In a recent opinion, the District of Connecticut dismissed cross-motions for summary judgment filed by a debtor and a debt collector for claims arising under the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act. The case is Garcia v. Law Offices of Howard Lee Schiff, P.C., No. 3:16-cv-791 (D. Conn. Dec.
A recent case out of the U.S. District Court in Arizona has shown that it is not easy for a defendant to recover attorneys’ fees under the “bad faith” provision of the Fair Credit Reporting Act.
In Perri v. Diversified Adjustment Serv., 2018 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 213612 (D. Ari
On Oct. 4, 2018, in Smith v. Mutual of Omaha Insurance Company,[1] the United States District Court for the Southern District of Iowa ruled the plaintiff could not advance his putative class action under the Fair Credit Reporting Act if he qualified as an independent contractor rather than an employee. The decision presents another helpful
More than two weeks have passed since the government shutdown began on December 22, 2018, and there is still no immediate end in sight. President Trump has resolved to continue the shutdown for as “long as it takes,” declining to sign spending legislation without the requested $5 billion for the border wall. Federal governmental entities,
Due to the U.S. Government partial shutdown, the Federal Trade Commission announced a temporary suspension of all of its investigations, including those into debt collection activities. As a result, the FTC has stated that its investigators cannot conduct normal fact-finding and attorneys cannot engage in settlement negotiations at this time. In particular, during the
A court in the United States District Court for the Southern District of Iowa recently ruled that the protections applicable when consumer reports are obtained for “employment purposes” under the Fair Credit Reporting Act (“FCRA”) do not extend to reports obtained for independent contractors. This issue has been unsettled and both employers and background screening
On November 29, the Third Circuit Court of Appeals reversed a district court’s grant of summary judgment to Drexel University in a Fair Debt Collection Practices Act case brought by a former student.
In Tiene v. Law Office of J. Scott Watson PC, No. 18-1221 (3d Cir. Nov. 29,
On November 16, the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit issued a memorandum opinion in Crystal Davis v. Credit Bureau of the South denying counsel’s statutory attorney’s fees for a successful Fair Debt Collection Practices Act claim. The opinion—which is well worth the read—can be accessed here.
The appellant consumer, Crystal
On November 20, Federal Communications Commission Chairman Ajit Pai proposed the implementation of a reassigned numbers database and a declaration that wireless providers are authorized to take measures to stop unwanted text messaging through use of autodialed text messaging (“robotext”)-blocking, anti-spoofing measures, and other anti-spam features.
Calls to reassigned numbers can be
On October 31, the Supreme Court heard oral argument in Frank v. Gaos (No. 17-961), a case challenging the use and limits of cy pres deals in class action lawsuits.
Cy pres disbursements, which distribute unclaimed settlement proceeds to certain designated organizations when such funds cannot be feasibly distributed to class members, have been a