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,
The Tenth Circuit developed a new rule under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA) in Ellis v. Liberty Assurance Company of Boston (case number 19-1074), holding last week that courts should adhere to choice-of-law provisions in ERISA health benefits plans.
In Ellis, the Tenth Circuit considered whether Michael Ellis’ health benefits
On March 20, 2020 the FCC issued a Declaratory Ruling specifically outlining how calls and messages will be treated under the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (“TCPA”) with regard to the novel coronavirus (“COVID-19”). In its sua sponte Declaratory Ruling, The FCC exempted certain calls related to the COVID-19 pandemic from TCPA requirements – but only
In light of the coronavirus (“COVID-19”) and its impact on business operations, it is important to be aware that Telephone Consumer Protection Act restrictions on calling or texting consumers for a commercial purpose still apply. These national restrictions include rules governing consent to contact cellular telephones and rules regarding revocation of consent. Moreover, certain
Furthering his state’s historic consumer protections against surprise medical bills, New York Governor Andrew Cuomo signed into law this past October the Patient Protection Act, adding additional protections for emergency room visits.
New York was already a bellwether in the field, passing the historic Surprise Medical Bill Act in 2014 to prevent unexpected medical bills
Here’s the problem: In the managed care litigation space, noncontracted medical providers are suing payors as part of their business-collections strategy, utilizing quasi-contract theories of recovery in their attempt to justify ever growing bills.
In the traditional contracted-provider/ payor relationship, the network agreement, of course, governs rates of reimbursement. Medical providers are turning to quasi-contract
On July 24, the House of Representatives overwhelmingly passed new, comprehensive robocall reform. Passed by a vote of 429-3, the Stopping Bad Robocalls Act (“SBRA”) would give the Federal Communications Commission novel methods to enforce existing anti-robocall laws in addition to allowing the FCC to go after violators more strictly. Beyond giving the FCC the
On June 20, the Supreme Court issued an uneventful opinion in the highly anticipated case PDR Network LLC, et al. v. Carlton & Harris Chiropractic, No. 17-1705. The case, which we discussed in depth here, was primed to give TCPA litigants much-needed guidance regarding the impact of Federal Communications Commission rules and regulations
On June 6, the Federal Communications Commission unanimously approved a declaratory ruling affirming that voice service providers may, as the default setting for phones, block robocalls. This aggressive position means that service providers are strongly encouraged to use reasonable call analytics to block calls before those calls even reach a consumer’s phone.
While the FCC
On May 28, the Third Circuit in Robert W. Mauthe, M.D., P.C. v. Optum Inc. et al. issued a precedential ruling that an unsolicited information request sent by fax is not a prohibited advertisement under the Telephone Consumer Protection Act, even when it has a commercial purpose. In so ruling, the three-judge panel affirmed a