The Fifth Circuit recently adopted a presumption in favor of retaining federal jurisdiction under the Class Action Fairness Act (“CAFA”) and placing the burden squarely on plaintiffs who seek to remand a case based on one of CAFA’s limited exceptions. Specifically, the Court held that “[i]f the applicability of an exception
First 2016 CFPB Bulletin Reinforces Focus on Furnishers
I. Background
On February 3, 2016, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) issued a bulletin warning companies that furnish information on consumers to consumer reporting agencies (CRAs) yet again of the need to have adequate policies and procedures. This bulletin makes clear that any company that supplies information to CRAs is in an area of
Fourth Circuit: Arbitration Agreements Cannot Renounce Application of Federal Law
On February 2, the Fourth Circuit held that an arbitration agreement “may not flatly and categorically renounce the authority of the federal statutes to which it is and must remain subject.” Because the arbitration agreement at issue sought to “avoid state and federal law and to game the entire system,” the three-judge panel concluded that
SDNY Grants Spokeo Stay to Dish Network in FCRA Class Action
A federal judge in the Southern District of New York halted another Fair Credit Reporting Act class action case in light of the Supreme Court’s upcoming ruling in Spokeo v. Robins. In Ernst v. DISH Network, U.S. District Judge Lorna G. Schofield stayed a class action case brought by Dish Network LLC contract technicians alleging
Is the FCRA a Dead End for Data Breach Plaintiffs?
Former FBI Director Robert Mueller stated in 2012, “[T]here are only two types of companies: those that have been hacked and those that will be.” Since then, many diverse companies (and even the federal government) have suffered this fate. Indeed, no company or entity appears immune to the potential reputational and financial risks that follow
“Ban the Box” Proposal for Public Employment Positions Passes Virginia’s Senate
On January 25, on a 23-15 vote, Virginia’s “ban the box” bill, SB335, passed the Virginia Senate. The proposal will now make its way to the Virginia House of Delegates for deliberation and potential approval.
SB 335 generally bars “state agencies” from inquiring into a job candidate’s criminal background before
District Court Dismisses FCRA Background Check Class Action Claim on Statute of Limitations Grounds
On November 9, 2015, Terria Harris filed an Amended Complaint against Home Depot U.S.A., Inc. in a Fair Credit Reporting Act (“FCRA”) background check class action lawsuit. In this complaint, she alleged that Home Depot violated the FCRA’s background check disclosure requirement because the disclosure she signed was allegedly “embedded with extraneous information.” As a
Personal Knowledge of Facts Not Required When Attesting to an Affidavit
Debt collectors frequently rely on affidavits that attest to the validity of underlying debt in state court collection actions. An issue that has garnered attention is the extent to which the debt collector must possess personal knowledge of the facts contained in its supporting collection affidavits. In Janson v. Katharyn B. Davis, LLC (Case No.
Supreme Court Agrees to Review Tactic to Secure Appellate Review of Class Certification
On January 15, the United States Supreme Court granted a writ of certiorari in the matter of Baker v. Microsoft Corp. on the issue of whether plaintiffs may voluntarily dismiss their suit after class certification is denied as a procedural tactic to guarantee appellate review of an unfavorable class certification decision.
Rule 23(f) allows a
District Court Holds Leaving Message with Third Party Violates the FDCPA
Can a debt collector leave a message for a debtor with a third party who answers the debtor’s phone? In Halberstam v. Global Credit and Collection Corp., the District Court for the Eastern District of New York answered in the negative, holding that such action violated the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (“FDCPA”).