In February 2012, 49 states, including Michigan, reached a $26 Billion settlement with five of the nation’s largest mortgage lenders over foreclosure practices previously utilized by these financial institutions. Earlier this month, the settlement was approved by a federal judge. The settlement is designed to provide restitution to borrowers who were improperly foreclosed on between 2008 and 2011. In addition, borrowers who are currently struggling with their mortgage payments or have homes that are underwater may be eligible to receive assistance from the settlement fund. Ultimately, the settlement may provide relief and assistance to countless borrowers struggling with our current housing crisis.
Month: April 2012
2012: Health Care Reform Provisions Effective Yet This Year
While we are all eagerly awaiting whether the United States Supreme Court will be rendering a decision on the individual mandate, and if so, what the decision will be, we have to be mindful of a number of compliance measures becoming effective yet this year. Please ensure you are properly prepared to handle these issues. Even if the individual mandate is stricken, the rest of the law may remain intact.
With that in mind, we are providing a general overview of some of this year’s legal requirements:
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Avoid Pinning Your Name to a Copyright or Trademark Infringement Lawsuit
Pinterest has quickly developed as the latest innovation in the social media evolution. Pinterest is a virtual pinboard that allows a user to organize and share images with other Pinterest users. A user “pins” an image to his or her pinboard by either uploading an image from his or her computer or using the “Pin It” button integrated into his or her web browser after downloading the Pinterest program. Each pin added using the Pin It button links back to the website where the image was pinned from. Images that have been pinned to a pinboard can be re-pinned by other users that desire to add the image to their own pinboard.
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U.S. Supreme Court to Decide Constitutionality of the Affordable Care Act
The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (“ACA”) became law on March 23, 2010. The ACA created sweeping reform to the health care system in the United States. The driving principles behind the ACA are to provide affordable health care to all Americans, reduce the growth of the health care costs and improve the health of our communities. While most agree that the underlying principles of the ACA are fundamentally sound, not everyone agrees with the methodology used to achieve these goals.
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