Chicago Business Litigation Lawyer Blog

Consumer Reports: “Used Cars to Avoid” — Chicago Used Car Fraud Lawyers From Our Firm Fight For Your Rights!

March 10, 2016 | Peter S. Lubin and Patrick Austermuehle

Consumer Reports video discusses used cars with known problems to avoid purchasing. Used Car Dealers also engage in various scams to cheat buyers. When that happens we are there to protect your rights.

Our Chicago car fraud and Lemon law attorneys near Wheaton, Roselle and Carol Stream bring individual and class actions suits for defective cars with common design defects and auto dealer fraud and other car dealer scams such as selling rebuilt wrecks as certified used cars or misrepresenting a car as being in good condition when it is rebuilt wreck, is a flood vechicle or had the odometer rolled back. We also see cases where new car dealers conceal that the car has been in accident while in their possession or used car dealers who put duck tape in back of the check engine light to conceal serious engine or emission problems. Super Lawyers has selected our DuPage, Kane, Kendall, Lake, Will and Cook County Illinois auto-fraud, car dealer fraud and lemon law lawyers as among the top 5% in Illinois. We only collect our fee if we win or settle your case. For a free consultation call our Chicago class action lawyers at our toll free number 630-333-0333 or contact us on the web by clicking here.

Lack of Power of Attorney Used to Defeat Nursing Home Arbitration Clauses

March 9, 2016 | Peter S. Lubin and Patrick Austermuehle

Arbitration agreements have been sneaking their way into all sorts of contracts, from employment contracts to loan agreements. Originally intended to allow businesses or parties to settle complex disputes between themselves more efficiently, many companies have perverted their use so that they can require arbitration whenever anyone at all has a dispute with them, even individual employees or consumers over relatively small amounts of money or in situations where courts are much better suited to resolve the disputes. The Courts honor freedom of contract principles and allow for enforcement of arbitration agreements so businesses are using them frequently.

Arbitration agreements can have a number of drawbacks for plaintiffs. The first is that they don’t allow class actions, which means individuals with small claims against a company have no way of combining their claims with other people to create one lawsuit large enough to justify the expenses associated with filing a legal complaint.

Arbitration is also private. They are heard and ruled by for-profit companies, not objective judges or juries. Companies that pay for the arbitration, or bring a lot of business to a single arbitrator, are more likely to get a favorable ruling from that arbitrator. There are arbitrators known for their objectivity and fairness, but some corporations retain the right to choose the arbitrator, and when they have the opportunity to choose between one they have a relationship with and one whose ruling may be unpredictable, the company has little motivation to choose the unbiased arbitrator. Continue reading ›

NPR Reports: “Coaches Defend University Of Tennessee Amid Sexual Assault Lawsuit”

March 8, 2016 | Peter S. Lubin and Patrick Austermuehle

NPR reports:

At the University of Tennessee Tuesday, 16 of the university’s head coaches held a rare joint press conference. They defended the university in the wake of a Title IX federal sexual assault lawsuit. ..

The press conference was a rare sight. All of the University of Tennessee’s head athletic coaches – including football, baseball, diving and soccer – sitting on a stage, telling reporters that UT is not such a bad place. Robert Patrick coaches women’s volleyball at the Southeastern Conference school.

Indianapolis Car Dealership Allegedly Tampered With Odometer

March 5, 2016 | Peter S. Lubin and Patrick Austermuehle

Our Chicago car fraud and Lemon law attorneys near Plano and Yorkville bring individual and class actions suits for defective cars with common design defects and auto dealer fraud and other car dealer scams such as selling rebuilt wrecks as certified used cars or misrepresenting a car as being in good condition when it is rebuilt wreck or had the odometer rolled back. We also see cases where new car dealers conceal that the car has been in accident while in their possession or used car dealers who put duck tape in back of the check engine light to conceal serious engine or emission problems. Super Lawyers has selected our DuPage, Kane, Kendall, Lake, Will and Cook County Illinois auto-fraud, car dealer fraud and lemon law lawyers as among the top 5% in Illinois. We only collect our fee if we win or settle your case. For a free consultation call our Chicago class action lawyers at our toll free number 630-333-0333 or contact us on the web by clicking here.

