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Michael heads the firm’s Consumer Financial Services practice, and handles class actions and high-stakes consumer litigation on a nationwide basis. He represents banks, mortgage servicers, debt buyers and collectors, and lenders against claims under consumer protection statutes, including the FCRA, TCPA, RESPA, RICO, and state UDAP laws. He has significant experience litigating and trying corporate governance disputes, including shareholder derivative claims, corporate dissolution cases, and corporate divorce matters. Michael also represents public utility companies in litigation and regulatory matters, including condemnation and land use cases.

Scott Kelly, an associate in Troutman Sanders’ Consumer Financial Services practice, has been selected as one of Virginia Lawyers Media’s Up & Coming Lawyers for 2019. The “Up & Coming Lawyers” awards program, now in its fourth year, recognizes lawyers across the commonwealth who are making their mark within their first 10 years of practice.

A federal judge in Alabama has approved a putative class-action settlement in the amount of $1.15 million against Compass Bank to resolve a case brought under the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) on behalf of non-customers who received unsolicited auto-dialer survey calls from the bank.

The case, Robert Hossfield, and all others similarly situated, vs.

New York State’s Department of Financial Services (“NYDFS”) has issued new proposed regulations regarding licensing and servicing standards for student loan servicers operating in the state.

The proposed regulations stem from state legislation passed in April 2019, known as Article 14-A, which requires student loan servicers to obtain a license from the DFS before

As a part of her plan to address the homeownership gap for black families in America, Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris has proposed an amendment to the Fair Credit Reporting Act that will require credit reporting agencies to include rent, cellphone, and utility payments when calculating consumer credit scores. 

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has

New York State’s Department of Financial Services (DFS) has unveiled two new divisions focused on consumer protection, enforcement, and cybersecurity. These highlytouted divisions expand the enforcement capabilities of DFS and confirm that the department will continue to serve as a regulatory leader in the consumer protection space. 

The Cybersecurity

The Financial Crimes Enforcement Network of the U.S. Department of Treasury (“FinCEN”) issued new interpretive guidance last week relating to the application of anti-money laundering (“AML”) laws under the Banking Secrecy Act (“BSA”) to financial institutions engaged in the business of convertible virtual currencies (“CVCs”), including bitcoin and other cryptocurrency.

The stated purpose of the

Washington was close to becoming the next state with a comprehensive privacy law designed to enhance consumers’ privacy rights, but the bill recently failed to pass the state House of Representatives.

The Washington Privacy Act (SB 5376) was introduced in the Washington State Senate in January after California enacted the landmark Consumer Privacy Act (“CCPA”)

In a comprehensive report issued last week, the American Bankruptcy Institute Commission on Consumer Bankruptcy proposed recommendations that would allow student loans to be easier to discharge in bankruptcy, citing the staggering $1.5 trillion in student loan debt held in the United States and the current difficulties with discharging this type of debt in bankruptcy.

The FTC issued a press release last week seeking comment on proposed changes to two rules under the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act of 1999 (the “GLBA Act”) to increase data security for financial institutions and better protect consumers. 

The Commission has sought comment on the Safeguards Rule and the Privacy Rule under the GLBA Act. The

On February 22, the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois granted a defendant’s motion to dismiss in a Driver’s Privacy Protection Act (DPPA) putative class action, holding that the DPPA does not provide a private right of action against state officials in their official capacities. A copy