| Volume 141 Number 64 |
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The People’s Lawyer’s Tip of the Day
The gift-giving season is just around the corner, and the gift-buying season starts, oh, any minute now. The FTC has an early gift for you — tips to help you shop wisely and protect your personal information. Click here for more.
CDC Says Avoid All Romaine
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Food and Drug Administration Tuesday disclosed a new E. coli outbreak involving romaine lettuce and told consumers to not eat the leafy green. This outbreak has sickened 32 people in 11 states—California, Connecticut, Illinois, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, New Jersey, New Hampshire, New York, Ohio, and Wisconsin—and another 18 in Canada. It's the second time romaine has been the source of E. coli poisoning this year. This spring, more than 210 people were sickened and five died in the largest E. coli outbreak in more than a decade. Click here for more.
Your Money
Lots of consumers have their retirement savings in investment accounts, and the companies that maintain those accounts almost always charge fees. But a new study finds 53 percent of consumers with investment accounts don't know how to find out which fees they are paying and how much they are. Remarkably, 19 percent of consumers with workplace retirement accounts think they’re paying for types of fees that don’t actually exist. Click here for more.
For the Lawyers
Consumer bound by arbitration agreement contained on the packaging. The Eleventh Circuit held that consumers were properly compelled to arbitration and a putative class action was properly dismissed based on an arbitration provision and class action waiver conspicuously appearing on the product’s packaging Homeowners filed a class action complaint against Tamko alleging that the company’s shingles failed to comply with industry standard and were not as-warranted. In response, Tamko moved to compel arbitration and dismiss the class action complaint based on an arbitration provision and class action waiver that appeared on the exterior wrapping of every package of shingles. The United States District Court for the Middle District of Florida granted the motion, and the homeowners appealed. In affirming the District Court, the Eleventh Circuit held that: (1) the shingle wrappers conveyed a valid offer of Tamko’s product terms, including that any dispute must be arbitrated on an individual basis; and (2) the roofer’s acceptance of the product terms by opening and installing the shingles was imputed to the homeowners. Click here for more.