On March 16, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) adopted its first set of regulations targeting what is perceived as the increasing problem of scam text messages sent to consumers. The first rule requires mobile service providers to block text messages that appear to come from phone numbers that are unlikely to transmit text messages. This
In recent years, several lawsuits have challenged wilderness therapy program exclusions in health plans. Not only do members typically assert a claim for benefits, alleging a denial of wilderness therapy benefits was improper under their health plan, but they also insist the plan’s exclusion that serves as the basis for the denial violates the Mental
Recently, the Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals held an arbitration provision impermissibly blocked rights afforded to a retirement plan participant under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) and was therefore unenforceable.
As background, in Harrison v. Envision Management Holding, Inc. (Envision), the plaintiff, a former employee of Envision and participant in Envision’s defined contribution
On February 1, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) published a final rule strengthening their authority to recover alleged overpayments made to Medicare Advantage plans. The rule formalizes the Medicare Advantage Risk Adjustment Data Validation (RADV), which CMS uses to risk-adjust payments made by CMS to a Medicare Advantage Organization (MAO). While legal
On January 9, the district court for the Eastern District of New York dismissed a pro se plaintiff’s TCPA lawsuit for failure to properly allege that the defendants used an automatic telephone dialing system (ATDS) when placing calls to the plaintiff.
In Kannon v. Warranty Protection Services, the plaintiff alleged that the auto warranty
Effective September 1, the American Arbitration Association (AAA) has finally updated its Commercial Rules and Mediation Procedures, concluding a two-year internal review. The amendments provide greater procedural discretion to arbitrators, further streamline expedited arbitrations, change the amount-in-controversy requirements for certain arbitration paths, and provide express confidentiality protections, among other things.
First, the amended
On March 22, the Ninth Circuit reversed the trial court’s order and underlying decision in Wit et. al. v. United Behavioral Health and Alexander et al. v. United Behavioral Health (Case Numbers 20-17363, 20-17364, 21-15193, and 21-15194). In doing so, the court undid a pair of orders that had required UnitedHealthcare Group, Inc.’s (United) behavioral
2021 was a transformative year for the consumer financial services world. As we navigate an unprecedented volume of industry regulation, Troutman Pepper is uniquely positioned to help its clients find successful resolutions and stay ahead of the curve.
In this report, we share developments on auto finance, background screening, bankruptcy, consumer class actions, consumer
On June 23, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau issued an interim final rule (“IFR”) intended to make it easier for consumers to transition out of COVID-19-related financial hardship and easier for mortgage services to assist those consumers. The IFR will become effective on July 1, 2020.
The Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (“CARES
The Tenth Circuit developed a new rule under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA) in Ellis v. Liberty Assurance Company of Boston (case number 19-1074), holding last week that courts should adhere to choice-of-law provisions in ERISA health benefits plans.
In Ellis, the Tenth Circuit considered whether Michael Ellis’ health benefits