In the fine print of credit card agreements and bank deposit agreements, banks and credit card companies frequently require consumers to agree to give up their right to sue the bank in court-even for serious violations of consumer rights-and submit any claims to arbitration. In July, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau adopted a rule placing…
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Earlier this month, the Texas Supreme Court issued an opinion in Great American Insurance Company v. Hamel clarifying the circumstances where an insurer who refuses to provide a defense to its insured may be held accountable for a judgment successfully obtained against its insured. In the underlying case, homeowners sued their builder for failing to…
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Harris County, represented by firm attorney Benny Agosto, Jr. received an important win from a Houston appellate court in a property tax case involving a Houston oil refinery. In a 2-1 decision handed down last Thursday, the First Court of Appeals in Harris County v. Harris County Appraisal District reversed the trial court’s ruling and…
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The Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection recently issued a proposed rule that would restore consumers’ rights to bring class-action lawsuits against financial firms, such as banks and credit card companies. The proposed rule would prevent enforcement of arbitration clauses requiring consumers to present their disputes to private arbitrators favorable to the financial firms. The proposed…
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If you follow sports at all, you have undoubtedly heard about the “Deflategate” scandal that has embroiled the NFL throughout the offseason, in which New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady was suspended by the NFL for four games after being found complicit in a scheme to deflate game balls to suit Brady’s preference before the…
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In early September there were hundreds of legitimate apps in the iOS App Store infected with malicious code. Apple is well known for strict security checks that rarely allow any negative damaging software into their merchandise. The technology giant is in the process of shutting down the first large-scale software breach that runs from iPhones…
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In 2010, the CFPB was formed as part of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act due to the 2008 financial crisis. The director of the CFPB, Richard Corday, reported that the consumer task force is still uncovering illegal credit card add-ons to millions of unknowing consumers. In the past four years, this…
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Across the United States, a Denver based company, Service Systems Associates (SSA), functions as a credit and debit card processing system for many zoos and other cultural centers. According to Brian Krebs of KrebsonSecurity, this past week the company acknowledged that there has been a breach in some of their processing systems. Customers that have…
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