Archive for July, 2007

Here is a listing of all the new Minnesota laws for 2007. And, of course, the laws from 2007 relating to consumers.

Starting tomorrow, a new law takes effect in Minnesota that will prohibit merchants from storing a customer’s PIN, CVV security code, or magnetic stripe information for more than 48 hours. In another year, the penalty provisions of the law kick in, which allow a banks to sue merchants for security breaches.
The law essentially gives teeth [...]

From the New York Times editorial:
The federal agencies that are supposed to regulate the banking and credit card industries have failed utterly to keep pace with deceptive and unfair practices that have become shamefully standard in the business.
Here is a good example of a not-uncommon victim of credit card industry practices:
According to testimony, one witness [...]

A new Minnesota predatory lending law goes into effect on August 1, just two days away. As pointed out at Behind the Mortgage, the law focuses on “stated income” loans, also called “liar loans.” Perhaps more importantly, the law also gives borrowers the right to sue anyone who falsifies information on a mortgage application.
A stated [...]

MySpace revealed today that it has found about 29,000 sexual predators using its social networking site. That is, on the one hand, a very small proportion of the 180 million profiles (about 1.6%). On the other hand, 29,000 predators combing through profiles and befriending attention-hungry minors is a pretty scary thought. The article does not [...]

I had to ignore the news for a couple of days until I could finally find time to read the book without getting it spoiled for me. It seemed like every blog and news source out there was determined to hand out hints. Now that I am done, posting will resume.
Also, wow that was a [...]

I am often contacted by non-Minnesota residents with questions about consumer law. Unfortunately, there is not a lot of direct help I can give to non-Minnesota residents, since I am only licensed to practice law in Minnesota. When it comes to national laws like the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act or the Fair Housing Act, [...]

It is a common misconception, I find in the course of my practice, that the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act protects all consumers from all debt collectors. This is not the case. The FDCPA applies only if (1) a debt collector is trying to collect (2) a consumer debt from (3) a consumer.

Homeowners in foreclosure who end up in my office are rarely surprised by their predicament. Most expected it for some time, but did nothing. This is a horrible mistake. If something happens and you know you will not be able to make your mortgage payments, you do have options. But if you don’t take action [...]

Rule 68 of the Federal (and Minnesota) Rules of Civil Procedure allows a defendant to make a “firm offer” to a plaintiff so that, if the plaintiff refuses the offer and goes on to recover less than the Rule 68 offer, the plaintiff must pay the defendant’s costs. If a defendant’s Rule 68 offer is [...]