On August 1, a three-judge panel of the New Jersey Appellate Division affirmed a $40 million jury award to investment firm NuWave Investment Corporation for reputation damage by an allegedly inaccurate and defamatory background report issued by First Advantage Litigation Consulting LLC. Court records indicated that the allegedly offending information in the report issued by
Debt collectors beware: On August 12, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit held that a debt collector violates section 1692f(8) of the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act by displaying an unencrypted “quick response” (or “QR”) code on the face of an envelope containing a debt collection letter that, when scanned,
On August 8, 2019, in Lavallee v. Med-1 Solutions, LLC, No. 17-3244 (7th Cir. 2019), the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals rejected a debt collector’s argument that its email, which contained only a “secure message” hyperlink, was a “communication” under the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA) because the email did not convey any
On June 25, a group of twenty education organizations and individuals sent a letter to Congress urging it to regulate the use of income share agreements, or “ISAs” – an increasingly popular means of financing higher education. The letter was sent to the House Financial Services Committee and Senate Finance Committee, requesting legislation “that provides
On July 30, a district court judge in the Southern District of California granted a defendant debt collector’s motion to dismiss under Rule 12(b)(6) for failure to state a claim. The Court held that the collection letters sent by Capital Management Services, LP (“CMS”) did not constitute violations of the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act
The Second Circuit remains a hotbed for consumer claims under the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act related to disclosures of interest and fees in collection letters. Plaintiffs bombard New York courts with these claims, forcing courts to meticulously review every possible disclosure of amounts due. While most of these claims ultimately fail on summary judgment,
On August 2, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau announced that it would be extending the public comment period on its Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (“NPRM”) to amend Regulation F as part of implementing the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act. The CFPB announced that it is extending the public comment deadline to September 18, 2019.
On
A recent ruling by the U.S. Court of Federal Claims has made it more likely that an ambitious overhaul of the federal student loan servicing industry will be forthcoming.
As background, the U.S. Department of Education has announced plans to make sweeping changes to the student loan industry by requiring that its loan servicers be
On July 24, the Federal Trade Commission filed an administrative complaint against Cambridge Analytica, alleging that the company deceived consumers by falsely claiming it did not collect any personally identifiable information from Facebook users. The FTC alleges that Cambridge Analytica in fact collected users’ Facebook User ID—which can include users’ real names—as well as other
Aspiring plaintiffs continue to litigate the issue of an attorney’s role in sending debt collection letters. Under the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, a debt collector may not use false or misleading representations in the collection of a debt. 15 U.S.C. § 1692(e). In Bencomo v. Forster & Garbus LLP, et al., No.