On June 20, following unanimous approval by the state legislature, the governor of Maine enacted a new set of laws – “the Student Loan Bill of Rights” – designed to regulate the student loan servicing industry.
The new laws, enacted for the benefit of Maine residents obligated on a student loan as a
On June 25, a district court judge in the Eastern District of Louisiana granted the defendants’ motion to dismiss under Rule 12(b)(6) for failure to state a claim. The Court held that requiring the plaintiff, Iris Calogero, to repay funds arising from the overpayment of grant monies did not constitute a debt under the Fair
An amendment to the West Virginia Consumer Credit and Protection Act takes effect this week that will regulate and impose restrictions on “litigation financiers.” The new amendment, found in Sections 46A-6N-1 through 8 (“Article 6N”), adds an article to the current Act, which is one of the primary statutes that governs consumer transactions in West
Plaintiffs Clint Millien and Felipe Kelly sued Madison Square Garden for its hiring practices relating to applicants’ failure to disclose previous criminal activity when applying for food preparation positions. The plaintiffs claim that Madison Square Garden imposed too strict of requirements for criminal disclosures that had a disparate impact on minority applicants. The parties agreed
On June 14, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau announced a settlement that effectively forgives $168 million in private student loans owed by former students of ITT Technical Institute, the for-profit college that filed for bankruptcy in 2016 in the face of regulatory scrutiny concerning its recruitment and student loan practices. The settlement is with Student
The Illinois legislature has been surging with new legislation the past couple of months. Among the flurry of laws created in what has been described as the most momentous legislative session in decades is a privacy statute that regulates an ever-growing issue in HR: the use of artificial intelligence, or “AI,” in the hiring process.
On June 21, the U.S. District Court for the District of Connecticut granted a temporary restraining order to the Federal Trade Commission to stop the operations of Grand Teton Professionals, a credit repair company. The FTC previously filed a complaint against Grand Teton and related entities, including its owners in their individual capacities – alleging
On June 25, the Federal Trade Commission announced a partnership with law enforcement to target illegal robocalls, including 94 actions aimed at operations around the nation that are responsible for more than a billion robocalls. “Operation Call it Quits” is aimed at reducing the number of pre-recorded telemarketing calls and includes new information aimed at
On June 12, a Northern District of Illinois judge ordered loan servicer and debt collector Real Time Resolutions, Inc. to distribute $261,815.82 in unclaimed funds to class members, rather than donating the funds to charity as a cy pres award. In doing so, the Court settled a dispute between the parties as to the proper
In Witt v. United Cos. Lending Corp. (“In re Witt”), 113 F.3d 508 (4th Cir. 1997), the Fourth Circuit held that Chapter 13 debtors are not permitted to bifurcate undersecured home mortgage loans into separate secured and unsecured claims. In re Witt, 113 F.3d at 509. Recently, the Court overruled this twenty-two-year-old decision