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”).
House Passes Fairness in Class Action Litigation, Substantially Altering Class Action Practice
Last Friday, the U.S. House of Representatives passed a bill that would heighten the standards for obtaining class certification by requiring extra scrutiny as to the continuity of the damages claimed by the class representative and the putative class members. Lawmakers voted 211-188 to pass H.R. 1927, the Fairness in Class Action Litigation and
FTC Continues Crackdown on Illegal Debt Collection Activities
On January 7, the Federal Trade Commission announced four new enforcement actions targeting debt collectors and continuing the FTC’s nationwide crackdown of illegal debt collection tactics. The cases are part of Operation Collection Protection, a coordinated federal-state enforcement initiative targeting deceptive and abusive debt collection practices. Over the past year, 130 actions have been brought
Court Declines to Dismiss FCRA Claim Based on Presence of State Law Notices in Background Check Disclosure
In Lagos v. The Leland Stanford Junior University, the plaintiff alleged the defendant’s background check disclosure violated the Fair Credit Reporting Act because it included notices regarding background checks required under state law. The court declined to dismiss the Plaintiff’s claim at the pleading stage, finding the existence of these state law notices could