A district court in the Eleventh Circuit has joined the Fifth and Eighth circuits, along with a host of district courts throughout the country, in adopting the “benign language” exception to Section 1692f(8) of the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, and has dismissed a claim based on a collection letter with a visible barcode containing
Troutman Sanders Attorney Selected to Serve in Attorney State Chair Program for ACA International
Ethan Ostroff has been selected by ACA International (Association of Credit and Collection Professionals) to serve in the Attorney State Chair Program for the Commonwealth of Virginia. The Attorney State Chair Program provides ACA International units and their members with access to an attorney licensed to practice law in their state. These attorneys have volunteered
Eastern District of New York Rules That Fee May Be Collected with Principal Balance, Requesting Prompt Contact is Permissible
In Igor Vayngurt v. Southwest Credit Systems, L.P., the Eastern District of New York ruled that a debt collector did not violate the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act by attempting to obtain payment of a collection fee at the same time as the principal balance of the debt and requesting prompt contact in the
Extra Assurances Not Required: Collector Not Liable for Letter with No Statement Assuring that Non-Interest Charges and Fees Would Not Accrue
The United States District Court for the Eastern District of New York has dismissed a debtor’s claim that a collection letter stating “Non-interest Charges & Fees: $0.00” was misleading under the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act because an unsophisticated consumer could mistakenly believe that non-interest charges and fees might be added in the future. The
Fourth Circuit Rejects FDCPA Liability For Filing Proofs of Claim On Time-Barred Debt
On August 25, 2016, the Fourth Circuit held in In re Eric Dubois, Case No. 15-1945, that filing a proof of claim based on a time-bared debt in a Chapter 13 bankruptcy does not violate the Fair Debt Collection Protection Act (FDCPA) when the applicable state statute of limitations does not extinguish the debt.
CFPB Introduces New Protections for Borrowers
On August 4, 2016, the CFPB issued its final mortgage servicing rule pursuant to Regulation X of the Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act (RESPA) and Regulation Z of the Truth in Lending Act (TILA). The final rule provides greater foreclosure protections to borrowers and requires further transparency between borrowers and mortgage servicers. The final rule
Ninth Circuit Rules Every Debt Collector Must Send Verification Notice
In a case of first impression, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit held in July that all debt collectors must send debtors a verification notice. “In other words, if there are multiple debt collectors that try to collect a debt, each one must send the required notice after its first communication with
House Financial Services Committee Releases Draft of Bill to Replace Dodd-Frank
On June 23, a discussion draft of “The Financial CHOICE Act” was released by the House Financial Services Committee. A primary purpose of this bill is to replace the Dodd-Frank Act, including reforming financial institution regulations and significantly changing the structure and authority of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.
Specifically, the
CFPB Argues Violation of Statutory Right against Misrepresentation is in itself Concrete Injury
In Bock v. Pressler & Pressler, LLP, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit requested supplemental briefs applying Spokeo, Inc. v. Robins to the Article III standing issue at bar. As we previously reported, the Court requested targeted discussion on whether a violation of the statutory right at issue was by
House Bill Introduced Requiring Changes to CFPB Complaint Database
On June 9, Representative Matt Salmon (R-AZ) introduced legislation to impose new requirements on how the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau makes consumer complaints public in the Consumer Complaint Database. According to Salmon, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (“CFPB”) Data Accountability Act “would improve the current database by requiring the CFPB to verify the