California is famously inhospitable to arbitration. In fact, the U.S. Supreme Court struck down California laws disfavoring arbitration on no fewer than six occasions between 1987 and 2022.
Troutman Pepper Publishes 2023 Consumer Financial Services Year in Review and A Look Ahead
We are pleased to share our annual review of regulatory and legal developments in the consumer financial services industry. With active federal and state legislatures, consumer financial services providers faced a challenging 2023. Courts across the country issued rulings that will have immediate and lasting impacts on the industry. Our team of more than 140 professionals has prepared this concise, yet thorough analysis of the most important issues and trends throughout our industry. We not only examined what happened in 2023, but also what to expect — and how to prepare — for the months ahead.
Utah State Court Rejects Claim Based on Debt Collector’s Alleged Failure to Register Under Collection Agency Act
The Utah court of appeals has recently affirmed the dismissal of a plaintiff’s suit against a debt buyer based on its alleged failure to register as a collection agency prior to filing collection lawsuits. The court’s decision in Meneses v. Salander Enterprises LLC, not only holds that a violation of the Utah Collection Agency Act (UCAA) is not a deceptive or unconscionable act under state law, but also calls into question whether the UCAA ever even applied to debt buyers. As discussed here, the UCAA was repealed by the state legislature earlier this year, but cases asserting this theory of liability remain pending before state and federal courts.
Supreme Court Holds That Litigation is Automatically Stayed Pending Appeal of Order Denying Motion to Compel Arbitration
Today the U.S. Supreme Court issued a 5-4 decision in Coinbase, Inc. v. Bielski, holding that a district court must stay its proceedings while an interlocutory appeal on the question of arbitrability is pending. The decision resolves a circuit split on the question of whether such a stay is mandatory or discretionary. Justice Kavanaugh
Utah’s H.B. 20 Signed into Law, Reducing Red Tape for Debt Collection Agencies
In a significant boost to the financial services industry, Utah has taken major steps to streamline its debt collection bureaucracy — including the removal of criminal penalties for failure to comply with technical requirements.
Utah House Bill 20, titled “Collection Agency Amendments,” was signed into law last month and goes into effect May 3
Troutman Pepper Weekly Consumer Financial Services Newsletter
To help you keep abreast of relevant activities, below find a breakdown of some of the biggest events at the federal and state levels to impact the Consumer Finance Services industry this past week:
- On September 1, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) issued the first in a series
Practice Point: Tips for Oral Argument in Consumer Litigation
Oral argument—whether at the trial level or on appeal—is a crucial inflection point in the life of any case. And when it comes to oral advocacy, consumer cases present their own special challenges. How do you distill a complex set of statutes, regulations, and detailed factual timelines into something clean, clear, digestible, and memorable for
Texas Supreme Court Holds Administrative Wire Transfer Form Does Not Impose Contractual Duties on Bank
In Cadence Bank, N.A. v. Roy J. Elizondo III, PLLC, the Supreme Court of Texas recently held that an administrative form relied upon by a victim of a fraud scam did not impose contractual obligations on a bank to verify available funds before processing the wire transaction.
A Texas lawyer maintained an IOLTA deposit
California Federal Judge Rejects Fourth Attempt at Settlement Approval in Five Guys Class Action
On January 24, the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of California took the unusual step of declining to sign off — for the fourth time — on a proposed settlement, resulting from a putative class-action lawsuit against Five Guys Enterprises LLC and its parent Encore FGBF LLC. The lawsuit alleges the popular burger
PBSA Volunteer of the Month
Congratulations and thanks to Elizabeth Holt Andrews and Jennifer Sarvadi as the PBSA Volunteers of the Month.
PBSA volunteers of the month are our more traditional volunteers. For November, PBSA is recognizing two members from our legal firms who dedicated their time in preparing the amicus letter and efforts in California.
Elizabeth Holt Andrews, Counsel