On May 15, 2017, the United States Supreme Court ruled that the Eleventh Circuit erred when it found a debt buyer liable under the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act for filing proofs of claim in bankruptcy on debts that had become time-barred. A copy of the Court’s opinion can be found here.
Background
In
On May 15, the United States Supreme Court reversed and remanded a state court decision that invalidated an arbitration agreement. In a visceral 7-1 decision, the Supreme Court sent a clear message to Kentucky that the state cannot circumvent the Federal Arbitration Act (“FAA”) merely because the court does not like arbitration clauses.
In Kindred
In one of the most significant post-Spokeo decisions to date, the Fourth Circuit unanimously reversed and dismissed a nearly $12 million Fair Credit Reporting Act (“FCRA”) class action judgment, finding plaintiff, Michael T. Dreher, lacked Article III standing to bring his claims. The decision provides much needed clarity from the Fourth Circuit on the
On May 8, an Arizona federal judge held that a defendant debt collector was not entitled to a “bona fide error” defense in a claim brought under the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act because the collector failed to show it had either a policy or procedure in force to address the specific error in the
On April 28, the Federal Trade Commission published a blog entitled “Background Checks on Prospective Employees: Keep Required Disclosures Simple.” In this online publication, the FTC issued guidance to employers on how to comply with the Fair Credit Reporting Act if they intend to use a consumer report (commonly referred to as a background check)
On April 7, defendants Wolfgang’s Steakhouse, Inc. and ZMF Restaurants LLC again urged a New York federal court judge to dismiss a Fair and Accurate Transactions Act putative class action based on the Supreme Court’s decision in Spokeo, Inc. v. Robins.
In Fullwood v. Wolfgang’s Steakhouse, Inc., plaintiff Cynthia Fullwood alleged
The United States Supreme Court declined a petition for writ of certiorari by a consumer regarding a collection letter on law firm letterhead with attorney signatures. The ruling of the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia in Tawanda Jones v. David Sean Dufek, Sr. was left in place, holding that a
On March 27, the Office of Administrative Law for the State of California announced new regulations that even further limit employers’ ability to consider a job applicant’s criminal history when making hiring decisions.
Except if otherwise permitted by law, employers are prohibited from taking into consideration during the hiring process a number of enumerated offenses,
Lawsuits under the Fair Credit Reporting Act resulting from allegedly inaccurate background checks do not appear to be going away. Just last week, plaintiff Michelle Petry filed a class action against IDE Management d/b/a Cathedral Health Care Centers, in the Southern District of Indiana, claiming that she was denied a job as a
On April 18, the United States Supreme Court heard long-awaited oral arguments in a case that addresses the fundamental issue of the definition of a “debt collector” under the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act. The Supreme Court’s decision will resolve an existing Circuit split on whether an entity that purchases defaulted debts and then attempts