On March 30, the Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation (“the Department”) issued a statement, accessible here, providing guidance to licensed debt collectors and debt buyers relaxing statutory guidelines mandating that collection actions only take place at their registered addresses. As many non-essential businesses throughout the state transition into having employees work from
Punit Marwaha
Punit Marwaha is an attorney in the consumer financial services litigation practice, representing clients in business disputes, consumer law and commercial litigation in both federal and state courts.
Interagency Statement Provides Guidance on Loan Modifications and Reporting for Borrowers Affected by COVID-19
On March 22, the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System (“FRB”), Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, National Credit Union Administration, Office of Comptroller of the Currency, Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, and the Conference of State Bank Supervisors (collectively, “the Agencies”) issued an interagency statement, available here, providing guidance for lenders on how to…
District Court Dismisses FDCPA Claim Regarding Disputed Debt, Leaves Open FCRA Claim Involving Use of the CFPB Portal to Submit a Credit Dispute
The Eastern District of New York recently decided a motion to dismiss, denying Defendant’s motion as to Plaintiff’s claims under the FCRA and dismissing Plaintiff’s claims under the FDCPA. A copy of the Court’s opinion can be found here. This case involved claims concerning a disputed tradeline on Plaintiff’s credit report. The Court found…
CDIA Files Suit Against Maine to Enforce Preemption of State Law by FCRA
The Consumer Data Industry Association (“CDIA”), a trade association whose members include the three largest consumer reporting agencies (“CRAs”), recently filed a lawsuit in Maine seeking a declaratory judgment that two recently passed credit reporting laws are preempted by the Fair Credit Reporting Act.
Earlier this year, the Maine legislature passed …
Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals Affirms Summary Judgment for Debt Collector in FDCPA Case Concerning Additional Fees
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 …
CFPB Extends Comment Period for FDCPA Rulemaking Until September 18
On August 2, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau announced that it would be extending the public comment period on its Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (“NPRM”) to amend Regulation F as part of implementing the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act. The CFPB announced that it is extending the public comment deadline to September 18, 2019.
On …
All Bark and No Bite? FCC Proposes Rule To Ban Spoofing of Text Messages and Foreign Robocalls
In a recent statement from the Federal Communications Commission, Chairman Ajit Pai proposed the adoption of new rules aimed at extending the anti-spoofing prohibitions in last year’s Ray Baum’s Act to international callers and texters. The provisions in last year’s Ray Baum’s Act extended the scope of the Truth in Caller ID Act, which the …
Sixth Circuit Forces TCPA Plaintiff Into Arbitration Due to Co-Habitant’s Prior Settlement Agreement
The Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals recently held that, because Ohio’s privity requirements only require that the interests of one party adequately represent the interests of another, a plaintiff’s Telephone Consumer Protection Act claim was subject to binding arbitration because of a settlement agreement entered into by the plaintiff’s …
Northern District of Illinois Rules FDCPA’s Bona Fide Error Defense Is Issue of Fact for Jury to Decide
The Northern District of Illinois recently held that, under the facts of this particular case, the “bona fide error” defense is a question of fact for a jury to decide and could not be decided on summary judgment.
Ferris v. Convergent Outsourcing Inc. involves a Fair Debt Collection P…
New Jersey District Court Dismisses FDCPA Class Action, Finding No Overshadowing or Contradictory Language in Collection Letter
The U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey recently dismissed a class action suit against a collection agency based on alleged violations of the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act. In its opinion, which can be found here, the Court held that a single collection letter, which included two telephone numbers and an…