The annual Auto Finance Summit is quickly approaching and their roster and agenda look superb. AutoFinanceSummit.com describes this year’s event:
“Sharing insights and innovations make it more than the industry’s premier event, it’s your annual opportunity to meet, network and learn from the best. This conference has grown into the “can’t miss” event of the
In Porter v. Dollar Financial Group, Inc., 2014 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 122865, a Northern District of California court denied the defendant’s motion to compel arbitration based on the plaintiff’s allegation that the debt collection calls at issue were intended for a third party, and thus were not related to the contract containing the arbitration
In Payton v. Kale Realty, LLC, plaintiff Payton filed an amended complaint, asserting that defendant Kale used newly added defendant Voiceshot’s services to send unsolicited advertisements to potential customers’ cell phones. Voiceshot provides web-based cloud telecommunication services by which users can send mass text messages for a fee. Voiceshot is a Delaware company with
On January 2, 2014, the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals found that the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act prohibits collection agencies from charging consumers a percentage fee of the balance of their debt unless the consumer has explicitly agreed to such a fee arrangement. In Bradley v. Franklin Collection Services, Inc., a unanimous
TCPA litigation is running rampant in courts throughout the country. Automatic telephone dialing systems, or “ATDSs” or “autodialers”, are at the heart of virtually every TCPA case involving cell phones. Why? Because if a call to a person’s cell phone was not made with an ATDS as defined by the statute, there is virtually no
The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) in late June 2014 responded to the Second Circuit Court of Appeals’ request in Nigro v. Mercantile Adjustment Bureau for the FCC to opine on a specific question. The Second Circuit asked whether prior express consent existed under the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) for an individual’s provision of a
In a novel ruling, the Ninth Circuit expressly adopted an opinion from the Federal Communications Commission, finding the potential for vicarious liability under the Telephone Consumer Protection Act. In Thomas v. Taco Bell Corp., No. 12-56458 (unpublished), the Ninth Circuit affirmed a lower court’s holding that Taco Bell was not vicariously liable under the
On May 22, 2014, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau issued its spring 2014 supervisory highlights report. The report zeros in on the debt collection and consumer reporting industries, highlighting numerous violations uncovered at payday lenders, debt collection firms, and consumer reporting agencies. Specifically, it appears that the CFPB’s largest concerns with these groups surrounds
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau recently issued guidelines aimed to increase clarity regarding the Truth in Lending Act-Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act (TILA-RESPA) integrated mortgage disclosure rule. The CFPB stated that the “TILA-RESPA Integrated Disclosure Rule Small Entity Compliance Guide” makes mortgage disclosures easier for consumers to understand and use, while also helping
On Thursday, March 21, 2014, the Eastern District of Pennsylvania in Dominguez v. Yahoo!, Inc., held that Yahoo did not violate the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) because Yahoo’s SMS system could not “randomly or sequentially generate telephone numbers.” The Dominquez court is the most recent to weigh in on one of the most