In a recent decision, the United States District Court for the Middle District of Florida denied a consumer’s motion for summary judgment and granted summary judgment in favor of a debt collector regarding claims under the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act. The case is Encarnacion v. Financial Corporation of America, No. 2:17-cv-00566-SPC-UAM (M.D. Fla.

On February 26, the Supreme Court held in a unanimous decision that the deadline to seek permission for an interlocutory appeal of a decision granting or denying class certification cannot be extended through equitable tolling.  Rule 23(f) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure allows for an interlocutory appeal of class certification orders, but

The attorneys general of all 50 states as well as the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, and Guam have offered their support to pending legislation, the Telephone Robocall Abuse Criminal Enforcement and Deterrence (“TRACED”) Act, aimed at significantly reducing robocalls.  The support was in the form of a letter sent by

The New Jersey Attorney General’s Office filed suit against two automobile dealerships and their owner in the Superior Court of New Jersey, alleging that the dealerships should be closed and their owner barred from the industry because they targeted financially vulnerable consumers with a variety of unconscionable and deceptive business practices.

According to the AG’s

On March 1, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau released a report concerning mortgages made to members of the U.S. armed forces and veterans purchasing a first home.  It is part of a series of quarterly reports the CFPB will issue focusing on consumer credit trends.  This Quarterly Consumer Credit Trends report highlights trends among first-time

A Florida magistrate judge recommended that debt collector Retrieval-Masters Creditors Bureau’s motion for summary judgment be granted in a suit alleging the company violated the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act by overshadowing the 30-day window to dispute a debt in a collection letter sent to plaintiff Cheryl Rafferty.  The case is Rafferty v.

Last week a district court judge in the Northern District of Illinois granted a collection agency’s motion to dismiss, ruling that a collection letter, even coupled with a voicemail, did not present a sense of urgency sufficient to confuse an unsophisticated consumer in violation of the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act. 

At

On February 28, Senators Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) and Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) re-introduced the Protecting Job Opportunities for Borrowers (“Protecting JOBs”) Act (S.609).  The legislation would prevent states from suspending, revoking, or denying state professional, teaching, or driver’s licenses solely because a borrower falls behind on their federal student loan payments.

Government entities may seize state-issued

A district court in Texas, in Young v. ProCollect, Inc. (N.D. Tex. Feb. 21, 2019), granted summary judgment in favor of a defendant debt collector, ProCollect, Inc., where claims were asserted by the plaintiff, Ronnie Young, on behalf of himself and a putative class, under the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act.

In the complaint,