If you have multiple credit cards in your wallet, you probably decide which one to use based on factors like each card’s interest rate, current balance, and rewards programs. Merchants want to make that choice easier by offering discounts or other incentives for using cards that cost the retailer less to process, but American Express forbids its merchants from offering such deals, but it will soon be up to the Supreme Court to decide whether or not that’s legal. [More]
supreme court
The Supreme Court’s Newest Justice Must Help Run The Cafeteria
By 7.21.17
The junior person in a workplace often gets stuck with tasks that no one else wants to do, in a form of occupational hazing. In the U.S. Supreme Court, one hallowed tradition is that the newest addition to the bench must take on a task that nothing in law school or in a Senate confirmation hearing has prepared them for: He or she must serve on the committee in charge of the building’s cafeteria. [More]
Why Does The U.S. Government Sue Inanimate Objects?
By 7.6.17
When Justice Department went after Mesopotamian artifacts imported by Hobby Lobby, the lawsuit was actually filed against the ancient clay artifacts and not the retailer. Likewise, when the government determined that a Las Vegas casino had too much gold, it arrested and sued a solid gold rooster statue. Though they don’t always make headlines, such cases have a long, sometimes hilarious, history in U.S. law. [More]
Supreme Court: Protections Against Debt Collectors Don’t Apply To Banks That Purchase Defaulted Loans
By 6.12.17
The Fair Debt Collection Practices Act prohibits debt collectors from a number of annoying and aggressive practices, like calling late at night to hassle folks about their debt or publicly outing people as debtors. However, this morning — in Justice Neil Gorsuch’s first opinion — the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that this law doesn’t apply to banks that purchase defaulted loans with the intention of collecting on them. [More]
Supreme Court Will Decide If Your Mobile Phone Location Data Is Private
By 6.5.17 — Updated: 6.9.17
It’s a funny thing about the 21st century: Nearly all of us carry location trackers on us, voluntarily, every single place we go. They’re our phones, and we carry them with us when we shop, while we work, while we exercise, while we sleep, and even when we use the bathroom. And that leaves an incredibly valuable, intimate trail of location data that businesses use basically however they want. But as far as your legal rights are concerned, is that personal data actually private? [More]
Why The Supreme Court’s Ruling In Toner Cartridge Case Is A Win For Consumers
By 5.30.17
“Patent exhaustion” isn’t exactly a thrilling pair of words. But that was the crux of a case the Supreme Court ruled on today that answered one incredibly important question for consumers: Can a company that sold you something use its patent on that product to control how you choose to use after you buy it?
Happily for consumers, the Court’s answer is, basically, “nope.” [More]
Why You Should Care About The Supreme Court Case On Toner Cartridges
By 3.23.17 — Updated: 5.10.17
A corporate squabble over printer toner cartridges doesn’t sound particularly glamorous, and the phrase “patent exhaustion” is probably already causing your eyes to glaze over. However, these otherwise boring topics are the crux of a Supreme Court case that will answer a question with far-reaching impact for all consumers: Can a company that sold you something use its patent on that product to control how you choose to use after you buy it? [More]
State Supreme Court Rules Flower Shop Owner Discriminated Against Same-Sex Couple
By 2.16.17
Back in 2013, Washington state Attorney General Bob Ferguson filed a consumer protection lawsuit on behalf of a same-sex couple who claimed their longtime friend and florist refused to provide the flowers for their wedding because of their sexual orientation. Today, that case is being put to rest as the Washington state Supreme Court upheld a lower court’s decision that the florist’s actions violated state laws. [More]
23 Lawmakers Want To Know What DOJ Would Do With Expanded Hacking Authority
By 10.27.16
The U.S. Congress has a month to decide on what it should do about a pending rule change that would arguably grant federal law enforcement agencies more authority to remotely hack into computers. Congress can let this amended rule go into effect by doing nothing, so before they let their idleness get the better of them, a group of nearly two-dozen members of the House and Senate are now pushing the Justice Department for more details. [More]
Supreme Court Deadlock On Immigration Puts Immigrants At Increased Risk For Fraud, Deportation
By 6.24.16
Yesterday, a deadlocked U.S. Supreme Court stymied the White House’s hopes to enact large-scale immigration reforms that would have allowed millions of immigrants to remain in the country. While this lack of a decision doesn’t necessarily mean the end of the program, it will inevitably create confusion for those directly affected by the case, while fostering a breeding ground for fraudsters seeking to take advantage of immigrants uncertain of their status. [More]
Lawsuit Against For-Profit Sanford Brown Institute Moves Forward, Despite Arbitration Clause
By 6.16.16
The highest court in New Jersey has ruled that a lawsuit filed by former students against for-profit educator Sanford Brown Institute can move forward, even though the school’s enrollment agreement has an arbitration clause that takes away students’ right to file such lawsuits. [More]
Net Neutrality Survives For Today, But The Legal Battle Is Far From Over
By 6.14.16
The metaphorical ink on today’s mammoth 184-page ruling upholding net neutrality was barely even dry before everyone with a stake in the matter came out swinging with statements. And while the decision earned praise from consumer advocates and some lawmakers, the telecom industry has vowed to continue the fight. [More]
Wells Fargo Must Pay $203M To Customers After Supreme Court Rejection
By 4.4.16
Nearly six years after a federal court ordered Wells Fargo to pay $203 million in refunds to customers victimized by the bank’s overdraft policies — and after years of bouncing back and forth through the appeals process — the U.S. Supreme Court has decided to let that judgment stand. [More]
Split Supreme Court Allows Compulsory Public Union Fees To Stand
By 3.29.16
A high-profile Supreme Court case involving mandatory membership fees paid to public employee unions was expected to result in yet another controversial, narrow 5-4 decision by the nation’s highest court, but today, with only eight justices currently seated, an evenly divided SCOTUS issued a one-sentence non-decision that leaves things unchanged. [More]
Supreme Court Leaves Apple On The Hook For $450 Million In E-Book Refunds
By 3.7.16
Nearly three years after Apple was found liable for conspiring with book publishers to fix prices on the e-book market — and nine months after losing again at the appeals court level — the electronics giant has failed to convince the U.S. Supreme Court to hear its case one final time, meaning Apple is now on the hook for $450 million to e-book buyers. [More]
Today Is The Anniversary Of 2 Live Crew’s Historic Supreme Court Win
By 3.7.16
2 Live Crew may be best known for its raunchy 1989 hit “Me So Horny” and the group’s public spats with family values groups and censors, but 22 years ago today, Luther “Luke Skywalker” Campbell and the Crew scored an important victory before the U.S. Supreme Court in a ruling that affirmed that parody constitutes a protected “fair use” of copyrighted material. [More]
Hormel Must Pay Workers For The Time It Takes To Put On, Take Off Uniforms
By 3.1.16
Over the past several years, companies have come under scrutiny for a variety of practices that some see as wage theft, including not providing reimbursement for uniforms, requiring some work to be performed off the clocks, and mandating employees clock out for a break even if they don’t take one. Today, Wisconsin’s highest court found that Hormel Foods owes hundreds of workers back wages for failing to provide compensation for the time spent putting on and taking off required clothing and equipment. [More]
Bill Aims To Restore Consumers’ Legal Rights Stripped Away By Supreme Court Rulings
By 2.4.16
In recent years, a narrow majority of the U.S. Supreme Court has repeatedly sided against consumers’ access to the justice system, concluding that a 90-year-old law gives companies the authority to effectively skirt the legal system by preempting customers’ lawsuits. That’s why some legislators have decided it’s time to change that law. [More]
