In a long-running Telephone Consumer Protection Act class action, Missouri District Judge Catherine Perry recently granted defendant Vein Centers for Excellence Inc.’s motion to decertify the class. 

As background, Vein Centers is a marketing firm that provides graphic design and other services to doctors.  The named plaintiff, St. Louis Heart Center, Inc., filed this putative …

The Cheesecake Factory Restaurants, Inc. recently asked a New York federal district judge to dismiss a putative Fair and Accurate Transactions Act putative class action that accuses the restaurant chain of printing too many credit card numbers on consumers’ receipts.  Relying on the Supreme Court’s decision in Spokeo, Cheesecake Factory argues that the class…

Oregon has become the next in a line of states to pass legislation regulating debt buyers.  Oregon bill HB2356, initiated by Oregon Attorney General Ellen Rosenblum, passed both the House and Senate prior to legislative adjournment on July 7.

The bill’s new debt buyer provisions purport to ensure protections for Oregon consumers, making it …

A new Florida federal district court case is yet another reminder of the minefield of federal and state regulations governing employer criminal background check forms.  In Graham v. Pyramid Healthcare Solutions, the Court certified a class action against the employer under the federal Fair Credit Reporting Act and ruled that whether the employer willfully …

On June 27, 2017, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (“CFPB”) announced approximately $2 million in fines and penalties against four credit repair companies and three associated individuals for allegedly misleading consumers and charging improper fees.  Under two proposed final judgments that the CFPB filed in United States District Court for the Central District of California,…

On June 30, the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida dismissed a consumer’s Fair Debt Collection Practices Act “current balance” claim.

Plaintiff Heath Bryant brought an FDCPA claim against defendant Aargon Collection Agency, Inc., alleging Aargon’s collection letter was deceptive because it falsely implied that Bryant’s account balance would increase due to …

On May 18, a federal judge in Missouri denied cross motions for summary judgment on the issue of whether a letter that did not inform a debtor that interest was, in fact, accruing violated the FDCPA.

In Mygatt v. Medicredit, plaintiff Timberly Mygatt incurred medical debt that was being collected by Medicredit.  In order …

A Wisconsin federal magistrate judge denied the United States Postal Services’ attempt to dismiss a Fair Credit Reporting Act putative class action, holding that the plaintiff’s complaint sufficiently alleged an injury-in-fact. 

According to the complaint, plaintiff Rondo Tyus applied for a security clearance to work at the USPS.  The USPS obtained a criminal background report, …

The Department of Justice announced that Bruce Kevin Hawkins, 52, of Desoto, Texas, recently pled guilty in a federal court in Texas regarding his role in a foreclosure rescue scheme that ran from February 2012 to January 2013 and bilked over $240,000 from homeowners facing foreclosures.  Hawkins pled guilty to one count of mail fraud…

In what appears to be never-ending litigation, a New Jersey Federal District Court upheld a plaintiff’s summary judgment motion on remand from the Third Circuit Court of Appeals, holding that the defendant law firm’s lack of attorney meaningful involvement created a particularized and concrete injury sufficient for the plaintiff to maintain …