On May 21, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau issued a report providing an analysis of the complaints it has received since the outbreak of the coronavirus (“COVID-19”) pandemic. Unsurprisingly, the number of complaints has increased dramatically.
The report shows that the CFPB received 36,700 consumer complaints in March and 42,400 in April, the two highest
In an order issued on April 20, the Indiana Supreme Court has exercised its rulemaking authority to prevent creditors from being able to attach or garnish stimulus payments issued under the federal Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (“CARES Act”). See In re Petition to the Indiana Supreme Court to Engage in Emergency Rulemaking
Following Gov. Mike Dewine’s declaration of a state of emergency due to the coronavirus (“COVID-19”) pandemic, Ohio legislators have introduced numerous emergency measures to address the public health and economic crises facing the State. This includes a bill introduced on March 25 by Rep. Thomas West (D-Canton), which would require creditors and debt collectors to
In Alston v. Orion Portfolio Servs., LLC, the United States District Court for the District of Maryland ordered a pro se plaintiff to pay nearly $15,000 in legal fees incurred by the defendants in defending a frivolous claim asserted under the Fair Debt Collections Practices Act.
This case concerns and alleged debt of $1,391
In Johnson v. Comodo Group, the United States District Court for the District of New Jersey denied the defendant’s motion for summary judgment on two key issues in a claim asserting violations of the Telephone Consumer Protection Act, finding that a predictive dialer qualifies as an automatic telephone dialing system under the statute and
On December 17, the United States Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware approved a settlement between Starion Energy Inc. and the Commonwealth of Massachusetts in which Starion agreed to pay up to $10 million to resolve claims that it engaged in deceptive business practices and violated state telemarketing laws.
Starion is a retail provider
In Kempton v. Life for Relief & Dev. Inc., plaintiff Ty Kempton initially filed a class action complaint alleging violations of the Telephone Consumer Protection Act in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan. When faced with the possibility of an adverse ruling, Kempton voluntarily dismissed his claim and refiled
The Fair Debt Collection Practices Act requires a debt collector to inform consumers of the “name of the creditor to whom the debt is owed” within five days after its initial communication with a consumer regarding a debt. 15 U.S.C. § 1692g(a). And § 1692e(10) prohibits the use of any “false representation or deceptive means
In recent years there has been a dramatic increase in the number of claims brought under the Telephone Consumer Protection Act based on calls made to wrong numbers. A decision in the Northern District of Illinois indicates that such calls can also give rise to exposure under the Fair Debt Collections Practices Act.
In Kayyal
On August 22, a panel of the Ninth Circuit unanimously rejected Facebook, Inc.’s petition for rehearing of the Court’s June 13 decision, which reversed the dismissal of a putative class action alleging violations of the Telephone Consumer Protection Act. This opens the door for Facebook to attempt have the Supreme Court rule on whether