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,
In a novel ruling, the Ninth Circuit expressly adopted an opinion from the Federal Communications Commission, finding the potential for vicarious liability under the Telephone Consumer Protection Act. In Thomas v. Taco Bell Corp., No. 12-56458 (unpublished), the Ninth Circuit affirmed a lower court’s holding that Taco Bell was not vicariously liable under the
On June 27, 2014, Magistrate Judge Orlando L. Garcia of the United States District Court for the Western District of Texas recommended denial of a plaintiff’s motion for summary judgment in an FDCPA action implicating settlement letter language for time-barred debt. The case, Schreve v. First National Collection Bureau, Inc., involved time-barred debt that
The CFPB is seeking approval from the Office of Management and Budget to conduct a national telephone survey of 1,000 credit card holders as part of its study on which the CFPB may base its decision to limit or prohibit the use of arbitration clauses in credit card agreements.
The CFPB’s “study” of the use
A Texas-based credit repair organization has agreed to settle Federal Trade Commission allegations that it violated federal law by making misrepresentations to consumer reporting agencies and charging consumers up-front fees before providing its services.
In its complaint filed in October 2011, the FTC charged that RMCN Credit Services, Inc. and its individual owners, Doug and