On July 25, the United States District Court for the Northern District of Mississippi signed a consent order among BancorpSouth, the United States Department of Justice, and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, whereby BancorpSouth agreed to pay an aggregate of $10.6 million and to adhere to non-monetary penalties arising out of the DOJ’s and CFPB’s
August 2016
FTC Seeks $22.5 Million in Damages from Debt Collectors
On August 19, 2016, the Federal Trade Commission and the New York Attorney General filed a summary judgment motion against Buffalo, New York area debt collectors who allegedly harassed and threatened consumers into paying millions on debts allegedly owed by the consumers.
The FTC and New York State Attorney General filed a joint Complaint in…
Troutman Sanders Expands Financial Services Litigation Practice in Atlanta
Troutman Sanders LLP announced today that Cindy Hanson has joined the firm’s Financial Services Litigation practice as a partner in Atlanta. Prior to joining Troutman Sanders, Cindy was a partner at Kilpatrick Townsend & Stockton LLP.
Cindy focuses on class action defense and has handled hundreds of matters under the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA). …
Spokeo’s Impact on Eleventh Circuit FDCPA Case
The Eleventh Circuit recently released an unpublished decision regarding its opinion on the impact of Spokeo on a Fair Debt Collection Practices Act putative class action, finding that the named plaintiff satisfied Article III standing requirement.
In Church v. Accretive Health, Inc., the defendant sent the named plaintiff a letter advising her that she…
Ninth Circuit Rules that Court Can Acknowledge Context of Communications in FDCPA Dispute
In Davis v. Hollins Law, the Ninth Circuit recently reversed a lower court’s judgment in favor of the plaintiff on a claim under the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, finding that the defendant debt collector’s communication was sufficient in context to disclose to the least sophisticated debtor that it was from a debt collector.…
OCR Settles With Illinois Nonprofit Medical Group for $5.55 Million in Medical Data Breach Investigation
The United States Department of Health and Human Services, Office for Civil Rights (“OCR”), has assessed a $5.55 million fine against an Illinois healthcare provider for alleged HIPAA data privacy violations. The settlement is the largest to date between the OCR and any single entity, and is one of several multi-million dollar settlements obtained by…
FCC Sets Tight Boundaries for TCPA Government-Backed Loan Exception
As we previously reported, section 301(b) of the Bipartisan Budget Act of 2015 permits an exception to the Telephone Consumer Protection Act of 1991 for calls and text messages “made solely to collect a debt owed to or guaranteed by the United States.” Although the TCPA generally prohibits calls and text messages using automatic …
California Federal Judge Approves $2.4M Settlement Against SoFi
The United States District Court for the Northern District of California entered an order on August 9, approving a $2.4 million settlement between Social Finance Inc. (“SoFi”) and a class of nearly 11,000 consumers for alleged violations of the Fair Credit Reporting Act.
In Heaton v. Social Finance Inc., the named plaintiffs alleged that …
Join Us on August 30 for Timely Discussion of Proposed CFPB Debt Collection Rules
On July 28, at a public hearing in Sacramento, California, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau released an outline of new rules targeting third-party debt-collection operations. The new rules seek to curb “excessive or disruptive” communications by restricting collectors from calling debtors numerous times a day, requiring debt collection companies to have “more and better…
FDIC Proposes Examination Guidance for Third-Party Lending Arrangements
The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (“FDIC”) is seeking comment on proposed examination guidance for Third-Party Lending. [1] The proposed guidance, issued July 29, provides banks with safety, soundness and consumer compliance measures to be followed when lending through a business relationship with a third party. The proposed guidance will apply to all banks that engage…