A bipartisan group of attorneys general from thirty-eight states have signed on to a letter backing the Secure and Fair Enforcement (“SAFE”) Banking Act – H.R. 1595 – as it moves toward the floor of the House of Representatives.
Thirty-three states plus the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, and Guam have legalized marijuana for medical
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) released on May 7 a 538-page Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (the Rule) that would update the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA). The Rule would be the first major update to the FDCPA since its enactment in 1977 and gives much-needed clarification on the bounds of federally-regulated activities of
Earlier this week, the Fourth Circuit struck down a provision of the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (“TCPA”) that exempted government-backed debts from the statute’s prohibition on automated calls to cellular telephones. According to the Court in American Association of Political Consultants, Inc., et al v. FCC, the debt-collection exemption does not pass strict scrutiny
Background
In Varela v. Lamps Plus, Inc.,
In connection with passing New York’s 2020 Executive Budget, the state enacted sweeping new regulations on student loan servicing. Governor Andrew Cuomo previously announced the regulations in a statement saying, “The student loan servicer industry has repeatedly raised serious consumer protection concerns that need to be addressed and with this proposal, we will provide sweeping
In light of recent challenges to the Telephone Consumer Protection Act on First Amendment grounds, a recent decision from the Middle District of Florida provides yet another clear example of the TCPA’s content-based discrimination.
The case, Gaza v. Navient Solutions LLC, No. 8:18-cv-1049, concerned calls made to a cell phone to collect a student
The Telephone Consumer Protection Act (“TCPA”) carries the risk of annihilative damages for class action defendants based on its remarkable statutory damages scheme. Because of this risk, the statute has been the subject of significant court and agency attention recently. And much of this attention – from the D.C. Circuit’s opinion in ACA International to
On February 7, 2019, AllianceOne Receivables Management, Inc. (“AllianceOne”), a debt collector, agreed to pay $2.2 million to settle a nationwide class action alleging violations of the Fair Credit Reporting Act (“FCRA”) for obtaining consumer reports on individuals with outstanding parking tickets without a permissible purpose.
The parties moved to approve the settlement after more
Who should decide the “gateway” issue of arbitrability? That is, should a court or an arbitrator decide whether a particular issue is subject to arbitration? According to the Fourth Circuit, it depends on the agreement to arbitrate.
On January 4, the Fourth Circuit issued an opinion in Novic v. Credit One, No. 17-2168,