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Kathleen Hutchenreuther

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Kathleen is an associate in the Consumer Financial Services Practice Group which includes work in consumer law, business disputes, and commercial litigation in both federal and state court. Specifically, Kathleen focuses on defending against claims arising under the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA), Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA), Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act (RESPA) and Regulation X, Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA), as well as other federal and state statutes, and common law.

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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.

On February 22, the Fourth Circuit clarified in a published opinion what communications constitute a qualified written request (QWR) under the Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act (RESPA). The Fourth Circuit held that “where a written correspondence to a loan servicer provides sufficient information to identify the account and an alleged servicing error, such correspondence is…

In a panel decision on April 21, the Eleventh Circuit held that (1) a consumer had standing to bring a claim under the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA) because he alleged an invasion of privacy based on the spread of his debt-related information; and (2) a debt collector’s outsourcing of its letter process to…

2020 was a transformative year for the consumer financial services world. As we navigate an unprecedented volume of industry regulation, Troutman Pepper is uniquely positioned to help its clients find successful resolutions and stay ahead of the compliance curve.

In this report, we share developments in 2020 on consumer class actions, background screening, bankruptcy,…

Washington State Attorney General Bob Ferguson recently announced priorities for his 2021 legislative agenda. These priorities include public safety and criminal justice reform, tribal treaty rights, and protecting consumers. With respect to the last priority on consumer protection, Attorney General Ferguson is supporting two bills in the Washington legislature:

  • Price Gouging – SB 5191. Currently

…

Troutman Pepper represented the defendant/appellee in Wanda Daughtry, et al v. Jeffrey Nadel, a case in which the appellants argued that a foreclosure action filed six years after the borrowers defaulted was time-barred. The case concerned whether Maryland’s default three-year statute of limitations for “actions at law” applied to a foreclosure action. The Court…

In Vogel v. McCarthy, Burgess & Wolff, the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois (the “Court”) granted summary judgment to a debt collector on a debtor’s claim that failure to itemize debt in a collection letter was a violation of the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (“FDCPA”).

Plaintiff Erin Vogel…

In Anglin v. Merchants Credit Corporation, No. 2:18-cv-507-BJR, 2020 WL 4000966 (W.D. Wash. July 15, 2020), United States District Judge Barbara Jacobs Rothstein held that the defendants did not violate the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (“FDCPA”) by failing to follow state procedural rules in obtaining a writ of garnishment as part of…

In Alcivar v. Enhanced Recovery Company, the United States District Court for the Eastern District of New York awarded nearly $37,000 in attorneys’ fees and costs to a debt collection agency over a Fair Debt Collection Practices Act claim that the plaintiff’s attorneys brought in bad faith.

Plaintiff Imelda Alcivar owed approximately $1,100 on…

On April 20, the Indiana Supreme Court issued a published order protecting coronavirus stimulus checks from court orders placing a hold on, attaching, or garnishing funds attributable to a stimulus payment. The order is available here.

Six days earlier, four entities had petitioned the Indiana Supreme Court to act under its emergency rulemaking authority…