Law for Real People - John Gear Law Office & Salem Consumer Law 503-339-7787

Local Media REALITY CHECK -- great piece about forced arbitration

9/1/2014

WOW. This FOX affiliate's "Reality Check" is an amazingly good piece of local TV journalism. WELL WORTH A WATCH.

Please share the video at the link with as many people as you can. Until everyday people realize just how badly the justice system has been privatized, corrupted, and turned against us, the real people, businesses will keep getting away with using arbitration to cover up their crimes and they will continue pouring money into campaigns to lock in their unfair dispute resolution scheme, where they get to use the power of the courts against you, but not the other way around.

Popular outrage is the only antidote. We have to start defeating any candidate for federal office who won't make fixing this mess a top priority.

Pretty good guidance on buying a new car and trading yours in

8/18/2014

Two very good articles with lots of sound advice for helping you avoid the salesman over there on the left.

How to Buy A Car (LA TIMES)

How to Trade a Car (LA Times)

And if you are thinking about a used car, this next LA Times link is a MUST READ:
How to know if your car was recalled but not fixed.

Federal judge appointed by GW Bush notes Emperor Arbitration's Nakedness

8/14/2014

"In a decision just two days ago, a federal judge appointed by George W. Bush felt compelled by U.S. Supreme Court decisions to enforce an arbitration clause even though the judge noted that

   (a) the court did not believe that the plaintiffs ever believed they were signing away their right to bring a lawsuit;

   (b) enforcing the clause would “undermine effective enforcement of federal antitrust laws”; and

   (c) enforcing the clause after the defendant first had decided to litigate in court was “inefficient and wasteful.”

The court concluded that in this area of law, “common sense plays no role.”

Here’s a blog post about the case, with link to the decision:

http://bit.ly/1pPBFJP

This is a true poster child of arbitration abuse, really highlighting just how unfair the law has gotten under the current U.S. Supreme Court’s decisions. If people will read this decision, they may well get a sense of just how out of whack the law has gotten in this area."

Hard lesson for some "DIY" types

6/25/2014

Saw a great comment today by a lawyer who is struggling hard to solve a very difficult (and, now, expensive) estate administration problem involving title to real property.

The problem was created by the now-deceased parents of his clients; those parents probably saved all of a few hundred bucks on lawyer fees by doing their own estate planning.

The lawyer's comment:

"You don't always get what you pay for, but you seldom get what you don't pay for."

New One-Number Statewide Abuse Hotline for All Forms of Abuse

5/12/2014

Oregon Adds Statewide Abuse Reporting Line:

(855) 503-SAFE

Today we are happy to announce that Oregon has added another option for reporting suspected abuse of children and vulnerable adults. All our regular local hotline and reporting numbers will continue to take reports as usual, but we have added a single statewide number that provides another way to make these important reports. Oregon's abuse reporting hotline for children and adults, (855) 503-SAFE [855-503-7233], is up and running, and it provides callers with the ability to report suspected child abuse, elder abuse, abuse of people with physical or developmental disabilities, and abuse of people with mental illness or those experiencing a mental health crisis.

Callers will be directed that if the report is an emergency requiring immediate attention, to hang up and dial 911. If it is not an emergency, then callers will work through a simple phone tree to ensure their report gets to the right place for response, based on zip code and characteristics of the person they are calling about. Calls can be answered in English or Spanish. Once the calls are routed through the phone tree, they will be directed to local DHS or county offices for Child Protective Services and Adult Protective Services, County Developmental Disability Programs (CDDP) or County Mental Health Programs (CMHP) for response. Not all areas of the state will have a live person to take reports after hours, and some locations will provide voicemail reporting options.

