A federal judge in the Southern District of New York halted another Fair Credit Reporting Act class action case in light of the Supreme Court’s upcoming ruling in Spokeo v. Robins.  In Ernst v. DISH Network, U.S. District Judge Lorna G. Schofield stayed a class action case brought by Dish Network LLC contract technicians alleging…

Government entities continue to be the focus of cyber attacks, adding fuel to the general perception that government cannot afford the same quality of security as private industry.  The most recent attack targeted personal information of Department of Justice and Department of Homeland Security staff.   

Officials report that there is no indication that sensitive information …

The Bose Corporation has been sued on a class action basis for its alleged illegal practice of requesting and recording customers’ personal information in its California retail stores. 

In December 2015, plaintiff Patrick Keegan was shopping at a Bose retail store in California where he purchased merchandise and paid using his credit card.  Keegan …

The CFPB released a resource intended to help lenders understand and implement the TILA-RESPA integrated disclosures (“TRID”) when extending construction loans.    

The CFPB’s factsheet provides that construction loans are subject to TRID requirements as long as they are closed-end consumer credit transactions secured by real property.  The only exception is those construction loans that are …

On January 28, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau released its monthly consumer complaint report, highlighting consumer complaints about financial services such as debt settlement, check cashing, money orders, and credit repair.  The CFPB began accepting complaints as soon as it opened its doors in July 2011.   As of January 1, 2016, the CFPB …

Since 2014, the Department of Homeland Security (“DHS”) has been conducting tests on U.S. companies as part of a program aimed at decreasing the United States’ overall susceptibility to cyber threats and impacts.

This program is operated by the National Cybersecurity Assessment and Technical Services (“NCATS”) team, …

Former FBI Director Robert Mueller stated in 2012, “[T]here are only two types of companies: those that have been hacked and those that will be.” Since then, many diverse companies (and even the federal government) have suffered this fate. Indeed, no company or entity appears immune to the potential reputational and financial risks that follow…

On January 25, on a 23-15 vote, Virginia’s “ban the box” bill, SB335, passed the Virginia Senate.  The proposal will now make its way to the Virginia House of Delegates for deliberation and potential approval. 

SB 335 generally bars “state agencies” from inquiring into a job candidate’s criminal background before …

On November 9, 2015, Terria Harris filed an Amended Complaint against Home Depot U.S.A., Inc. in a Fair Credit Reporting Act (“FCRA”) background check class action lawsuit.  In this complaint, she alleged that Home Depot violated the FCRA’s background check disclosure requirement because the disclosure she signed was allegedly “embedded with extraneous information.”  As a…

Debt collectors frequently rely on affidavits that attest to the validity of underlying debt in state court collection actions.  An issue that has garnered attention is the extent to which the debt collector must possess personal knowledge of the facts contained in its supporting collection affidavits.  In Janson v. Katharyn B. Davis, LLC (Case No.…