On September 29, the Eleventh Circuit issued its highly anticipated decision in Mais v. Gulf Coast Collection Bureau, Inc., overturning the district court’s prior holding and providing defense-favorable law on prior express consent. The decision was in response to an unprecedented May 2013 ruling by the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of
National Association of Professional Background Screeners 2014 Annual Conference
On October 19-21, 2014, in Denver, CO, the National Association of Professional Background Screeners is hosting their 2014 Annual Conference.
The conference offers a diverse range of educational sessions ensuring that there’s something for the industry novice, the seasoned expert and everyone in between. Every attendee will be able to take away valuable information and
Federal Judge Freezes Law Firm Assets in Multi-State Mortgage Rescue Scam Case
On September 24, U.S. District Judge James S. Moody, Jr., of the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Florida, issued a preliminary injunction against several law firms accused by the attorneys general of Connecticut and Florida of charging illegal upfront fees to distressed homeowners in a mortgage rescue scam.
Judge Moody agreed that
Sixth Circuit Upholds Court Order Against Telemarketers’ Deceptive Debt Relief Programs
The United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit has issued a decision upholding a district court ruling that several defendants based in the U.S. and Canada deceived consumers through a telemarketing scheme designed to sell them phony mortgage assistance and debt relief programs, according to the Federal Trade Commission.
The Court’s decision
New Debt Collection Rules Announced for New York State Courts
New York Court administrators recently announced new rules impacting cases involving debt collector-plaintiffs with certain debt claims against consumers. As we discussed on May 7th when the proposed rules were announced, the new rules place a higher burden of proof on debt collector-plaintiffs to establish chain of title and that they actually own the debt
Ninth Circuit Rejects Federal Jurisdiction in Credit Card Fee Suit
On August 1, the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit issued an opinion rejecting federal jurisdiction under the Class Action Fairness Act (CAFA) and the National Banking Act for a lawsuit filed by the Attorney General of Hawaii on behalf of state residents (sometimes called a parens patriae suit) against financial companies
Data Breach Generates Putative FCRA Class Action Against Hospital
On September 4, in Tierney et al. v. Advocate Health and Hospitals Corp., the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois issued an order dismissing a putative Fair Credit Reporting Act class action accusing Advocate Health and Hospitals Corp. of violating the FCRA by failing to secure health data stolen from
Plaintiffs Alleging TCPA and FDCPA Claims May Be Able to Circumvent Arbitration Where Calls Were Intended for an Unrelated Third Party
In Porter v. Dollar Financial Group, Inc., 2014 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 122865, a Northern District of California court denied the defendant’s motion to compel arbitration based on the plaintiff’s allegation that the debt collection calls at issue were intended for a third party, and thus were not related to the contract containing the arbitration
Contracting and Text Sending is Sufficient for Exercise of Personal Jurisdiction in TCPA Class Action
In Payton v. Kale Realty, LLC, plaintiff Payton filed an amended complaint, asserting that defendant Kale used newly added defendant Voiceshot’s services to send unsolicited advertisements to potential customers’ cell phones. Voiceshot provides web-based cloud telecommunication services by which users can send mass text messages for a fee. Voiceshot is a Delaware company with
Virginia Creditors Bar Association 5th Annual Collections Seminar
On October 1, 2014, in Williamsburg, VA, the Virginia Creditors Bar Association is hosting their Fifth Annual Collections Seminar. This event will feature comprehensive discussions on issues pertaining to Creditors’ Rights and Collections Law throughout the Commonwealth of Virginia, including, but not limited to, presentations regarding bankruptcy, authenticating business records, FDCPA defense, the CFPB, and