Author: Jacob High
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New proposed rule would make it easier to sue credit card companies
Today the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) proposed a new rule that could make it easier for you to sue a credit card company. According to the CFPB, The proposed new rule would “make it illegal for contracts for many types of consumer financial products to have an arbitration clause that deprives consumers of the…
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New publication for Michigan’s Real Property Law Section
I’m pleased to announce that an article I co-wrote has now been published! An Agricultural Law Analysis of Green Acres and the City: A Curly Pig Tale of a Problem This article covers some of the statutes and rules that affect Michigan real estate, especially agricultural real estate. It includes a description of real property…
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One out of three Americans has debt in collections
Major news sources today shared a recent report from the Urban Institute, which makes the bold claim that one in three Americans with a credit file has a debt that is in collections. The article quotes Caroline Ratcliffe, a senior fellow at the Urban Institute: “Most people wouldn’t blink if told that the majority of…
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Supreme Court holds that debtor cannot keep inherited IRA
Clark v Rameker decision by Supreme Court Today, the Supreme Court held in favor of a trustee who argued that a debtor cannot exempt a tax-exempt inherited individual retirement account under a section of the bankruptcy code that allows debtors to exempt “Retirement funds to the extent that those funds are in a fund or…
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College students in Michigan may soon postpone mandatory jury service
Michigan, like most places in America, has a compulsory jury service requirement. Michigan law also requires people who are summoned for jury service to appear, upon penalty of contempt. (MCL 600.1346) But the Governor of Michigan may soon change that after he signs House Bill No. 4570, which has already been passed by the Michigan…
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Michigan slip and fall law and icy conditions
The weather in the past few days and weeks has been unseasonably cold. Even as I write this, there are near blizzard conditions outside, and any travel is hazardous. And when there is snow and ice, there is often injury. What is Michigan’s law with regard to slip and fall cases involving icy conditions? The…
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Supreme Court to hear Bankruptcy Case on Inherited IRA account
Many people don’t realize that a debtor in bankruptcy can usually keep the money that is in their retirement accounts. This is because in 2005, Congress amended the bankruptcy code and added 11 USC 522(d)(12), which allows debtors to exempt “[r]etirement funds to the extent that those funds are in a fund or account that…
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Are corporations “persons” capable of “religious exercise?”
Is a for-profit, secular corporation a “person” capable of “religious exercise?” In this recent opinion from the Sixth Circuit on an issue of first impression, the Court said, “No.” On first glance, this question may sound a little silly. But it isn’t silly to the Kennedy family. They own two companies named Autocam Corporation and…
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S.S. Central America sunken treasure and 6th Cir opinion
The Sixth Circuit released an opinion yesterday on a subject that I’ve actually had a run-in with at another time in my life. It involved the sinking of the S.S. CENTRAL AMERICA (which was formerly known as S.S. GEORGE LAW) in 1857, along with $1,600,000 in gold which was mined from gold rush California (in…
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Cell phone rings in criminal trial and courtroom cleared
Does a judge violate a criminal defendant’s Sixth Amendment right to a public trial violated when a cell phone goes off and the judge clears the courtroom? In a word, Yes. But what is the remedy? The Sixth Amendment: “In all criminal prosecutions, the accused shall enjoy the right to a speedy and public trial, by…