On May 28, the Third Circuit in Robert W. Mauthe, M.D., P.C. v. Optum Inc. et al. issued a precedential ruling that an unsolicited information request sent by fax is not a prohibited advertisement under the Telephone Consumer Protection Act, even when it has a commercial purpose. In so ruling, the three-judge panel affirmed a
On May 30, 2019, the Second Circuit issued its decision in Kidd v. Thomson Reuters Corporation, affirming the district court’s order granting summary judgment in favor of Thomson Reuters and defining what is required to qualify as a “consumer reporting agency” (“CRA”) covered by the Fair Credit Reporting Agency, 15 U.S.C. § 1681, et
On Thursday, May 30, the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit upheld a $61 million verdict in the closely-watched Krakauer v. Dish Network, LLC class action, finding that “the district court properly applied the law and prudently exercised its discretion.” Krakauer v. Dish Network, Case No 18-1518, slip op. at 3
In its Spring 2019 publication Semiannual Risk Perspective, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency highlights financial innovation and rapid technological developments as a special topic in emerging risks to the banking industry. The OCC’s report zeroes in on the various approaches to innovation that federal banks have adopted, including the
Align Income Share Funding is giving consumers cash in exchange for monthly payments, but don’t call it a loan. Instead, Align offers Income Sharing Agreements (“ISAs”) whereby consumers borrow money and then pay back a fixed percentage of their income for up to five years. It’s a new financial product that’s growing in popularity,
In Powell v. YouFit Health Clubs, LLC, the Southern District of Florida denied class certification on the basis that the named plaintiff was not typical of the class she sought to represent.
Traci Powell brought a Telephone Consumer Protection Act class action against YouFit Health Clubs, claiming that the company had improperly sent
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit recently held, for a second time, that a consumer need not receive notice of a potential violation of the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act in order for the statute of limitations to start; rather, the focus remains on when the injury occurs. A copy of the
On May 21, the Federal Trade Commission announced that it had settled charges against payment processor Allied Wallet along with its CEO and owner, Ahmad Khawaja, and two other officers – Mohammad Diab and Amy Rountree. The charges stemmed from the FTC’s claim that the defendants knowingly processed payments for merchants that were engaged in
Telephone Consumer Protection Act claim defendants and fans of civil procedure have cause to celebrate as another district court limits the scope of potential class members against out-of-state defendants.
On May 10, the District Court for the Northern District of Illinois struck non-residents of Illinois from a putative class in a
On May 21, Sen. Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.) introduced Senate Bill 1581 that would amend the Fair Credit Reporting Act and the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act. The bill is co-sponsored by Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D–Conn.), Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), Sen. Bob Menendez (D-N.J.