What standard should courts use to determine whether information contained in a consumer’s credit report is inaccurate or misleading? According to the Third Circuit in a recent precedential decision, the standard should be that of the “reasonable reader,” not a “reasonable creditor,” i.e., not an individual or entity sophisticated in the art of reading
Class-action plaintiffs do not get a free pass on constitutional standing requirements, as the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals reminded litigants sua sponte in Drazen and Godaddy.com, LLC v. Pinto last week when it vacated a district court’s approval of a $35 million class-action settlement. Although the parties had not briefed the issue before the
On February 28, the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York dismissed a case brought against the Consumer Data Industry Association (CDIA) under federal antitrust law. The case alleged that the CDIA — a trade association of which the three competitor national credit bureaus are members — asserted “monopolistic” control over the
The Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection (CFPB) ordered Hyundai Capital America (Hyundai) to pay $19.2 million for allegedly providing inaccurate information to consumer reporting agencies, including, the CFPB alleged, wrongly reporting that consumers were delinquent on loans and leases, in violation of the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA).
In its press release, the CFPB
On July 6, the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Florida granted final approval of a multimillion-dollar, class-action settlement in Parker v. Stoneledge Furniture, LLC, et al., No. 21-740 (M.D. Fla.) to resolve claims brought under the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) against furniture companies Stoneledge Furniture LLC and Southwestern Furniture of
On July 19, the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA or the Agency) announced the establishment of the Office of Financial Technology to serve as a source of information, Agency support in addressing emerging risks, and avenue to advance Agency priorities as to the adoption and deployment of financial technology (fintech). At the same time, the
As peer-to-peer money transfer services (or cash apps) become more popular, there has been an increase in the number of scams enticing consumers to transfer funds to fraudsters. The law currently provides that the banks that own the cash apps are only required to reimburse transactions not authorized by the customer — meaning if a
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) recently announced it sent out a second round of redress checks in a long-lasting legal battle against an alleged payday lending scheme. While this round of redress checks brings the total financial amount returned to consumers to more than $535 million, the litigation previously resulted in a unanimous Supreme Court
On February 25, the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania held that a purported public records vendor (Credit Lenders Service Agency or CLSA) is a consumer reporting agency (CRA) under the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA). A copy of the decision in McGrath v. Credit Lenders Service Agency, Inc. can be found
“Convenience” fees charged to consumers for the use of certain debt payment options have come under increased scrutiny, as regulators have sought to limit charges and other back-end fees that may come as a surprise to consumers. Also known as “pay-to-pay” fees, such convenience charges are typically imposed by debt collectors and/or loan servicers where