The Utah court of appeals has recently affirmed the dismissal of a plaintiff’s suit against a debt buyer based on its alleged failure to register as a collection agency prior to filing collection lawsuits. The court’s decision in Meneses v. Salander Enterprises LLC, not only holds that a violation of the Utah Collection Agency Act (UCAA) is not a deceptive or unconscionable act under state law, but also calls into question whether the UCAA ever even applied to debt buyers. As discussed here, the UCAA was repealed by the state legislature earlier this year, but cases asserting this theory of liability remain pending before state and federal courts.
Nathan Marigoni
Nathan represents clients in consumer litigation and business disputes, with a focus on complex litigation, consumer class actions, and appeals.
Case Update: Tenth Circuit Denies Petitions for Rehearing in Decision Requiring Substantial Changes to Health Plan Denial Letters
As discussed here and here, D.K. et al. v. United Behavioral Health et al. is a case that has been carefully watched in the health benefits space for its impact on what health plan administrators must include in adverse benefit determination letters. In D.K., the Tenth Circuit held health plan administrators cannot rely…
Supreme Court Holds That Litigation is Automatically Stayed Pending Appeal of Order Denying Motion to Compel Arbitration
Today the U.S. Supreme Court issued a 5-4 decision in Coinbase, Inc. v. Bielski, holding that a district court must stay its proceedings while an interlocutory appeal on the question of arbitrability is pending. The decision resolves a circuit split on the question of whether such a stay is mandatory or discretionary. Justice Kavanaugh…
Case Update: Tenth Circuit Affirms District Court Decision Requiring Substantial Changes to Health Plan Denial Letters
As discussed here, D.K. et al. v. United Behavioral Health et al. is a case that has been carefully watched in the health benefits space for its potential to change what health plan administrators must include in adverse benefit determination letters. On May 15, 2023, the Tenth Circuit issued its opinion affirming the district…
CFS Webinar Series – Developments in Consumer Arbitration
Wednesday, August 31 • 2:30 – 3:30 p.m. ET
Arbitration agreements continue to be a pressing issue in consumer-facing agreements. The United States Supreme Court recently issued several important decisions impacting how consumer arbitration agreements will be interpreted and enforced by the courts, including in the important arena of Private Attorneys General Act (PAGA) actions.…
CFPB Highlights Continued Scrutiny of Military Allotments
In a recent post, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) discussed its ongoing efforts to investigate and curtail alleged abuses of the military allotment system by lenders. The military allotment system is a servicemember benefit dating from the Civil War, which allows servicemembers to automatically pay certain expenses directly from their pay. The importance…
Supreme Court Holds No Prejudice Necessary to Find Arbitration Waiver
In a unanimous decision, the Supreme Court has rejected the rule that a party’s conduct inconsistent with the right to arbitrate will constitute a waiver of that right only if the opposing party was prejudiced by the conduct. In Morgan v. Sundance, Inc., issued May 23, the Court concluded that this rule, followed by…