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The foreclosure crisis seems to be shifting into a new gear. The buzz now is all about documentation problems with foreclosure proceedings. Wells Fargo is admitting foreclosure filing problems of its own and suspending foreclosures in 23 states. In general, foreclosure is the right of a mortgage holder or other third-party lien holder to take ownership of the property and/or the right to sell the property. Wells Fargo joins a growing list of banks facing legal problems over whether the bank followed the correct legal protocol when it processes foreclosures....

For many parents, having child protective services (CPS) show up at your doorstep is more terrifying than the police knocking at your door. A common misconception is that a CPS investigation means your child is going to be taken away. While it does happen, a call to CPS is not a guarantee of anything. So, what does happen when CPS is called? The Call When CPS receives a report or tip, it must first determine whether or not an investigation is needed....

A New York commuter train derailed Sunday, killing four people and injuring dozens more. But a federal law may help to support victims and their families. The ill-fated Metro-North train derailed while travelling 82 miles per hour before entering a 30-mile-per-hour curve, the same spot at which a freight train derailed in July, reports Reuters. How might the Rail Passenger Disaster Family Assistance Act support those involved in the Metro derailment?...

Many customers come into a store simply to check out the product in person before buying it online. It’s called “showrooming,” and many business owners have had enough. In fact, one store is charging customers a $5 fee for “just looking” as a way to discourage “showrooming.” In Brisbane, Australia, a specialty food store is imposing a $5 fee just for browsing the store’s merchandise, reports Business Insider. But if customers purchase something from the store, the $5 will be deducted from the final purchase price....

Tragedy struck in the early morning hours when a drunk driver plowed into a bus stopping, instantly killing two homeless men that were sleeping under the shelter of the stop. The fatal DUI accident occurred in Dallas, Texas with a driver who has past charges of driving with a suspended license on his record. According to the Dallas Star, 50 year-old Julian Cerda lost control of his pickup truck around 2 a....

Summer is almost here! While a vacation is definitely recommended, don’t spend the whole summer relaxing. Here are five things your small business should definitely do this summer: 1. Get a Mobile Website Look around when you’re walking down the street. Almost every person is attached to a smartphone. About 40 percent of consumers prefer to use their phone to search for businesses and services on the internet. Is your website mobile-optimized?...

It’s August, and you’re probably getting ready for your kids to go back to school. But are you prepared for all of the legal issues that will inevitably arise? Just to make sure you don’t miss anything this school season, here’s every parent’s essential back-to-school legal checklist: 1. Review Any Liability Releases/Waivers. Starting at a new school or on a new sports team can mean a pile of legal waivers that the school may demand that you sign....

We trust doctors to be experts at their jobs. Mothers trust doctors with their babies’ lives. But, what happens when a doctor fails in his duties? What if your baby is injured during birth? Can you sue? Maryland’s Court of Appeals recently upheld a $20.6 million jury award to a family whose son was severely disabled during birth. The suit claimed that doctors failed to perform a Cesarean section; the prolonged vaginal birth cut off the baby’s oxygen, leaving the boy with cerebral palsy and requiring medical care for the rest of his life....

Park Hotels and Resorts, formerly known as Hilton Worldwide, was hit with a $21.5 million verdict for failing to honor an employee’s civil and constitutionally protected right to practice her religion, even if that meant not working on Sundays. Due to federal guidelines, that amount will decrease to about $1 million. But the message being sent should be loud and clear: employers have to accommodate religious beliefs. Working on Sunday Can Be Religious Discrimination Marie Jean Pierre was a dishwasher at the Conrad Hotel in Miami, Florida....

Perhaps it’s no big surprise to many beer lovers, but Budweiser is being sued for allegedly watering down its beer. In a class action lawsuit, consumers across the United States accuse Anheuser-Busch of watering down its Budweiser, Michelob, and other beer brands, reports NBC News. The lawsuit says that consumers have been cheated out of the alcohol content printed on labels. Budweiser and Michelob supposedly contain 5% alcohol, while “light” versions of their beer are supposed to contain about 4%....

Many drivers practice what’s known as “parking by Braille”: They keep moving until they feel a bump. And those bumps may be more meaningful for car owners who come back to find their cars dented and dinged. In the best of all possible parking worlds, some sort of fairy would appear and leave a detailed note on your car – rife with contact and insurance information – every time your parked car was hit....

You may think that you can only get workers’ comp when you’ve been physically injured, but depression is often a viable way to obtain benefits. Workers’ comp generally covers work-related injuries, which can include mental injuries like depression and anxiety. Eligible depression sufferers may be able to claim that their employment has either caused their depressive state or possibly aggravated a pre-existing condition. For many workers, explaining their depression to receive worker’s comp may be difficult, but remember these legal points:...

Caesars Entertainment will check guests’ hotel rooms every 24 hours even with a ‘do not disturb’ sign on the door, under a newly announced policy. The company, one of the largest casino operators in the world, joins a growing list of hotel and casino operators that have taken similar steps following last October’s mass shooting in Las Vegas, Nevada. This raises familiar questions for balancing guest security and business liability against guests’ privacy interests....

The Limits of Protective Orders At any rate, some of the circumstances in this case probably beg the question of why this guy was free to run around in the first place. After all, it wasn’t as if there were no warning signs that this might happen, per the AP: Although Shenkman was already charged with setting fire to the other house for vindictive reasons, he was presumably out on bail....

A woman who was mauled by a chimpanzee is trying to sue the state of Connecticut and has implicated Gov. Dannel P. Malloy. Charla Nash was attacked and severely injured by the chimp when it broke free from the home of Sandra Herold, the chimp’s owner. So how does the Governor fit in? Malloy reportedly knew the animal was dangerous, Nash told the Hartford Courant. Nash said Malloy, as then mayor of Stamford, Conn....

Many immigrants come to the United States looking to build their own version of the American dream. But out of all of those immigrants, who qualifies for a green card? Green card eligibility may come from different facets of a person’s life. Congress has given top priority to those who are immediate relatives of U.S. citizens. But that’s not the only way to qualify for a green card. Here are some of the most common ways to become eligible for a green card:...

Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg announced three long-overdue measures this week that will soon allow users to control how much privacy they give up when they use apps. Here’s a summary of these new Facebook privacy measures, which are set to be rolled out over the next few weeks and months: The Facebook Login is the way you login to various “apps” using your Facebook credentials. This saves you the hassle of having to remember numerous logins and passwords....

Last month, Pinellas County sheriffs declined to press charges after Michael Drejka gunned down Markeis McGlockton in a convenience store parking lot, claiming the shooting was “within the bookends of ‘stand your ground’ and within the bookends of force being justified.” Sheriff Bob Gualtieri said at the time, “I’m not saying I agree with it, but I don’t make that call.” Pinellas County prosecutors, however, did make that call this week, charging Drejka with manslaughter....

Remember those stories where grandpa said he walked three miles in a snow storm to get to school? His parents would probably get arrested for that today. As a society, America has seem to become more paranoid about child safety. In Maryland, free-range parents Danielle and Alexander Meitiv have had several run-ins with the law and CPS because of their decision to let their two young kids, aged 10 and six, walk to the park and home alone....

Getty Images is now allowing bloggers to use 35 million of its images for free as long as they’re used for non-commercial purposes. Despite Getty placing a watermark on all its online images, Getty executives are aware that people have been copying and pasting copyrighted pictures without permission. So they’ve created a new system that allows select Getty images to be embedded on websites, with the proper attributions prominently displayed, Forbes reports....