Earlier this week, the Fourth Circuit struck down a provision of the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (“TCPA”) that exempted government-backed debts from the statute’s prohibition on automated calls to cellular telephones. According to the Court in American Association of Political Consultants, Inc., et al v. FCC, the debt-collection exemption does not pass strict scrutiny
Background
In Varela v. Lamps Plus, Inc.,
On April 5, the Minnesota Department of Commerce issued guidance to the motor vehicle sales finance industry intended to clarify the types of entities that meet the definition of “sales finance company” under Minnesota law. The guidance solidified the Commerce Department’s stance that companies that purchase motor vehicle retail installment contracts must obtain a motor
Parties to a class action lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania have asked for final approval of a $4 million proposed Telephone Consumer Protection Act settlement in a “wrong number” case. Plaintiff Robert Ward alleged that defendant Flagship Credit Acceptance, LLC called him in violation of the TCPA, as
A new Florida class action alleges that a car dealership misrepresented that it would make a “soft” credit inquiry, or pull, rather than a “hard” pull – and then made a hard pull. While the lawsuit alleges a straight-up misrepresentation causing harm to the consumer’s credit standing, the lawsuit illustrates the importance of accuracy in
The New Jersey Attorney General’s Office filed suit against two automobile dealerships and their owner in the Superior Court of New Jersey, alleging that the dealerships should be closed and their owner barred from the industry because they targeted financially vulnerable consumers with a variety of unconscionable and deceptive business practices.
According to the AG’s
The Federal Trade Commission has announced that it is retaining the CAN-SPAM Rule as is, deciding to keep the Rule unchanged as a result of a regulatory review. Hence, any business that sends marketing email must redouble efforts to comply with the CAN-SPAM Rule.
What is the CAN-SPAM Rule?
The CAN-SPAM Rule establishes requirements for
On January 28, Crunch Fitness filed a petition for writ of certiorari in the U.S. Supreme Court, asking the Court to overturn the Ninth Circuit’s decision in Marks v. Crunch San Diego. Crunch contends that the Ninth Circuit rewrote the definition of an automatic telephone dialing system (“ATDS”) and contradicted the plain text and
A Connecticut-based automobile finance company settled a claim by the Massachusetts Attorney General’s Office that the finance company facilitated the sale of defective vehicles by a group of Massachusetts car dealerships. As part of the settlement, Sensible Auto Lending LLC has agreed to provide debt relief in the amount of $733,925.
According to the Massachusetts
On January 3, 49 state attorneys general announced a settlement with Career Education Corporation (“CEC”), a for-profit education company, to resolve claims that CEC engaged in unfair and deceptive practices. The settlement requires CEC to forgo any collection efforts against $493.7 million in outstanding loan debt held by nearly 180,000 former students. It also imposes