Author: LawtonCates
Forced arbitration is considered by many as a dire and growing threat to our constitutional right to an open and unbiased hearing in court. Yet most Americans have never even heard of it. Take a minute and learn how this issue effects all of us. Tia’s employment case against Circuit City was thrown out of […]
If you aren’t grilling already, you probably will be soon – or at least joining friends and family for a festive summer barbeque. So whether you are wearing the apron or are just a hungry bystander, here are some timely tips on fun and safe grilling. Ah, there it is — the unmistakable aroma of […]
Ally Financial, Inc., has filed a petition with the U.S. Supreme Court to “decertify” a class action filed against it in Missouri; this case has implications for Wisconsin consumers as well. In the case, Ally is accused of illegally repossession cars in Missouri by not giving proper written notice to the car owners. A class action […]
In Illinois, recently, law enforcement began to take action against debt collectors demanding money from debtors for debts that were entirely made up and fraudulent. Some debtors paid as much as $30,000 to resolve debts they never owed. Just demanding that you pay money you don’t owe violates both federal and state law, and if someone demands […]
The state and federal constitutions guarantee citizens of Wisconsin the right to a civil trial by jury. Yet, the so-called tort reformers want to limit your rights under the constitution. These attacks come in many forms such as making it more difficult to file a lawsuit, adding protections for corporate defendants, and damage caps. The […]
If you own a credit card, you have probably given up your right to a trial in the event of any dispute with the credit card company. You probably didn’t know that when you signed up for the card because the information was buried in the fine print. You most certainly did not know that the “arbitration” […]
It is amazing how much our country, and the world, has changed within the last 1 to 2 weeks. A short time ago I was in a contested workers compensation hearing with a client who had been waiting approximately three years to get her case resolved. The next day it seemed like the entire world […]
Contractors have the ability to use liens to protect their ability to get paid for the work they have done. Generally speaking, a lien is a legal interest in someone else’s property that a creditor, in this case the contractor, possesses until the debt is paid. Various parties involved in a construction project can get […]
Today, the Wisconsin Department of Financial Institutions, the state agency that, in part, has a role regulating certain businesses in this state, released an important press release on the growing problem of collections fraud, specifically collectors or persons acting as collectors making phone calls to attempt to collect a debt that may never have existed, […]
On August 7, 2019 LawtonCates filed a lawsuit that will seek class action status to obtain protection and remedies for Wisconsin consumers affected by the Capital One data breach. The suit alleges that Capital One violated the Wisconsin Consumer Act when it failed to provide adequate protection for personal private information submitted by people who […]