[Update — I’ve posted a few followups: Are Facebook’s New Terms of Use Enforceable?, What Do Facebook’s New Terms of Use Mean for Your Content? and Facebook Rescinds Its New, Unfriendly Terms of Use in Favor of Its Old, Unfriendly Terms of Use. Finally, 25 Things About Facebook’s Terms of Use and
consumer law
Judge Posner Recognizes the Conflicts of Interest Inherent in Class Actions – Then Encourages Them
By Max Kennerly, Esq. on
Overlawyered leads us to this line from a Posner opinion in Mirafasihi v. Fleet Mortgage Co., decided December 30, 2008:
It is an example of the typical pathology of class action litigation, which is riven with conflicts of interest …
The case alleged numerous violations of state (every state) consumer protection statutes and…
“Avoiding Mass Torts: Pre-Litigation Counseling” — Doing Good is Good, Hiding Evidence is Bad
By Max Kennerly, Esq. on
Beck and Herrmann at Drug and Device Law are mostly right:
What, our reader asked, should companies do to minimize the risk that they become embroiled in a mass tort?
Ha!
There’s an old political cartoon, maybe from The New Yorker, where a man is strolling down a city street. The caption reads: "Exercises
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A Friendly Reminder About Summary Judgment: When In Doubt, Use Affidavits To Sustain Your Prima Facie Case
By Max Kennerly, Esq. on
The United States District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania punts an easy one:
Counts I and II of the complaint arise under the Truth in Lending Act ("TILA"), 15 U.S.C. §§ 1601, et seq., Home Ownership and Equity Protection Act of 1994 ("HOEPA"), 15 U.S.C. § 1639 and Regulation Z of the Federal…
Pennsylvania Bad Faith in Title Insurance Policies
By Max Kennerly, Esq. on
Posted in For Non-Lawyers, The Law
A Pennsylvania insurance coverage / bad faith question:
I bought my home 5 years ago from estate. Now, I’m selling my home, the buyer’s title insurance company found 3 problems, including a tax lein of 55.00 plus penalties. My title insurance company offered ademity letter to new title insurance company. They don’t want that,
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FDA Releases Names of Drugs on the Adverse Event Reporting System
By Max Kennerly, Esq. on
A victory for open governance and consumer safety — there’s no good reason to keep this information from the public. Here’s the current list:
Potential Signals of Serious Risks/New Safety Information Identified by the Adverse Event Reporting System (AERS) January – March 2008
| Product Name: Active Ingredient (Trade) or Product Class |
Potential Signal |
|---|
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S. 3325: Using Your Tax Dollars To Fund Corporate (MPAA/RIAA) Copyright Civil Litigation
By Max Kennerly, Esq. on
Well, this sounds fair:
Last week, the Senate Judiciary Committee gave the green light to S. 3325, "The Enforcement of Intellectual Property Act of 2008." Among other things, this intellectual property enforcement bill lets the DOJ enforce civil copyright claims and lets the government do the MPAA and RIAA’s intellectual property rights enforcement work for
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Third Circuit: Arbitration Clause Enforceable Even Where Party Ignorant of the Language It Is In
By Max Kennerly, Esq. on
Posted in For Non-Lawyers, The Law
Morales v. Sun Constructors, Inc., 2008 U.S. App. LEXIS 18513 (3d Cir., August 28, 2008) reiterated an important point for non-lawyers to know:
The Supreme Court has observed: “It will not do for a man to enter into a contract, and, when called upon to respond to its obligations, to say that he
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“100% Pomegranate Juice” Loses for Lack of Pomegranatiness and 100 Percentness
By Max Kennerly, Esq. on
43(B)log recounts the delicious facts of Pom Wonderful LLC v. Purely Juice, Inc. (C.D. Cal., July 17, 2008).
Apparently there’s a law that says your “100% pomegranate juice” that’s “all natural” with “NO added sugars or sweeteners” can’t be made entirely of corn syrup and fruits other than pomegranate.
Who knew?
“Our Class-Action System Is Unconstitutional” and Bad Legal Arguments
By Max Kennerly, Esq. on
In today’s Wall Street Journal there’s a great lesson on poor advocacy.
The article’s text is indented and italicized.
Bad Legal Argument 1: Rushing Into a Judo Flip
There’s a hidden tax imposed on companies that do business in the United States that hinders their international competitiveness and eventually filters down to consumers.
This
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