program without their consent that charged them monthly fees.The three-judge panel found that the lower court erred by considering $20 credits given to class members as cash rather than coupons under the Class Action Fairness Act. As a result, the panel said, the attorneys’ fees could be inflated. "Nothing in the record could have given the district court reason to believe that any class member, let alone all class members, would have viewed the $20 credit as equivalently useful to $20 in cash." EasySaver Rewards Litigation, case number 16-56307, in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. Click here for more.