As anticipated, yesterday the CFPB announced the release of its report to Congress following the CFPB’s study of arbitration agreements in connection with offering or providing consumer financial products or services. According to the CFPB, the study’s results “indicat[e] that arbitration agreements restrict consumers’ relief for disputes with financial service providers by limiting class
Fourth Circuit Affirms Summary Judgment Against EEOC After Excluding Expert Report With “Mind Boggling” Number Of Errors
Use of criminal background checks requires compliance with the technical requirements of the Fair Credit Reporting Act and has spawned a large number of class actions and individual claims under the FCRA. However, use of background checks has also been under siege by the states and localities that have been enacting “ban the box” requirements
Repossession Agency Subject to Liability under FDCPA Upon Violation of State Law Self-Help Requirements
A recent decision of the Northern District of Ohio, Vantu v. Echo Recovery, L.L.C., held that a repossession agency, while generally not subject to liability under the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, becomes subject to such liability when it undertakes to repossess collateral that it does not have a present right to possess.
This case
NY Department of Financial Services Answers FAQs Regarding New Debt Collection Regulations
On February 19, 2015, the New York Department of Financial Services (DFS) issued guidance in the form of FAQs on its recently-enacted debt collection regulation (23 NYCRR 1). The guidance came in response to calls from many significant players in the debt collection industry – including ACA International – to explain certain groundbreaking aspects of
Consent Decree Between DOJ and “Buy Here, Pay Here” Auto Dealer Highlights Continued Focus on Intent-Based Lending Discrimination Claims
We’ve been reporting for almost two years now on federal regulators’ attempts to use an effects-based test for discrimination – disparate impact – to fundamentally alter the auto sales and finance industries, and how those efforts have consistently gained steam from late 2013 through to more recent times. We’ve also reported on challenges to
Dish Network Court Finds Manifest Error in Its Opinion Regarding Millions of Calls Placed by Third-Party Affiliates
On February 17, the Court in United States of America v. Dish Network, LLC reconsidered a portion of its opinion granting partial summary judgment for the United States for tens of millions of calls made by Dish Network in violation of state and federal telemarketing laws. The Court found that it erred by determining liability
Class Action FCRA Lawsuit Challenging Defendant’s Employment Background Screening Disclosure Form Settles for $6.8 Million
In a class action settlement that was recently granted final approval, Publix Super Markets Inc. agreed to pay nearly $6.8 million in a class action lawsuit settlement over background checks under the Fair Credit Reporting Act.
Plaintiff, Erin Knights, applied for a job with Publix in early 2013 through an electronic kiosk. The lawsuit alleges
Uber Attempts to Stamp Out FCRA Background Check Class Action by Compelling Arbitration
On February 6, Uber filed a motion to compel individual arbitration of a class action lawsuit under the Fair Credit Reporting Act related to its alleged background check practices. If Uber is successful in compelling arbitration, it will provide another example of the value of arbitration agreements in the face of litigation.
In Mohamed v.
Court Finds Group Texting Requires Human Intervention, Does Not Violate TCPA
In a recent decision applying established Telephone Consumer Protection Act law to the developing text application market, the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California found in Glauser v. GroupMe, Inc. that group texts did not violate the TCPA because they required human intervention. Specifically, the court found that the “welcome texts” –
DOJ and State Regulators Settle Claims of Intentional Discrimination Against North Carolina “Buy Here Pay Here” Auto Dealer
On February 10, the Department of Justice and the North Carolina Attorney General filed a consent decree to settle claims that a Charlotte-area “buy here pay here” dealer engaged in intentionally discriminatory “reverse redlining” practices. The regulators alleged that the defendants specifically targeted African-American customers and imposed onerous credit terms upon them without regard to