| Volume 142 Number 65 |
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The People’s Lawyer’s Tip of the Day
People reported losing $143 million in romance schemes last year, more than any other type of fraud reported to the Federal Trade Commission. But there are steps you can take – and then tell someone about. So watch this video, learn more, and pass it on. Click here for more.
Ford recalls Ford Fusions &Edges, and Lincoln MKZ & MKX vehicles
Ford is recalling more than 98,000 model year 2013-16 Ford Fusion & Lincoln MKZ, model year 2015-16 Ford Edge and model year 2016 Lincoln MKX vehicles in U.S. states and Canadian provinces with high-corrosion environments. Vehicles that did not receive proper application of wax coating and are operated in high-corrosion environments associated with exposure to road salt may suffer corrosion of the steering gear motor attachment bolts. This could result in the steering gear motor becoming loose or detaching from the gear housing, although the steering gear motor will not separate from the vehicle.
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Your Money
Nowadays, many Americans can go months without using a landline phone, but most couldn't last more than a few hours without a smart cellphone. Americans use smartphones for so many tasks, including Web searches, browsing social media, listening to music, viewing photos, making phone calls and sending text messages. Cellphones are not only an extremely important extension of your brain, but also of your wallet, with costly cellphone plans making an important line item in your budget. Whether or not you use one of the major cellphone service providers, such as AT&T, Sprint, T-Mobile and Verizon, you can most likely lower your cellphone bill with a bit of work. Here are a few ideas for how to lower your cellphone bill: Click here for more.
For the Lawyers
Contractual forum-selection and class-action-waiver clauses struck down as contrary to public policy. A class of borrowers sued lenders, claiming that their loan agreements violated Georgia usury laws. The lenders sought to defend the case on the basis of contractual forum-selection and class-action-waiver clauses. The court of appeals began its opinion this way: American courts have long refused to enforce contractual provisions that contravene public policy. See, e.g., Marshall v. Baltimore and Ohio R.R., 57 U.S. 314, 334 (1853) (“It is an undoubted principle of the common law that it will not lend its aid to enforce a contract to do an act that is illegal, or which is inconsistent with sound morals or public policy. . . .”). In Georgia, “[n]o principle of jurisprudence is better settled than this.” Glass v. Childs, 71 S.E. 920, 921 (Ga. Ct. App. 1911). The court then went on to hold that the forum-selection clause and class-action waiver violated public policy, specifically "Georgia’s Payday Lending Act and Industrial Loan Act, [which] articulate a clear public policy against enforcing forum selection clauses in payday loan agreements and in favor of preserving class actions as a remedy for those aggrieved by predatory lenders." Note that there was not an arbitration clause that would have been protected by the FAA. Davis v. Oasis Legal Finance Operating Company (11th Cir 2019) Click here for more.