All local hotline and reporting numbers will continue to take reports as usual, and the new line adds a single call option for those who want to use it. Oregon's abuse reporting hotline for children and adults is the result of two legislative workgroups, one on child welfare and one on elder abuse, which recommended a single hotline option to simplify reporting for Oregonians who are not familiar with the abuse reporting process. Mandatory reporters are often well aware of local reporting and hotlines and are responsible for most of the reports we receive. Citizens who may only make one or two calls in their lifetimes can be overwhelmed by the seeming complexity of agencies and numbers from which to choose.

(855) 503-SAFE [855-503-7233] will solve that problem by providing a single phone number anyone can call from any community in Oregon!

Good local TV news expose on how arbitration clauses hurt real people

5/9/2014

A refreshing change of pace, a local news story that delves into the dirty background of how corporations use arbitration clauses to screw regular people.

Just when you think the corporate drive to avoid having to answer for wrongdoing can't get more insane or over the top

4/17/2014

When I first read about this, I was certain that I was reading a sly parody from "The Onion" or some other satirical publication. But then I found that the jokers behind this are deadly serious about it. In other words, General Mills has decided to promote itself to General LeMay and bomb the Constitution and your rights as an American to little super-sugarsaturated bits.

General Mills has granted itself a license to break the law. The owner of grocery staples including Trix, Cheerios, Betty Crocker, and Pillsbury, has quietly updated its terms of service to include a forced arbitration clause that eliminates its customers’ rights.

This means if you get salmonella poisoning from your Cinnamon Toast Crunch, you will not be able to hold General Mills accountable in court, and if you are cut by Old El Paso salsa that contains chunks of glass, your access to justice is denied. And yes, these were real things that happened last year!

Forced arbitration clauses allow corporations like General Mills to kick customers out of court and funnel them into an un-American dispute mill that is rigged, secretive and final -- and that denies you ANY ability to appeal, no matter how abusive the process.

If General Mills is not accountable, their customers are not safe.

Take action now! Write to Congress to urge them to protect their constituents from the abusive practice of forced arbitration!

And because we aim to help consumers around here, here's a helpful list of products you will want to avoid if you value your Constitutional rights as an American:

Betty Crocker
Good Earth
Muir Glen
Big G Cereals
Green Giant
Nature Valley
Bisquick
Haagen-Dazs
Old El Paso
Bugles
Hamburger Helper
Pillsbury
Cascadian Farm
Jus-Rol
Pillsbury Atta

Cheerios
Kix
Progresso
Chex
Knack & Back
Total
Cinnamon Toast Crunch
La Saltena
Totino's/Jeno's
Diablitos Underwood
Larabar
Trix
Fiber One
Latina
V. Pearl

Food Should Taste Good
Liberte
Wanchai Ferry
Frescarini
Lucky Charms
Wheaties
Fruit Snacks
Macaroni Grill
Yoplait
Gardetto's
Monsters
Yoplait France
Gold Medal
Mountain High

Finally a story that might get people's attention to help explain how and why mandatory arbitration = abomination when used against consumers and employees

4/8/2014

It's hard to get people to understand how they're being robbed and denied their rights when it happens without guns or violence.

But a lot of times, companies rip off customers and exploit their workers unfairly, and it's not until you try to do something about it that you find out that the company has built itself an "Accountability Shield" that does to the civil justice system what Kryptonite does to Superman -- allows the bad guys to escape the consequences of their wrongdoing, and leaves the good guys weakened or flat-out defeated.

Every story needs a hook to get and hold the reader's attention long enough for the message to be received. For a lot of guys, a story about hot young women being mistreated by their employer is a strong enough signal to get their attention, and then they can finally get the message. And, of course, young women, who are often mistreated horribly in the workplace, can understand that even the most superficially exciting jobs can really be terrible grinds -- made much worse by the arbitration clause that essentially lets the company get away with anything short of murder.

Why you need to call the police if your caregiver or employee steals from you

4/8/2014

I just had a call from a very nice person who needs caregivers around-the-clock, 365 days a year. One of these caregivers recently stole money from from my friend. My friend said it happened about six weeks ago, and that the person was no longer serving as a caregiver, so she was just going to let it go.

