On March 15, the United States District Court for the Central District of California granted final approval of a Fair Credit Reporting Act class action against fast food restaurant McDonald’s.
The named plaintiff, James Wesley Carter, originally brought the action against McDonald’s in July 2015 alleging that McDonald’s violates the rights of consumers by failing
On March 10, Virginia Attorney General Mark Herring announced settlements with two Fredericksburg, Virginia pawnbrokers – Pawnking, LLC and All Star Pawn & Gold, LLC – over allegations the companies charged consumers illegal interest and fees in violation of Virginia’s pawnbroker statutes and the Virginia Consumer Protection Act. As part of the settlement, Pawnking and
Ever since the Supreme Court decided Spokeo, Inc. v. Robins last year, courts have been struggling to define the contours of standing in “no injury” class actions. In Fields v. Beverly Health and Rehabilitation Services, Inc. et al., the District of Minnesota recently granted a motion to dismiss a Fair Credit Reporting Act c
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau recently sued three law firms in the United States District Court for the Central District of California for collecting advance fees from consumers seeking debt relief. CFPB Director Richard Cordray stated that “[t]he defendants exploited consumers who were already suffering financial difficulties by tricking them into paying steep, illegal fees.”
On January 25, the United States District Court for the District of Kansas granted partial preliminary approval to the class settlement in Lengel v. HomeAdvisor, Inc., No. 15-2198-KHV. The plaintiff, Emerald Lengel, brought a class action lawsuit in January 2015, alleging that HomeAdvisor, her then-potential employer, violated the Fair Credit Reporting Act. Lengel
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau maintains an online portal for consumers to submit complaints across a wide variety of regulated industries, including credit reporting, background screening, and debt collection. The CFPB has announced that it will upgrade its online portal system in early 2017. The CFPB has released a preview document, which states that the
On February 27, the Federal Trade Commission filed a stipulated order, which includes a $9 million judgment, against another debt relief provider, United Debt Counselors, LLC, its owners, and officers (collectively “United”) for violating the FTC Act and the Telemarketing Sales Rule. This serves as another warning from the FTC that debt relief companies need
The District of Arizona recently granted a Spokeo motion filed by CenturyLink, holding that plaintiff Lydia Bultemeyer lacked standing to bring a purported class action under the Fair Credit Reporting Act.
In her suit, Bultemeyer alleged that CenturyLink violated the FCRA when it accessed her credit report when she visited the company’s
We are pleased to announce that Troutman Sanders partners David Anthony, Cindy Hanson, Ron Raether, and Ashley Taylor will be featured panelists at the National Association of Professional Background Screeners (“NAPBS”) 2017 Mid-Year Legislative & Regulatory Conference to be held March 20-21 in Arlington, Virginia.
In an interview-style format, David will have
On February 28, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau released its monthly snapshot highlighting consumer complaints about credit reporting. A copy of the CFPB’s report can be found here.
Debt collection, student loan, and credit reporting were the top three most-complained about consumer financial products and services, representing about 60 percent of complaints submitted in