A federal district court in Connecticut recently ruled that a debt collector’s 29 telephone calls to a debtor’s home telephone over a period of 24 days was sufficient to establish a claim under the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act. In denying in part the defendant debt collector’s motion for judgment on the pleadings, Judge Jeffrey
Current Balance Decision Creates Uncertainty in Eastern District of New York
On October 31, the United States District Court in the Eastern District of New York held that a debt collector violated the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act by failing to disclose whether interest and fees may accrue on an account. Specifically, the Court denied a debt collector’s summary judgment motion, stating that a collection letter
CFPB Issues Interim Final Rule Amending Time Requirement for Servicers to Send Subsequent Early Intervention Notices
On October 4, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau issued an interim final rule which will amend a portion of the 2016 Mortgage Servicing Final Rule for Regulation X of the Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act. Specifically, the interim rule will amend the amount of time mortgage servicers have under amended § 1024.39(d)(3)(iii) to “provide modified
Plaintiff’s Counsel Ordered to Pay Defendant’s Fees and Costs in Bad Faith FDCPA Action
On September 20, a United States District judge for the Northern District of California granted defendant United Recovery System’s motion for attorneys’ fees and costs arising from its successful defense of a lawsuit based on alleged violations of the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act and the California Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, also known as
Federal District Court Sanctions CFPB for Failing to Provide Knowledgeable Deposition Witness
On August 25, 2017, the United States District Court for the Northern District of Georgia entered an order granting multiple Defendants’ consolidated motion for sanctions against the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. Defendants’ Rule 37 motion alleged the CFPB failed to produce a knowledgeable deposition witness and also failed to follow the Court’s various orders to
Federal District Court Grants Preliminary Approval of $3.2M TCPA Class Action Settlement
On August 10, Massachusetts District Court Judge Richard G. Stearns granted preliminary approval of a $3.2 million class settlement agreement in a Telephone Consumer Protection Act class action filed against Collecto, Inc. The four named plaintiffs allege that Collecto made unauthorized telephone calls to class members’ cellular phones using an automated telephone dialing system in
District Court Allows FCRA Lawsuit Alleging Debt Collector’s Improper Acquisition of Credit Report to Proceed
A federal district court in Indiana has allowed a plaintiff’s claim that a debt collector improperly accessed her credit report to proceed because the debt collector did not claim the alleged debt arose from a credit transaction in its motion to dismiss the complaint.
Plaintiff Vivian Pigg incurred the alleged debt after defaulting on
District Court Approves $1.53M Settlement Between CFPB and Credit Repair Companies in Telemarketing Sales Rule Lawsuit
On June 27, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau announced it had filed two consumer protection lawsuits against four credit repair companies and three executives for allegedly misleading consumers and charging improper advance fees. On that same day, the CFPB filed corresponding stipulated final judgments providing for approximately $2 million in penalties against the named defendants.
New Consumer Finance Lawsuits Increase in May 2017, On Pace with 2016
New data from WebRecon reflects an increase in the number of consumer finance lawsuits filed during the month of May. After a sharp decline in the number of Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, Telephone Consumer Protection Act, and Fair Credit Reporting Act lawsuits filed during the month of April, May saw a roughly 30% increase
CFPB Updates Its Planned Overhaul of Acceptable Debt Collection Practices
In July of 2016, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau released an outline of new rules targeting third-party debt-collection operations. The new rules targeted various areas including: Debt validation, Limits on Contact, Consumer Disputes, and Deceased Consumers. At the time, the CFPB stated it planned to release rules relevant to first-party creditors at a later