I had to explain to her why it was so important that she call the police:

Because other people looking to hire caregivers are going to look at the home-care workers' registry and look at the results of the criminal background checks, and if she doesn't file a police report about the theft, this caregiver will appear to have both a lot of experience and no problems in her background.

My friend felt uncomfortable; the caregiver is young, and my friend doesn't see herself as vindictive. Basically, she does not want to get the other person in trouble.

But of course, it's not my friend who is responsible for the trouble — the thief did that. My friend needs to report to protect others from this person and ultimately to protect herself by making sure that the system for background checks is reliable and complete. Someone who will steal from a disabled person getting 24 hour care is not someone who should be able to find work as a caregiver for other vulnerable people.

So you're not being kind by overlooking abuse or thefts like this. Consider what you're doing to the person's next victim.

My friend was also concerned that, because it would be her word against the caregiver's, she would not be able to prove that the theft occurred. I made two points about that:

one, it's not her problem to prove the case. That is a job of the police and the district attorney, not the crime victim.
Second, it turns out that the circumstances of the theft and what was stolen means that it is highly likely that the stolen property was fenced nearby, and it will be very memorable to whomever ended up with it -- meaning that it won't be that hard to prove that it was the stolen property in question.

Besides, punishing the thief isn't the issue here, or is at least not the main issue. The main issue is making sure that a person who preys on vulnerable people can't do so invisibly.

The situation is the same with nonprofits. Many times when nonprofits are ripped off, the tendency among the members as to keep it quiet and not make a big fuss about it. It's also very appealing for the board to say that they were partially at fault for allowing the thief to rip them off, and therefore they don't want the bad publicity to their organization etc. etc. The big problem with this logic is the same as in my friend's case: when crime victims don't report crimes, the criminals are allowed to find new victims and victimize them, because they have no reason to know about the person's past.

So, uncomfortable as it is, if someone rips you off, don't make it your job to help them cover it up. If someone abuses you or steals from you, whether you are an individual or as part of an organization, call the police. Let the police and the court system make the decisions on prosecution and any punishment that might occur if warranted.

Bottom line: don't help criminals victimize other people by failing to report past crimes.

UPDATE: A helpful assistant attorney general points out:
"Great points, John. You might also tell your friend and others that they can call the Medicaid Fraud Unit at the Oregon Department of Justice if the care occurs at home and the provider is paid by the State, or if the theft or financial exploitation occurred in a Medicaid-funded facility [note that nearly all nursing homes and assisted living facilities accept Medicaid funding - JMG] whether or not the victim is a Medicaid recipient."

Thanks, AAG! You can reach the Medicaid Fraud Unit (MFU) at 971-673-1971.

Historian shows how our "textualist" Supreme Court happily throws the Constitutional text overboard to serve corporate "citizens" and steal the 7th Amendment Right to Jury Trial from real citizens

3/31/2014

By Paul Bland:

http://publicjustice.net/blog/important-new-book-proves-federal-arbitration-act-badly-distorted-by-supreme-court

This post examines a recently published book by an extraordinary law professor, Imre Szalai, who has gone back through the papers of the three men who drafted and lobbied for and pushed the Federal Arbitration Act. In painstaking historical detail, reviewing all sorts of primary materials, he establishes convincingly that the FAA was never intended to (a) apply to employment contracts at all; or (b) apply to take-it-or-leave-it contracts. This book is an important development in the historical scholarship on the Act, and demonstrates conclusively that the FAA has been distorted and mis-shaped by the U.S. Supreme Court in recent decades. The Act now covers millions of people and transactions that it was never intended to address.

The advocates of forced arbitration are literally on the wrong side of history – the Court’s decisions fly in the face of what the authors and supporters of this statute had intended.

Paul Bland
Senior Attorney, Public Justice
Of Counsel, Chavez & Gertler
On Twitter @PblandBland

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