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Congress expressed the sense that processing should be completed within 180 days of filing, and within 30 days for certain nonimmigrant petitions, but that provision states a goal rather than an enforceable deadline. Administrative law requires an agency to conclude a matter presented to it within a reasonable time, and a court may compel agency action unlawfully withheld or unreasonably delayed. A suit compels a decision, not a favorable one.
A gift card holder is an unsecured creditor of the issuing business. On a bankruptcy filing, an automatic stay generally prevents redemption unless the court permits it, and honoring cards during a case is a matter for court authorization rather than a right. Bankruptcy law gives individuals a limited, capped priority for deposits made toward the purchase of goods or services for personal, family or household use, which ranks ahead of general unsecured claims but well behind secured lenders.
When a defendant does not appear, the court typically issues a bench warrant and declares the bail forfeited. Federal Rule of Criminal Procedure 46 requires the court to declare bail forfeited if a bond condition is breached and allows the forfeiture to be set aside where the surety surrenders the person or justice does not require it. Failure to appear is separately punishable under 18 U.S.C. 3146, subject to an affirmative defense for uncontrollable circumstances.
A motion is filed with the office that made the latest decision, generally within thirty days, and asks that office to reopen on new facts or reconsider on the law. An appeal is submitted on the prescribed form with the required fee, complete with any brief, within thirty days after service. The deciding official reviews the appeal first and may take favorable action within forty-five days before forwarding it. An untimely appeal that meets the motion requirements is treated as a motion.
A motion to reconsider must state the reasons for reconsideration and be supported by pertinent precedent decisions establishing that the decision was based on an incorrect application of law or policy. It must also establish that the decision was incorrect based on the evidence of record at the time it was made. The window is thirty days from the decision, with no provision for excusing lateness, and a motion that does not meet the requirements is dismissed.
A motion to reopen must state the new facts to be provided in the reopened proceeding and be supported by affidavits or other documentary evidence. It is filed with the office that made the latest decision, generally within thirty days, though late filing may be excused where the delay was reasonable and beyond the filer's control. A motion attacking a denial for abandonment must show the decision was in error on one of three defined grounds.
In a pawn, the customer borrows money and leaves goods as security. Title stays with the pledgor, the shop must hold the item for the loan period, and the customer may redeem by paying the principal and the allowed charges. In a purchase, ownership passes at once and there is no right of redemption at all. Statutes require the transaction form to state which one occurred, and both types are usually reported to law enforcement and held for a period before resale.
If a remittance is not honored by the institution on which it is drawn, no receipt is issued and any receipt already issued is void, with the request losing its receipt date. A payment returned for insufficient funds is resubmitted once; a second failure allows rejection or denial. A payment returned for any other reason, including a stop payment, is not resubmitted at all. Where the request had been approved, the approval may be revoked on notice and other fees are not refunded.
A filing is rejected at intake when it is unsigned, not executed, filed contrary to the regulations, or submitted with the wrong fee. A rejected request retains no filing date and cannot be appealed; the cure is to correct the defect and file again. A denial is a decision on the merits issued after adjudication, and it carries whatever motion or appeal rights the form provides. A payment that fails after acceptance can void a receipt already issued.
On an interstate move the carrier must give up possession once the shipper pays the applicable delivery ceiling: the binding estimate, or 110 percent of a non-binding estimate, plus later-requested services and capped impracticable operations charges. Knowingly and willfully failing to deliver household goods in violation of the contract exposes the carrier to a civil penalty of at least $10,000 per violation, criminal liability, and suspension of its registration.
For retail food stores, offering products at a stated price by advertisement when the covered stores do not have them in stock and readily available during the advertised period is an unfair or deceptive act, unless the advertisement clearly discloses that supplies are limited or that the item is only at some outlets. Four defenses exist: adequate ordering, a rain check, a comparable substitute at the advertised price, or other compensation of at least equal value.
A household goods move that crosses a state line falls under federal regulation: written estimates, a bill of lading with prescribed contents, weight rules, delivery ceilings, valuation choices and a nine-month claim floor. A move entirely inside one state is governed by that state, because federal preemption of state authority over motor carrier prices, routes and services expressly does not apply to intrastate transportation of household goods.
