Under Texas law, wrongfully convicted criminals are entitled to $80,000 for each year of mistaken incarceration. But a man who was locked away for 18 years after he was convicted of capital murder, and was released when a state court dropped the charges, is being stiffed. [More]
technicalities
Mazda Dealer Won't Give Loyalty Discount Because Insurer Now Owns My Totaled Car
By 6.11.10
What does it mean to be “loyal” to a car manufacturer? Brett tells Consumerist that he wanted to take advantage of a program that offered a $500 loyalty discount to people who already own Mazdas. He negotiated a price with a local dealer, then learned that he wasn’t eligible for the $500 discount…because his previous Mazda had been totaled (that’s a picture of it, at left), and his car insurance company now holds the title. [More]
Was Your Cash For Clunkers Deal Rejected After Being Approved?
By 9.8.09
Edmunds.com, the car info website, is asking people who participated in the short-lived Cash for Clunkers program to contact them if something went wrong. Although they can’t fix any problems, they’re trying to collect data on consumers who are being asked to pay back the government rebate after already being approved, which was forbidden under the rules of the program, so they can present the data to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.
After Weekend Controversy, Wisconsin Landlord Releases Man From Lease On Murder Scene Apartment
By 4.15.08
This morning, WKOW in Madison, Wisconsin, reported that Wisconsin Management Company had refused to let a University of Wisconsin student out of a lease a year and a half early. What was surprising about the story was that the man had found his fiancée murdered in the apartment last week. Even worse, the company wouldn’t confirm that it would replace the carpet or re-paint the walls until it had completed “further investigation” of the situation. Before we posted the story this evening, the management company had posted a press release on its website saying the whole thing was a misunderstanding and the lease has been dissolved. Download the press release here (PDF), or read it below.
