Consumer Alert

Earning extra income through a side hustle, gig app or freelance job is a legitimate way to stretch your budget, jump-start financial goals or pay off debt. These days, there are myriad opportunities for making extra money online via apps and through part-time in-person work. But not all side hustles are created equal or will fit your goals appropriately. So before you get started, do some soul-searching. You need to keep three things in mind: your priorities, strengths and deal breakers. Once you've mulled over those considerations, learn how to earn more money with these 10 ways to make an extra $1,000 this month: Click here for more.

Your Money

U.S. consumers continue to be plagued by hidden ‘resort fees’ at hotels. The fees are still legal in the U.S., but consumers can find ways to minimize the sting with a little work. Until government regulation is established, consumers are left with four choices when it comes to U.S. resort fees: Do due diligence; Take action; Use rewards points, or Accept the fees and move on. Click here for more.

For the Lawyers

Procedural unconscionability determination was for judge not arbitrator, notwithstanding a delegation clause. The district court compelled arbitration finding that there was a meeting of the minds and that the “procedural unconscionability objection went to the enforceability of the Arbitration Agreement and not its formation,” and must “be decided by the arbitrator under the Arbitration Agreement’s delegation clause.” On appeal, the Fifth Circuit held that there was a “meeting of the minds” based upon the employee’s electronic acknowledgment of the Arbitration Agreement and its terms. However, the Fifth Circuit reversed the district court’s referral of the procedural unconscionability challenge to arbitration. Under Mississippi law, the court found it was clear that “[p]rocedural unconscionability goes to the formation of the contract.” Although recognizing that unconscionability allegations relating to the contract as a whole are from the arbitrator, the court held that the employee’s “procedural unconscionability objection challenges the formation of the Arbitration Agreement itself” and “the district court had the duty to resolve this challenge” notwithstanding the delegation clause. Bowles v. OFG, L.L.C., No. 18-60749, 2019 WL 2521667 (5th Cir. June 19, 2019). Click here for more.

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