On May 16, 2016, the Supreme Court of the United States issued its much-anticipated decision in Spokeo, Inc. v. Robins. Spokeo considered whether Congress may confer Article III standing by authorizing a private right of action based on the violation of a federal statute alone, despite a plaintiff having suffered no “real world” harm.
On May 10, 2016, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) released new guidelines for employment background screening companies for compliance with certain consumer reporting agency requirements of the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA). The FTC’s guidelines are yet another indication that FCRA compliance is a top federal regulatory priority
I. General Application of the FCRA
The
We are pleased to announce that Troutman Sanders partner David Anthony will be a featured speaker at the 2016 ACA International Convention & Expo in Denver at the Hyatt Regency on June 16-18.
David will speak on a panel entitled “Industry Response to Current Trends in Fair Debt Collection Practices Act Enforcement.” He will
On May 6, the Federal Communications Commission released a notice of proposed rulemaking to implement a provision of President Obama’s Bipartisan Budget Act of 2015, which creates an exception from the Telephone Consumer Protection Act’s (TCPA) consent requirement for robocalls “made solely to collect a debt owed to or guaranteed by the United States.”
The
On March 29, in Hall v. Phenix Investigations, Inc., No. 15-10533, 2016 U.S. App. LEXIS 5786 (5th Cir. Tex. Mar. 29, 2016), the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit affirmed dismissal of an action alleging claims under the Fair Credit Reporting Act (“FCRA”) and Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (“FDCPA”). The
On April 26, in Verkuilen v. Business Info. Group, Inc., No. 14-cv-400, 2016 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 55392 (E.D. Wis. Apr. 26, 2016), the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Wisconsin granted Defendant’s motion for partial summary judgment as to Plaintiff’s FCRA claims on the basis that they were time-barred. The FCRA
On April 25, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau entered into consent orders with the debt collection law firm Pressler & Pressler, LLC, two principal partners, and New Century Financial Services, Inc., a debt buyer, for the defendants’ alleged violations of the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act. The consent orders require Pressler and the
In March, the Supreme Court, in a 6-2 decision, held in Tyson Foods, Inc. v. Bouaphekeo that the district court did not err in certifying and maintaining a class of employees who alleged violations of the Fair Labor Standards Act, notwithstanding the employees’ reliance on “representative evidence” to determine the number of additional hours
In April, the Maryland General Assembly approved legislation on consumer debt collection that addresses how statutes of limitation may be calculated against consumers.
Senate Bill 771, which addresses certain “debt buyers” and “debt collectors,” provides that “certain actions may not revive or extend a certain statute of limitations prohibiting a debt buyer or a certain
In Jones v. Sterling Infosystems, 1:14cv3076 (S.D.N.Y. 2016), the district court recently denied class certification against a background screening company that was alleged to have violated 15 U.S.C. § 1681k(a) by not sending out the notice envisioned under § 1681k(a)(1) at the time that criminal record information was transmitted to employers.
The court denied