Author: LawtonCates

If you aren’t grilling already, you probably will be soon – or at least joining friends and family for a festive summer barbeque. So whether you are wearing the apron or are just a hungry bystander, here are some timely tips on fun and safe grilling. Ah, there it is — the unmistakable aroma of […]

That was the case in Oakland until a group of 90 of them got together and hired a lawyer. They filed a claim alleging that they were paid less than $7.50 an hour for the work they did. The lawsuit alleged that the cheerleaders had to appear at events for free, were required to drive […]

Attorney Briane Pagel blogs about ways you can protect yourself against repossession. Missing payments on your auto loan doesn’t mean you have to lose your car. Wisconsin law offers protections for auto owners who are struggling financially, and lenders who do not follow the rules may have to give you back all the money you’ve paid them, plus […]

Ally Financial, Inc., has filed a petition with the U.S. Supreme Court to “decertify” a class action filed against it in Missouri; this case has implications for Wisconsin consumers as well. In the case, Ally is accused of illegally repossession cars in Missouri by not giving proper written notice to the car owners. A class action […]

In Illinois, recently, law enforcement began to take action against debt collectors demanding money from debtors for debts that were entirely made up and fraudulent. Some debtors paid as much as $30,000 to resolve debts they never owed. Just demanding that you pay money you don’t owe violates both federal and state law, and if someone demands […]

The state and federal constitutions guarantee citizens of Wisconsin the right to a civil trial by jury. Yet, the so-called tort reformers want to limit your rights under the constitution. These attacks come in many forms such as making it more difficult to file a lawsuit, adding protections for corporate defendants, and damage caps. The […]

When someone is arrested and charged with a crime it is typically a very stressful period in that person’s life. The anxiety of not knowing with what will happen next creates a tremendous amount of stress. This blog explains the typical process of a criminal case beginning with an arrest through the completion of the court case. The […]

A common complaint among consumers is that when they fall behind on their payments, their phone rings off the hook with creditors calling all the time to discuss the bill or demand payments. Many creditors have a system in place that requires their employees to call multiple times in a day, even if the debtor […]

If you own a credit card, you have probably given up your right to a trial in the event of any dispute with the credit card company. You probably didn’t know that when you signed up for the card because the information was buried in the fine print. You most certainly did not know that the “arbitration” […]

It is amazing how much our country, and the world, has changed within the last 1 to 2 weeks. A short time ago I was in a contested workers compensation hearing with a client who had been waiting approximately three years to get her case resolved. The next day it seemed like the entire world […]