Contracts

Debt Collector Faked Court Hearings to Trick Consumers into Paying Up, Says AG’s Suit

A Pennsylvania debt collector conducted fake court hearings in a mock courtroom in its offices and even sent uniformed officers who appeared to be sheriff’s deputies to serve civil subpoenas demanding that consumers appear for “hearings” and “depositions,” the state attorney general’s office contends in a lawsuit. Intimidated consumers allegedly…

Nov 1, 2010 6:59 PM CDT

Is the Minimum Wage Unconstitutional? Two Senate Candidates Think So

Two Republican Senate candidates are asserting that the minimum wage is unconstitutional, despite a unanimous U.S. Supreme Court decision to the contrary. Senate candidates John Raese of West Virginia and Joe Miller of Alaska argue that Congress has no power to adopt a minimum wage, currently set at $7.25 an…

Oct 26, 2010 10:30 AM CDT

Google Admits Street View Cars Snagged E-Mail & Passwords, Is Sued re Saved Search Queries

After an admission by Google Inc. last week that the cars collecting data for its Street View mapping service inadvertently snared some entire e-mails and passwords from unsecured wireless computer networks comes news of a new lawsuit against the Internet search engine goliath on another front. A San Francisco woman…

Oct 25, 2010 10:22 PM CDT

Dentists Sue Blogger, Say She Reneged on Deal to Pay Her Bill with Write-Up; But Later Withdraw Suit

Updated: Well-known mommy blogger Lyss Stern agreed to write a puff piece for an advertising supplement for the New York Observer to pay off a nearly $45,000 dental bill, then reneged on the deal, contends a New York lawsuit filed by a dental firm. Lowenberg & Lituchy DDS said in…

Oct 25, 2010 6:14 PM CDT

Lawyer Had His Name on the Marquee But Wasn’t a Partner, Appeals Court Says

A New Jersey lawyer who had his name on the law firm marquee wasn’t a partner entitled to a payout when he was booted from the law firm, an appeals court has ruled. A trial judge had awarded lawyer Raymond Nadel $2.9 million, but a New Jersey appeals court reversed,…

Oct 22, 2010 12:29 PM CDT

Chief Justice Roberts Admits He Doesn’t Read the Computer Fine Print

Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. admitted at a college appearance on Tuesday that he doesn’t usually read the fine print that computer users must agree to before accessing some websites. Speaking at Canisius College in Buffalo, N.Y., the city where he was born, Roberts talked about cameras in the…

Oct 20, 2010 12:17 PM CDT

Bedbug Disclosure Becomes Part of NY Real Estate Deals

Bedbugs have infiltrated homes and even lawyer’s offices in New York, and they are also creeping into sales and rental contracts. Renters are protected under a new law that requires landlords in New York City to disclose bedbug infestations, the New York Times reports. The state’s Division of Housing and…

Oct 20, 2010 11:00 AM CDT

Inexperienced, Untrained Workers Hired as Foreclosure ‘Experts,’ Lawyer Says

Financial institutions and mortgage servicing departments have hired hair stylists, retail salespeople, assembly line workers and others with no formal training or experience in the field to work as foreclosure ‘experts’ since 2007, a Florida lawyer says. Peter Ticktin, a Deerfield Beach, Fla., lawyer who is defending 3,000 homeowners in…

Oct 15, 2010 9:52 PM CDT

Humble Maine Home, Ex-Lender Lawyer at Epicenter of Storm Over Defective Docs in Foreclosure Cases

An unprecedented national furor over a deluge of defective filings in mortgage foreclosure cases largely centers on a single unlikely case. Nicolle Bradbury admittedly can’t afford to pay the $474 monthly mortgage on her humble Maine home after losing her job. But she won the mortgage foreclosure lottery when a…

Oct 15, 2010 3:45 PM CDT

Red Bull Jettisons Space Sky Dive Due to Lawsuit

Red Bull is putting a hold on plans to sponsor a sky diver’s jump from the stratosphere because of a lawsuit that claims the energy drink company stole the idea. Parachutist Felix Baumgartner had planned to break the sound barrier and a world record with his jump out of a…

Oct 13, 2010 12:38 PM CDT

Pa. Law or Philly Judge May Prevent Presidential Streaker from Collecting on $1M Dare

A billionaire who promised to pay $1 million to anyone who ran naked in front of President Obama plans to decide today whether to pay the streaker who tried to comply. Juan Rodriguez, a 24-year-old New York man, was arrested on Sunday for his “commando-in-chief stunt” at a presidential rally…

Oct 13, 2010 11:32 AM CDT

Six Wildman Harrold Partners Unsure When Firm Will Allow Them to Leave

Updated: For 15 days, six partners at Wildman Harrold were hoping that the Chicago law firm would allow them to jump to Barnes & Thornburg sooner rather than later. Wildman Harrold requires partners to give 90 days’ notice before leaving the firm, and it uses the parternership provision to prevent…

Oct 12, 2010 1:51 PM CDT

Freeze Foreclosures in All 50 States, Lawmaker Urges Big Banks, as 40 State AGs Plan Joint Probe

Updated: Following news earlier today that Bank of America has called a temporary halt to foreclosures in all 50 states as it reviews paperwork to make sure it’s accurate, Sen. Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) is urging other major mortgage servicers to follow suit, reports the Washington Post. “I thank…

Oct 8, 2010 7:59 PM CDT

ABA: New Law Would Help Soldiers Focus on Missions Abroad Instead of Legal Problems at Home

For years, the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act has helped protect those on active duty, allowing them to, among other things, terminate leases and capping the interest rate creditors can charge at 6 percent. But to invoke these protections military personnel may need a lawyer. Yet even with representation, some creditors…

Oct 8, 2010 5:35 PM CDT

House Speaker Pelosi Calls for Federal Probe of How Banks Handle Mortgage Foreclosures

A group of Democratic lawmakers from California headed by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi is calling for a federal investigation of irregularities in mortgage foreclosure cases, in the wake of increasing reports of “robo-signatures” and other questionable practices by a number of major mortgage servicers. Additionally, prior to filing suit, banks…

Oct 5, 2010 10:08 PM CDT