On November 21, the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois granted preliminary approval of a proposed $600,000 settlement of a class action lawsuit filed by a consumer against M3 Financial Services, Inc., an Illinois-based health care debt collector. The lawsuit, styled Elaine Mason et al. v. M3 Financial Services Inc.,
Join Us on December 5 for an ABA Webinar – State Attorneys General Series: Enforcement Agencies Confront Class Actions
We are pleased to announce that Troutman Sanders attorneys Ashley Taylor and Tim Butler will participate in a webinar panel discussion hosted by the American Bar Association on “State Attorneys General Series: Enforcement Agencies Confront Class Actions.” The event will take place on December 5, 2017 from 1:00 – 2:30 p.m. ET.
The still vibrant…
State Court Among First to Dismiss FCRA Claim for Lack of Injury-in-Fact
In Miles v. The Company Store, consumer Timothy Miles brought a claim in state court against retailer The Company Store for alleged violations of the federal Fair Credit Reporting Act. Specifically, Miles claimed that The Company Store violated 15 U.S.C. § 1681c for printing too many digits of his credit card number on his…
Avis Settles FCRA Background Check Lawsuit for $2.7 Million
On November 17, car rental company Avis filed its memorandum in support of final approval of a $2.7 million class action settlement to resolve Fair Credit Reporting Act claims related to its background screening practices. The case is Angela Fuller v. Avis Budget Car Rental LLC, et al., No. 2:15-cv-03856, pending in the U.S.…
Auto Finance Company Unable to Shake TCPA Class Action
The Third Circuit recently clarified in important ways its ascertainability standard for class actions under Rule 23 in a case that arose from the efforts of an auto finance company to generate business by marketing efforts directed at automobile dealers. The decision reflects two key findings: (1) that defendants who argue a class is not…
FCC Adopts New Rules on Blocking Robocalls
On November 16, the Federal Communications Commission adopted new rules to allow telephone carriers to block robocalls as potentially fraudulent when they come from certain types of phone numbers.
According to the FCC’s press release, robocalls are the top consumer complaint submitted to the FCC, with more than 200,000 annually. The FCC’s report also highlights…
President Likely Has Authority To Appoint Acting Director To Replace Cordray At CFPB
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) Director Richard Cordray’s announced yesterday (as covered here) that he will be resigning from his position by the end of this month.
The Administration appears poised to announce Office of Management and Budget Director Mick Mulvaney as an interim replacement until a permanent director can be selected by the…
CFPB Director’s Resignation Sparks Conjecture About Future Leadership
On November 15, as has been widely reported, the Director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, Richard Cordray, announced by email to his staff that he would be resigning at the end of the month. While he did not state the reason for his departure, it is believed that Cordray, a former Ohio attorney general,…
Federal Court Finds 29 Calls in 24 Days Sufficient to State FDCPA Claim
A federal district court in Connecticut recently ruled that a debt collector’s 29 telephone calls to a debtor’s home telephone over a period of 24 days was sufficient to establish a claim under the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act. In denying in part the defendant debt collector’s motion for judgment on the pleadings, Judge Jeffrey…
Supreme Court Declines to Hear Appeal of Ninth Circuit Decision on FCRA Willfulness in Disclosure Forms
One of 2017’s more significant Fair Credit Reporting Act court opinions was the Ninth Circuit’s January 20 decision in Syed v. M-I, LLC, a putative FCRA class action. In its decision, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals held that a prospective employer willfully violated the FCRA by including a liability waiver in its background…