| Volume 141 Number 48 |
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The People’s Lawyer’s Tip of the Day
Scammers continue to con people who want to help those affected by hurricanes. To make sure your donation counts, and to avoid fraud, follow these tips: Click here for more.
Sears and Kmart File for Bankruptcy
With a huge debt payment just hours away, Sears Holdings -- the company that operates Sears and Kmart stores -- filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection early Monday. The company said the move was made possible by an agreement among its lenders who are owed billions of dollars to give the venerable retailer one last chance to become solvent. Later today, Sears Holdings was scheduled to make a $134 million dollar debt payment. Bankruptcy protection will allow Sears to reorganize that debt.
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Your Money
If you've ever been contacted by a debt collector during a rough patch in your financial life or about a debt that belongs to someone else, you know how stressful it can be. You may even be troubled by zombie debt, which can come alive, even when it isn't Halloween. A zombie debt is a past-due account that's very old or outside its statute of limitations and is not legally collectible, but still comes back from the dead to haunt you. It's a funny term, but not a financial problem to be taken lightly. Click here for more.
For the Lawyers
Food and Drug regulations do not preempt misbranding. The Ninth Circuit revived a putative class action alleging supplement maker MusclePharm Corp. mislabeled the protein content of an Arnold Schwarzenegger-branded supplement. The court held the plaintiff can claim the company misrepresented the source of the protein. The panel found U.S. Food and Drug Administration regulations on protein content and measurement in supplements preempt plaintiff Tucker Durnford’s claim that MusclePharm Corp. misrepresented how much protein was in its “Arnold Schwarzenegger Series Iron Mass” supplement. “It does not, however, preempt a misbranding theory premised on the label’s allegedly false or misleading implication that the supplement’s protein came entirely from two specifically named, genuine protein sources.” Click here for more.