On December 13, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals heard arguments in the long‑simmering Robins v. Spokeo Inc. putative class action, following reversal of the appellate court’s previous opinion by the Supreme Court. Robins alleges that Spokeo violated the Fair Credit Reporting Act by maintaining various inaccurate data points about the plaintiff in an online
Telephone Company Settles TCPA Class Action for $11 Million
On December 14, the parties in Mey v. Frontier Communications Corp. filed a motion for preliminary approval of a settlement of a Telephone Consumer Protection Act class action.
According to the Complaint, Frontier, a telephone company that offers voice, broadband, satellite video, and wireless internet data access for individuals and small businesses, uses
California Federal Court Remands Background Check Class Action on Basis of Article III Standing
On December 2, the court in Lee v. Hertz Corp., No. 15-cv-04562-BLF (N.D. Cal.) granted a motion to dismiss a putative Fair Credit Reporting Act class action against Hertz. The court’s order, which was based on a finding that the named plaintiffs—Peter Lee and Latonya Campbell—lacked Article III standing, remanded the case to
Petco Motion to Dismiss FCRA Background Screening Class Case is Denied
Petco’s motion to dismiss a background screening class action alleging violation of the Fair Credit Reporting Act was recently denied by a district court in the Southern District of California. In the putative class action, the plaintiffs alleged that Petco’s background check disclosure form violated the FCRA because it was not provided in a stand-alone
OPM Issues Final Rule on Inquiring into Job Applicants’ Criminal History and Credit Information
Effective January 3, 2017, the Office of Personnel Management will require that, unless an exception has been granted, federal hiring agencies cannot inquire into an applicant’s criminal history or adverse credit information until after a conditional offer of employment has been made. This federal initiative is consistent with, and provides a timely reminder of, the
CFPB Signals Intent to Move Forward With System Allowing Consumers to Rate Companies’ Responses to Complaints
According to a Federal Register notice published on November 29, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is soliciting further comments on its proposal to provide consumers with the option to fill out a short survey on their satisfaction with companies’ resolution of consumer complaints. In the notice, the CFPB described the proposal:
The purpose of this
Cross-Motions for Summary Judgment Filed in Costco FCRA Class Action
As we previously reported, the named plaintiff in Paci v. Costco Wholesale Corporation filed a Fair Credit Reporting Act putative class action against Costco alleging that the retailer’s receipts contained more digits of the payment card’s account number than is permitted under the Act.
The parties recently filed cross-motions for summary judgment. Costco argued
Attorney Collecting Debt For a Debt Collector May Not Rely on Client’s Validation Notice
A district court in the Seventh Circuit has denied a motion to dismiss filed by a collection attorney acting on behalf of a debt collector client, holding that the plaintiff in the case could pursue her claim based on the attorney’s failure to provide his own § 1692g validation notice in an initial communication, even
District Court Wrestles with Interpretation of Webpage in Background Check Disclosure Lawsuit
The Fair Credit Reporting Act requires that employers provide prospective applicants with a disclosure before obtaining a pre-employment background check from a consumer reporting agency. This disclosure must be in a single document that consists “solely of the disclosure” that a consumer report may be obtained for employment purposes. In Burnthorne-Martinez v. Sephora USA, Inc.
$11 Million Judgment Entered Against Debt Collectors in FTC Action
The United States District Court for the Western District of New York recently granted the Federal Trade Commission’s motion for summary judgment and entered a final order against a group of debt collectors who pretended to be affiliated with the government, and ordered them to pay nearly $11 million.
In Federal Trade Commission v. Federal