On February 9, 2017, Judiciary Committee Chair Bob Goodlatte (R.-Va.), introduced H.R. 985, the Fairness in Class Action Litigation Act of 2017 (“the Act”). The Act aims to “amend the procedures used in federal court class actions and multidistrict litigation proceedings to assure fairer, more efficient outcomes for claimants and defendants.” Rep. Goodlatte issued a
New York AG Announces Settlement with Freedom Stores
On March 22, New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman announced that his office reached a $540,000 settlement with Freedom Stores, a Norfolk, Virginia-based retailer that sold furniture and electronics in stores near military bases. Schneiderman said that the settlement will clear debt and judgments charged to 257 soldiers from New York serving at various locations
Consumer Protection Remains Stated Focus of Washington AG
A recent interview given to the Washington State Tri-City Herald highlights the increased focus of the Washington Attorney General’s office on consumer protection issues.
In the interview, Attorney General Bob Ferguson explained that his focus is to recover money for consumers who have been harmed. He told the paper that since he has
Memorandum of Understanding Signals Continued US-Canada Cooperation
The Federal Trade Commission has signed a memorandum of understanding (“MOU”) with the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (“RCMP”) to strengthen cooperation regarding cross-border fraud matters. Acting FTC Chairman Maureen K. Ohlhausen signed the MOU on behalf of the United States, and Commissioner Bob Paulson signed on behalf of the RCMP and Canada.
The MOU concerns
TCPA Defendant Settles Class Claims on Individual Basis Following Counterclaims for Harassment and Racketeering
BrandRep, the defendant in a Telephone Consumer Protection Act putative class action lawsuit pending in the United States District Court for the Central District of California, recently settled putative nationwide class claims on an individual basis, resulting in dismissal of the case. The settlement came on the heels of BrandRep’s assertion of counterclaims that put
Court Preliminarily Approves $1.2M FACTA Class Action Settlement Against Microsoft
The United States District Court for the Southern District of Florida recently granted preliminary approval of a Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act (“FACTA”) class action against Microsoft Corporation.
In Guarisma v. Microsoft Corp., the named plaintiff, Carlos Guarisma, filed a putative class action against Microsoft in November
FTC Releases Annual Summary of Consumer Complaints
The Federal Trade Commission has released its annual summary of consumer complaints for 2016, contained in the FTC’s latest Consumer Sentinel Network Data Book. The FTC compiles the report annually based on complaints received by the Consumer Sentinel Network. Complaints include those made directly by consumers to the FTC, as well as complaints received
Federal Reserve Board Expands Financial Stability Presumption for Decisions on M&A Proposals under the Bank Holding Company Act
On March 16, 2017, the Federal Reserve Board (the “Board”) issued an order approving the merger of two bank holding companies, People’s United Financial, Inc. and Suffolk Bancorp, under Section 3 of the Bank Holding Company Act of 1956 (the “Act”).1 Although the approval of the merger itself is relatively insignificant, the order expanded
Maryland AG Announces Settlement with Debt Collection Firms
On March 16, the Consumer Protection Division of the Maryland Attorney General’s Office announced a settlement with five California law firms and Mandip Purewal , the owner of the firms. The Attorney General alleged that the firms illegally collected advance fees from consumers, ostensibly to settle the consumers’ debts. In actuality, the
Join Us on March 23 for a Complimentary Webinar on Electronic Fund Transfer Act (EFTA) – Latest Trends and Developments
Over the past few years, Regulation E, which implements the Electronic Fund Transfer Act, has been cited by federal regulators in rulemaking, enforcement actions and bulletins. The CFPB has not only used the EFTA in its rulemaking concerning prepaid accounts, but it has filed enforcement actions for alleged violations of EFTA and issued bulletins concerning