Used Car Fraud Nightmare — We Sue For Flood Cars, Rebuilt Wrecks and Odometer Roll Backs in Court or Arbitration

March 4, 2016 | Peter S. Lubin and Patrick Austermuehle

Consumers often make the mistake of signing away their rights to go to court. Even if you have signed away your rights we pursue crooked auto dealers in arbitration and have won large arbitration judgments or settlements of over $50,000 and even $100,000 for buyers of flooded cars or rebuilt wrecks.

Supreme Court Rejects Pick Off of Class Representative and Defendants’ Attempt to Nullify a TCPA Class Action

March 3, 2016 | Peter S. Lubin and Patrick Austermuehle

It is common for parties involved in a lawsuit, especially a large class action, to settle their legal claims outside of court, instead of pursuing the dispute all the way to a court ruling. But just because one party makes an offer, does not mean the other party is required to accept that offer. Each side will agree to or reject an offer to settle the dispute based on a number of factors, of which the amount of the settlement is just one.

In some cases involving statutory damages, such as allegations of violating the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA), if a defendant offers to pay the lead plaintiff all actual and statutory damages in full, the plaintiff’s claims are considered null and void, regardless of whether the plaintiff accepts the terms of the settlement. This allows defendants to avoid a large and costly class action lawsuit by paying off the claims of just one plaintiff. But that recently changed with a ruling by the Supreme Court. Continue reading ›

Lemon Cars: What You Need to Know

March 2, 2016 | Peter S. Lubin and Patrick Austermuehle

Our Chicago used car fraud lawyers can solve your used car dealer fraud issues.

NPR Reports: Spotify Faces Class Action For Copyright Infringement

March 2, 2016 | Peter S. Lubin and Patrick Austermuehle

NPR reports:

Spotify, the groundbreaking streaming music service, is facing a class-action lawsuit alleging that it violates the copyrights of thousands of independent musicians.

If the songwriters prevail it could cost Spotify tens of millions of dollars in unpaid royalties. And according to experts in the music industry, this may be only the beginning, because other streaming services reportedly commit the same violations.

The named plaintiff in the lawsuit, filed on Monday in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California, is David Lowery, an outspoken musicians’ rights advocate and frontman of rock bands Camper Van Beethoven and Cracker. He says his songs have been streamed hundreds of thousands of times without his permission.

Illinois Partnership Dispute Law — Our Chicago Business Dispute Attorneys Represent Partners and Shareholders in Business Lawsuits

March 1, 2016 | Peter S. Lubin and Patrick Austermuehle

Our business litigation firm has handled Illinois partnership disputes for many years. We have handled partnership disputes in a wide variety of different contexts from lawyer and doctor disputes to disputes by real-estate development partners.

We have handled TRO’s and preliminary injunction matters and dissolution of partnerships that have lasted over two decades.

NPR Reports: Congress Proposes Statute to Ban Arbitrations — Our Chicago Consumer Rights and Car Fraud Attorneys Win in Arbitration

March 1, 2016 | Peter S. Lubin and Patrick Austermuehle

NPR reports:

But more than 50 labor, legal, medical and consumer organizations have told the government that’s not enough. They want these pre-dispute arbitration agreements banned entirely. Thirty-four U.S. senators and attorneys general from 15 states and the District of Columbia also have called for banning the agreements.

“No one should be forced to accept denial of justice as a price for the care their loved ones deserve,” says Henry Waxman, a former congressman from California. Arbitration agreements keep the neglect and abuse of nursing home residents secret, Waxman says, because the cases aren’t tried in open court and resolutions sometimes have gag rules.

“None of the systemic health and safety problems that cause the harm will ever see the light of day,” he says.

The proposed federal regulation would require nursing homes to explain these arbitration agreements so that residents or their families understand what they’re signing. It would also make sure that agreeing to arbitration is not a requirement for nursing home admission.