100%

Scanned image of the page. Keyboard directions: use + to zoom in, - to zoom out, arrow keys to pan inside the viewer.

Page Options

Share

Something wrong?

Something wrong with this page? Report problem.

Rights / Permissions

The University of Michigan Library provides access to these materials for educational and research purposes. These materials may be under copyright. If you decide to use any of these materials, you are responsible for making your own legal assessment and securing any necessary permission. If you have questions about the collection, please contact the Bentley Historical Library at bentley.ref@umich.edu

December 12, 2013 - Image 34

Resource type:
Text
Publication:
The Detroit Jewish News, 2013-12-12

Disclaimer: Computer generated plain text may have errors. Read more about this.

business & professional

What Are You Thinking,
President Obama?

oFeraiNcli.

New Years
Resolution #1:
Learn to Swim!

T

Year Round Swim Lessons!

4 months - 12 years of age
4:1 student-to-teacher ratio
30-minute weekly lessons

Our pools are 90 degrees!

At Goldfish, we start our swimmers at 4 months old!
Your children are never too young to begin learning essential
life skills they will carry with them forever!

Birmingham:
Farmington Hills:
Ann Arbor:
Rochester:
Clarkston:
Macomb:

(248) 644-1914
(248) 596-1914
(734) 864-5555
(248) 596-1914
(248) 795-2252
COMING SOON

on Imes : • e ai s
can be found on our website:

goldfishswimschool.com

US on Facebook!

0014Coming to Florida?

expicare
I Nursing Agency, Inc.

,Ati, Aft

Professional Health Care You Can Trust
24 Hours a Day • Since 1983

EXPICARE Nursing Agency is a recognized leader in

home health care and has been placing caregivers in clients'
homes throughout Pam Beach County for over 30 years.

■ Home Health Aides ■ LPNs ■ Live-ins
■ We conduct FBI background and reference checks

■ RNs

Rick Cutler, former Detroiter

Relationship Development

BBB.

ACCREDITED
BUSINESS

We hire our caregivers and do not use Independent Contractors

A+ Rating
License # HHA20336096

Toll-free:

855.730.9895 • www.expicare.com
Cell 561-716-7645

1881440

SERVICES PROVIDED

• Wheelchair Accessibility
• Home Health Aide Chauffeurs
Available
• Multiple Appointments in One Day
• Hospital to Private Residence
• Hospital to Assisted Living or
Skilled Nursing Facility
• Home to Doctor's Office or Therapy
• Family Reunions, Weddings,
Showers, Holiday Events

Angels With
Wings Transport

248-581-6674

www.angelswithwingstransport.com info@angelswithwingstransport.com

34

December 12 • 2013

he year is closing with some
disturbing events — domes-
tic and global. The United
States' two major allies in the Middle
East, Israel and Saudi Arabia, vigorously
opposed the six-month deal with Iran.
Just three days prior to the deal being
cut, the Ayatollah referred to Benjamin
Netanyahu as "the sinister mouth of the
filthy, rabid dog of the region" and that
"the leaders of the Zionist regime are
like wild animals; you cannot call them
human:'
Dismissing the statements as "name
calling," U.S. Secretary of State John
Kerry charged forward and cut the deal
in defiance of our allies. As a sports
enthusiast, I thought the president
understood that you stand with your
allies and cover their backs.
Often times, a friend
will call me claiming they
have been defrauded. The
story typically goes like this:
"Some guy named 'Jerry' was
advertising that he would do
this and that for me. I didn't
believe him, so I didn't buy
the product. Can I sue Jerry
and his company for fraud?"
My answer is, "No, you
can't" I then explain there
are five elements, all of
which must exist to sue someone for
fraud: a material misrepresentation,
knowledge of the falsity or reckless dis-
regard of the truth, the statement must
be made with the intent to induce the
person's action, the person must act in
reliance of the statement and the per-
son must be damaged as a result.
There is no claim of fraud against
Jerry because the reliance and dam-
ages elements are missing since my
friend did not go through with the
transaction. I tell my friend, "Jerry
may be crook and defraud others, but
he has not defrauded you:'
Turning to the Affordable Care Act,
let's examine the president's repeated
words to the effect that, "If you like
your current plan, you can keep it" in
the context of fraud.
These statements were made while
he was seeking support for passage
of the act and reelection. Was this a
material representation? Health care
is certainly a material cost and issue
faced by every American. Was the
statement made with knowledge of
the falsity or reckless disregard of the
truth? My sense is that the president
did not know the statement was false
when it was made initially, and let's

assume he did not know as he repeat-
edly made the statement.
The bigger question is whether it
was made in reckless disregard of the
truth. If you are the proponent of leg-
islation that is the bench-
mark of your first term as
the president of the United
States, isn't it reckless to fail
to make sure that critical
statements about your leg-
islation are accurate — or
at least not blatantly false?
There can be no doubt that
the purpose of the state-
ment was to rally or induce
people to be favorable to
the act's passage — so this
element is met.
If you are one of the many people
who have received notice that your
plan is terminated and you must now
pay significantly more for coverage
with higher deductibles, I can see the
damages.
The reliance element, however, is a
problem. If you supported the passage
of the Affordable Care Act, can you
claim that you did so in reliance of
the president's statement? Though the
statement was made to the American
people to rally support for the bill, the
Affordable Care Act was voted upon
by Congress — not the people. So your
claim of fraud against the president
appears to fail. You're missing the
intended action component of the
"reliance element:'
What I find disturbing is that it is a
far closer call on the claim of fraud relat-
ing to the president's statements than the
claim against Jerry the crook. And that,
coupled with his notion of teamwork, is
a sad statement of current affairs.



Ken Gross is an attorney with Thav Gross

and host of The Financial Crisis Talk

Center show that airs weekly at 8:30 a.m.

Saturdays on WDFN 1130 AM "The Fan"

and 11 a.m. Sundays on MyTV20.

Back to Top

© 2024 Regents of the University of Michigan