Do you live in California? Have you ever been mislead, deceived, or ripped off by a business? If so, you probably have a legal basis to file a lawsuit. California has some of the strongest consumer protection laws in the country. One of the oldest and most frequently litigated is the Unfair Competition Law (UCL). Found in the California Business and Professions Code sections 17200 through 17209, the UCL is designed to prohibit businesses from almost any sort of business-related misconduct. Specifically, it allows for “specific or preventive relief” “to enforce a penalty, forfeiture, or penal law in a case of unfair competition.” What Constitutes “Unfair Competition”? The California Business and Professions Code (BPC) defines unfair competition as one of the following: “Any unlawful” business act or practice Any “unfair” business act or practice Any “fraudulent business act or practice” Any “unfair, deceptive, untrue or misleading advertising” Any act in BPC sections 17500 through 17577,…Read More
“I Can Turn Anyone Into A Successful Real Estate Investor, Including You.” -Donald Trump With these words, Donald Trump lured consumers to Trump University, believing that they could become successful real estate investors. Between 2005 and 2010, Trump University operated as a real estate investment training program that charged students between $1,500 for a three day course to $35,000 for an “Elite” experience. In advertisements, Trump University promised that students would learn from Donald Trump’s “handpicked experts”, who Trump himself described in videos as “terrific people, terrific brains, successful, the best.” For many students who attended Trump University, these promises went unfulfilled. As a result, two class action lawsuits were filed in California Federal Court and one lawsuit was filed by the Attorney General of New York, on behalf of thousand of students. Low v. Trump University, LLC, filed in the U.S. District Court for Southern California, was a class action suit that alleged that…Read More
Enacted in 1970, the Consumers Legal Remedies Act (CLRA) was designed with the purpose “to protect consumers against unfair and deceptive business practices and to provide efficient and economical procedures to secure such protection.” As the title and purpose suggest, this is an incredibly powerful tool that protects consumers and makes it unlawful for a business to make misrepresentations that result in a consumer purchasing a good or service. What Does The CLRA Cover? Virtually any misrepresentation by a business is covered, including bait-and-switch, fake goods, fake price reductions, solicitation, false advertisement, and more. There are twenty-three listed misrepresentations that have been deemed to be unlawful, including: Misrepresenting the affiliation, connection, or association with, or certification by, another. Representing that goods or services have sponsorship, approval, characteristics, ingredients, uses, benefits, or quantities which they do not have or that a person has a sponsorship, approval, status, affiliation, or connection which he or she does not…Read More
Who bears the financial burden when a giant for-profit college goes under? We all do. In September 2016, ITT Technical Institute, one of America’s largest private for-profit colleges with over 130 locations across 38 states, was effectively shut down by the U.S. Department of Education. The college was prohibited from enrolling students who use federal financial aid and was also on the verge of losing accreditation. Former U.S. Under Secretary of Education Ted Mitchell stated at the time that it took action “in the face of growing evidence that ITT was a risk to both students and taxpayers” and “There are very fundamental issues of institution integrity, financial stability, administrative capacity and their ability to meet federal and state financial aid administration requirements, so these are not small matters, these are matters that cut to the heart of the institution’s ability to provide quality service to its students and to provide value to taxpayers in the Title…Read More
As you get older, so does your home. In fact, 60 percent of seniors live in homes that are more than 20 years old. This means your home probably needs some improvements, repairs or accommodations for you as it becomes more difficult for you to get around. You may have explained this to the contractor who offered to do some work for you, and you never imagined someone would take advantage of your situation. Unfortunately, between 20,000 and 100,000 scams are perpetrated against homeowners each year. If that seems like a broad range, it’s because many victims are too embarrassed to report it or to seek help getting their money back. Over 30 percent of those victims are seniors like you, and they worry that if they admit to falling for a scam, their children may force them to give up their homes. Recognizing A Scam at Your Front Door When the contractor came to…Read More
