On October 19, Missouri Attorney General Chris Koster filed a federal lawsuit in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Missouri against Charter Communications, Inc., alleging violations of federal and state telemarketing and “do-not-call” laws. Koster claims that his office received 350 complaints from consumers “about harassing practices by Charter’s telemarketers …
Supreme Court Will Allow U.S. to Participate in Spokeo Oral Argument
On September 8, the United States Solicitor General requested leave from the U.S. Supreme Court to participate in oral argument in Spokeo, Inc. v. Robins, as amicus curiae. The Supreme Court granted the United States’ request and will now allow the U.S. to chime in on a threshold constitutional standing issue at oral argument. …
Fifth Circuit: TCPA Violation Requires Connection for Prerecorded Message, But Not for Dialer
On October 20, the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit delivered its opinion in Ybarra v. DISH Network, LLC (“DISH”), a case involving alleged violations of the Telephone Consumer Protection Act, which prohibits callers from using an automatic telephone dialer system (“ATDS”) and delivering messages with an “artificial or prerecorded voice” without …
Senate Takes Up Cybersecurity Bill That Would Encourage Information Sharing
On October 22, the United States Senate moved one step closer to passing the Cybersecurity Information Sharing Act (CISA) by taking the act under consideration for the full Senate. The CISA claims to improve cybersecurity by encouraging the sharing of threat information among companies and the U.S. government.
Specifically, the CISA would permit private entities …
Sprint Settles With FTC for Violations of Fair Credit Reporting Act
Pursuant to a stipulated order with the Federal Trade Commission, Sprint will pay $2.95 million in civil penalties for alleged violations of the Fair Credit Reporting Act’s Risk-Based Pricing Rule. The Rule ensures that consumers who are offered less favorable service terms will receive notice of, among other things, any credit score used by the …
CFPB Director’s Remarks at MBA Annual Convention: Progress, Updated HMDA Reporting, and Warning to Parties Engaged in Marketing Services Agreements
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau Director Richard Cordray addressed the Mortgage Bankers Association at its Annual Convention on October 19. In his remarks, Cordray:
- Summarized the progress the CFPB has made in addressing the serious problems confronting consumers in the mortgage market and steps taken by the Bureau to restore the American Dream of homeownership;
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Trump Hotels Hit With Data Breach Class Action Lawsuit
A new putative class action lawsuit has been filed against the hotel chain owned by Donald Trump in the United States District Court for the Southern District of Illinois, after the hotel chain revealed that it had been the subject of a data breach. The suit asserts claims under “state consumer protection laws” and “state …
Illinois Supreme Court Expands the Definition of “Consumer” Under TILA for Purposes of Right to Rescind
On September 24, the Illinois Supreme Court reversed trial and appellate courts’ decisions and held that land trusts are considered “consumers” for purposes of exercising a right to rescind the loan transaction under the federal Truth in Lending Act (TILA).
At issue in this case was a reverse mortgage transaction in which the borrower was…
Following Oral Argument, Supreme Court Appears Split on Whether Offer of Judgment Moots Case
Does a case become moot, and thus beyond the judicial power of Article III, when the plaintiff receives an offer of complete relief on his claim? The Supreme Court is set to answer this constitutional question after hearing oral arguments in Campbell-Ewald Company v. Gomez on October 14.
As we previously reported, Gomez involves …
Pennsylvania Federal Court Recognizes Preliminary Decision Does Not Constitute Adverse Action Under FCRA
On October 1, a district judge in the Eastern District of Pennsylvania issued a decision involving disclosure and adverse action claims under the Fair Credit Reporting Act. In its decision, the Court granted summary judgment for the defendants, recognizing a preliminary decision does not constitute adverse action under the FCRA.
In her complaint, the plaintiff …