| Volume 143 Number 30 |
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The People’s Lawyer’s Tip of the Day
Beware of scams related to the coronavirus. Scammers are taking advantage of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic to con people into giving up their money. Though the reason behind their fraud is new, their tactics are familiar. It can be even harder to prevent scams right now because people 65 and older aren’t interacting with as many friends, neighbors and senior service providers due to efforts to slow the spread of disease. Click here for more.
Consumers still have time to complete the 2020 Census
Although the original deadline to respond to the 2020 U.S. Census passed on Wednesday, consumers still have time to submit their answers to the mandatory questionnaire. With the coronavirus outbreak bearing down on the nation, the government has extended the deadline for completing the form and is strongly encouraging consumers to respond online via the Census Bureau’s website, by phone, or by mail. Click here for more.
Your Money
The March jobs report, which will be released today, marks the beginning of the post-outbreak US labor market. But it won't be able to tell us just how bad things are likely to get. In recent weeks, companies have been laying off thousands of employees throughout the country and across industries — with the hospitality, leisure and travel sectors hit hardest as Americans stopped traveling or even leaving their homes. Now the focus turns to the March jobs report, due Friday at 8:30 am ET, the first from the Bureau of Labor Statistics since COVID-19 began sweeping across America. Click here for more.
For the Lawyers
Arbitration under Federal Arbitration Act voluntarily waived. The issue presented to the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals was this: Did a party asserting a right to arbitration in its motion to dismiss, but withdrawing it when the opposing party threatened sanctions for a “frivolous claim” voluntarily waive its right to arbitration, despite asking the court to compel such? The district court denied the request for arbitration stating: “Coaster Dynamix waived its right to arbitrate by expressly withdrawing the arbitration demand in its second motion to dismiss. ‘Coaster chose a course inconsistent with submitting the case to an arbitral forum.’ Nor did the court allow Coaster Dynamix to rescind its waiver.” The Seventh Circuit affirmed, finding that Coaster waived its right to arbitration and failed to prove an “abnormal circumstance” warranting rescission of its waiver. “Federal law favors arbitration. Like other contractual rights, though, the right to arbitrate is waivable. A waiver can be express or implied through action. Either way, the question is whether ‘based on all the circumstances, the party against whom the waiver is to be enforced has acted inconsistently with the right to arbitrate.’” Next, the court addressed the test for waiver as follows: “The analysis can be short when the basis of the waiver is an express abandonment of the right. In most situations, ‘I waive arbitration’ answers the question. The district court found that Coaster Dynamix’s withdrawal of the arbitration argument amounted to an explicit waiver of any right to arbitrate.” Brickstructures Inc. v. Coaster Dynamix Inc., 2020 WL 1164270 (7th Cir. 2020) Click here for more.