On August 24, the Third Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed the authority of the Federal Trade Commission to bring cases against companies that experience a data breach.
The Third Circuit Court of Appeals ruled the FTC could proceed with a lawsuit alleging that the hotel chain Wyndham Worldwide Corp. violated the unfairness and deception prong
On July 10, the Federal Communications Commission enacted major changes and clarifications to the Telephone Consumer Protection Act of 1991 (“TCPA”). Approved on a contentious 3-2 vote by the FCC commissioners, the FCC released its Declaratory Ruling and Order (FCC 15-72) (“the FCC’s Order”) formally stating its interpretation of numerous provisions of the
The Second Circuit Court of Appeals recently ruled that New York City’s Department of Consumer Affairs has the authority to regulate law firms’ conduct related to purchasing and collecting consumer debt.
In Eric M. Berman, P.C., et al. v. City of New York, et al., the Second Circuit vacated a 2009 district court ruling
The Federal Reserve Bank of New York released its Household Debt and Credit Report this month. The report, which uses anonymous credit data to generate a nationally representative sample, found that consumers’ overall indebtedness increased $2 billion to $11.9 trillion in the second quarter of 2015.
This number was aided by the increased number of
On August 24, 2015, the Third Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed the authority of the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to bring cases against companies that experience a data breach.
The Third Circuit Court of Appeals ruled the FTC could proceed with a lawsuit alleging hotel chain, Wyndham Worldwide Corp., violated the unfairness and deception prong
On April 27, 2015, the United States Supreme Court granted certiorari in Spokeo Inc. v. Robins to address the issue of whether Congress may confer Article III standing on a plaintiff who suffers no concrete harm by simply authorizing a private right of action based on the violation of a federal statute alone. Although the
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and the Federal Trade Commission jointly filed an amicus brief with the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit in Bock v. Pressler & Pressler, LLP. In the case, a U.S. district court previously ruled that a debt collection law firm violated the Fair Debt Collection
On August 6, the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit affirmed a federal district court decision invalidating South Carolina’s statute banning automated calls for commercial or political purposes. The statute, enacted in 1991, restricted unsolicited automated calls “made for consumer, political, or other purposes.” All qualifying automated calls were prohibited with
The FTC announced the federal and state regulators attending its second “Debt Collection Dialogue” in Dallas will be answering questions from industry members and others who attend the event, including questions about how regulatory enforcement actions are investigated and pursued.
Questions for the FTC and panelists may be submitted by email to questions-debtcollectiondialogue-dallas@ftc.gov,
On August 11, the Federal Communications Commission handed down a $2.96 million fine against Travel Club Marketing Inc., related entities, and owner Olen Miller (collectively “Travel Club”), the largest fine in FCC history related to autodialed calls. The fine stems from allegations that the companies violated the Telephone Consumer Protection Act in their telemarketing efforts,