On July 22, National Economic Research Associates (“NERA”) Economic Consulting released a study entitled “Consumer Class Action Settlements: 2010-2013”. The study is available online here. This study concluded empirically what many businesses have been experiencing in practice: Consumer class action settlements have been increasing steadily in the years between 2010 and 2013.
NERA’s analysis
In Bock v. Pressler & Pressler, the United States District Court for the District of New Jersey held that it is false and misleading, within the meaning of FDCPA, for an attorney to file an FDCPA lawsuit without having meaningfully reviewed the complaint. In granting summary judgment in favor of the consumer, the court
The Federal Trade Commission and the New York Attorney General’s Office filed a joint complaint against a New York based debt collector that goes by several names, including National Check Registry. As a result of the complaint, the U.S. District Court for the Western District of New York froze the operation’s assets and appointed a
The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) in late June 2014 responded to the Second Circuit Court of Appeals’ request in Nigro v. Mercantile Adjustment Bureau for the FCC to opine on a specific question. The Second Circuit asked whether prior express consent existed under the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) for an individual’s provision of a
The United States Court of Appeals Seventh Circuit ruled Tuesday that the federal government cannot invoke the defense of sovereign immunity for violations of the Fair Credit Reporting Act, but the court also dismissed on separate grounds the underlying class action proceeding relating to the government’s alleged unlawful disclosure of plaintiff’s credit card information.
In
On July 16, the New York State Department of Financial Services (DFS) proposed revised debt collection regulations for third-party debt collectors and debt buyers. The rules seek to clarify the required initial disclosures by debt collectors, disclosures for debts in which the statute of limitations may be expired, substantiation of consumer debts, debt payment procedures,
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has announced an interpretive rule to assist heirs who, due to the death of a mortgagor, acquire title to a property and take over the mortgage. Specifically, the interpretative rule clarifies that heirs may be added to a mortgage without prompting the Ability-to-Repay rule, which took effect in January 2014.
Consistent with its expansive view of constitutional standing, the Ninth Circuit recently held that a plaintiff has constitutional standing under the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act to sue for a misrepresentation that was never actually communicated to him.
In Tourgeman v. Collins Financial Services, Inc., the plaintiff brought a class action lawsuit against multiple
In Badeen v. PAR, Inc., et al., the Michigan Supreme Court expanded the definition of “collection agency” under Michigan’s Occupation Code to include forwarders and forwarding companies.
The plaintiff collection agency brought an action against a number of automobile lenders and forwarding companies alleging that the forwarders were operating as “collection agencies” under
On July 16, the New York State Department of Financial Services (DFS) proposed revised debt collection regulations for third-party debt collectors and debt buyers. The rules seek to clarify the required initial disclosures by debt collectors, disclosures for debts in which the statute of limitations may be expired, substantiation of consumer debts, debt payment procedures,