| Volume 143 Number 75 |
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The People’s Lawyer’s Tip of the Day
Scammers love to use the same old tricks in new ways. One of their favorites is to pose as a business or government official to pressure you into sending them money or personal information. Now, some scammers are pretending to be popular online shopping websites, phishing for your personal information. Click here for more.
Thor Motor Coach recalls Daybreak, Four Winds, Quantum, Chateau and Freedom Elite motorhomes
Thor Motor Coach (TMC) is recalling model year 2021 Daybreak, Four Winds, Quantum, Chateau and Freedom Elite motorhomes built on the model year 2020 Ford E-Series chassis.
The battery cable may not have been properly secured within the chassis rail, which can cause it to contact the exhaust manifold and heat shield.
Battery cable contact with the exhaust manifold and heat shield can increase the risk of a fire Click here for more.
Your Money
Refinancing a mortgage means getting a new loan to replace your mortgage, which could lower your monthly payment or your interest rate. But lenders will charge you fees to refinance, just as they would for a mortgage. Here's what you need to know if you're considering whether a refinance loan is worth the cost. Click here for more.
For the Lawyers
Arbitration awards cannot be modified unless a material miscalculation appears on the face of the award. An arbitration panel awarded a couple more than $777,000 in damages along with attorney fees and costs of arbitration. Defendant asked a Colorado federal court to modify the damage award pursuant to section 11(a) of the Federal Arbitration Act based on "an evident material miscalculation of figures." Defendant claimed that the panel had accidently awarded the couple a double recovery instead of only awarding one of the alternative measure of damages offered by the couple's damages expert. On appeal, the Tenth Circuit first considered Section 11(a)'s plain meaning. That section provides, in relevant part, that a court may modify an award if it contains "an evident material miscalculation of figures." The court found that, in ordinary English, a "miscalculation of figures" refers to mathematical, not legal, errors; that "material" means important, essential or relevant; and that "evident" means plain or obvious. Section 11(a) thus allows courts to correct obvious, significant mathematical errors. The court focused, however, on whether the term "evident" meant that the error had to be obvious on the face of the award or after one looked to the arbitration record. Because the text could support either possibility, the court considered that a "face-of-the-award limitation" best supported the FAA's purposes. Mid Atlantic Corp. v. Bien, Nos. 18-1195 and 18-1200 (10th Cir. Apr. 14, 2020) Click here for more.