Firm settles with W.Va. AG over mortgage case
Headline Legal News
A Texas law firm has reached an agreement with West Virginia Attorney General Darrell McGraw to resolve a case stemming from a national mortgage settlement.
Officials said Wednesday that Murray LLP has agreed to stop offering services in West Virginia to help homeowners receive benefits from a settlement between lenders and states.
Claim forms already were sent to more than 5,000 West Virginians who lost their homes to foreclosure eligible for payments under the settlement.
McGraw had sued the company earlier this month for allegedly charging fees to consumers for completing the claim form.
Officials say the company has agreed it would not represent or collect payments from West Virginia consumers in relation to the settlement.
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Texas Adopts Statewide Texting-While-Driving Ban
Effective September 1, 2017, Texas will become the 47th state to pass a statewide ban on texting while driving. Governor Abbott’s signing of House Bill 62 is an effort to unify Texas under a uniform ban and remedy the “patchwork quilt of regulations that dictate driving practices in Texas.”
The bill specifically prohibits drivers from reading, writing, or sending an electronic message on a device unless the vehicle is stopped. That includes texting and emailing. It does not, however, prohibit dialing a number to call someone, talking on the phone using a hands-free device, or using the phone’s GPS system.
Violations would be punishable by a fine ranging from $25 to $99, to be set by each municipality. Although penalties could rise to as much as $200 for repeat offenders.
Studies have found that a driver’s reaction time is half as much when a driver is distracted by sending or reading a text message. According to state officials, in 2015 more than 105,000 traffic accidents in Texas involved distracted driving, leading to at least 476 fatalities.