The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau filed a lawsuit in the United Stated District Court for the District of Maryland against FCO Holding, Inc. and its subsidiaries, as well as Michael E. Sobota, the chief executive officer and 100% owner of FCO Holding, Inc. The Maryland debt collector entities operate collectively under the name Fair Collections
On September 19, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and the Federal Trade Commission announced they will hold a joint public workshop on December 10 related to key issues of accuracy governed by the Fair Credit Reporting Act, including those related to the accuracy of both traditional credit reports as well as employment and tenant background
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit recently affirmed judgment in favor of two debt collectors and against a debtor for claims arising under the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act and the Wisconsin Consumer Act (“WCA”). In its ruling, the Court held that the debtor did not create a triable issue of material
Some good news for debt collectors recently came out of the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals. In Sparks v. EquityExperts.org, LLC, the Sixth Circuit affirmed summary judgment for EquityExperts.org, LLC (“Equity Experts”), rejecting the consumers’ allegations that Equity Experts violated the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act by collecting its
The Southern District of Indiana recently issued a positive decision for debt buyers and collectors defending Fair Debt Collection Practices Act lawsuits premised on a directly communicating with a consumer who had previously notified the creditor she was represented by an attorney.
In Pennell v. Global Trust Management, LLC, No. 1:18-cv-01698-JRS-DLP, 2019 U.S. Dist.
On August 27, the Central District of California denied Hyundai Motor America, Inc.’s motion to dismiss a Telephone Consumer Protection Act (“TCPA”) class action complaint filed by plaintiff June Abe. In Abe v. Hyundai Motor America, Inc., the Court rejected Hyundai’s arguments that Abe failed to allege sufficient facts to support her claims that
On August 12, the California Supreme Court answered a certified question from the Ninth Circuit, holding in White v. Square, Inc. that a person has standing under the California Unruh Civil Rights Act (“Unruh”) to sue an internet-based service provider for an alleged discriminatory policy even if the person does not use or subscribe to
On August 22, state attorneys general from all fifty states and the District of Columbia, in conjunction with large telecom companies, unveiled a new agreement to combat robocalls. This is the latest step from the government and the telecom industry to address this growing problem as Americans get nearly 5 billion automated calls every month.
On August 1, a three-judge panel of the New Jersey Appellate Division affirmed a $40 million jury award to investment firm NuWave Investment Corporation for reputation damage by an allegedly inaccurate and defamatory background report issued by First Advantage Litigation Consulting LLC. Court records indicated that the allegedly offending information in the report issued by
The Southern District of Florida recently issued a positive decision for businesses defending Telephone Consumer Protection Act lawsuits who place calls pursuant to contractually granted consent. In Lucoff v. Navient Sols., LLC, No. 0:18-cv-60743-RAR, 2019 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 133577 (S.D. Fla. Aug. 7, 2019), the Court affirmed and adopted the Magistrate’s Report and Recommendation