On February 4, the Oakland City Council in California forbade the use of criminal background checks in most housing applications. The stated purpose of the law, the Fair Chance Housing Ordinance, is to allow formerly incarcerated individuals an increased opportunity to compete for rental housing, reintegrate into their communities, and avoid homelessness.
The property
Sen. Kristen Gillibrand (D-N.Y.) recently introduced a 41-page bill that would transfer the authority to create and enforce data protection rules from the Federal Trade Commission to a new independent federal agency. This proposal comes on the heels of a similar proposal from Sen. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.). Both of these proposals have emerged due to
2019 was a transformative year for the consumer financial services world. As we navigate an unprecedented volume of industry regulation, Troutman Sanders is uniquely positioned to help its clients find successful resolutions and stay ahead of the compliance curve.
In this report, we share developments on consumer class actions, background screening, bankruptcy, consumer credit
The Financial Institutions Regulatory Authority proposed rule amendments to the Securities and Exchange Commission seeking to increase the minimum fees assessed by FINRA in arbitration cases where registered/licensed representatives, such as brokers and other securities industry professionals, aim to have customer complaints and other information expunged from their Central Registration Depository (“CRD”) records.
The CRD,
On February 4, the Federal Communications Commission issued seven letters to certain United States phone companies that provide gateway service for international robocalls into stateside networks, directing them to cooperate in tracing back those calls. The companies are used as gateways into the United States for robocalls that originate overseas; thus, are uniquely situated to
Recently, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau released its Supervisory Highlights, No. 21 (Winter 2020) (“the Report”). The Report discusses findings related to many of the CFPB’s examinations regarding debt collection, mortgage servicing, payday lending, and student loan servicing that were completed between April and August 2019.
Key takeaways from the Report are as follows:
Debt
On Friday, February 21, the United States Supreme Court released its April calendar, scheduling arguments for the final session of this term. In doing so, the Supreme Court put a crucial Telephone Consumer Protection Act case – Barr v. American Association of Political Consultants – on the docket for April 22. Barr involves a
Hospitals are becoming increasingly aggressive in attempts to collect on medical bills, with hospitals around the country initiating thousands of lawsuits against indebted patients. Debtors can actually find themselves in jail, whereas other patients can find themselves filing for bankruptcy due to an influx of medical bills.
In early February, the House Committee on Ways
The United States District Court for the District of Idaho in Dorfman v. Albertson’s, LLC recently granted a Telephone Consumer Protection Act defendant’s motion to deny class certification – not once, but twice – based on the emergency purposes exception to TCPA liability. This exception does not require prior consent to receive autodialed calls or
A recent Fair Debt Collection Practices Act case in Michigan illustrates the importance of attention to detail when operating in a heavily regulated business space such as debt collection. The case is Loewe v. Weltman, Weinberg & Reis Co., L.P.A., from the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan. You can