In Echlin v. PeaceHealth, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit held that a debt collection agency meaningfully participated in collection efforts even if it did not have authority to settle the account, did not receive payments, and was not involved in collection beyond sending two collection letters.  Accordingly, the collection agency

On May 3, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and 17 trade groups filed a petition with the Federal Communications Commission for a declaratory ruling seeking a narrow definition of an automatic telephone dialing system, or “ATDS” – one of the key components of liability under the Telephone Consumer Protection Act.

The decision follows the D.C.

In a first-of-its-kind ruling, a federal judge in the Eastern District of Pennsylvania held that Philadelphia’s ban on questioning job applicants about their salary history violates the First Amendment’s freedom of speech clause.  However, the judge ruled the city could stop employers from using salary history to determine pay.

The City of Philadelphia (the “City”)

In a short, straightforward opinion, the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals joined its sister circuits that have applied a materiality standard to consumer claims of falsity and deception under the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act.

Consumer Paul Hill incurred a medical debt, and the creditor hired Accounts Receivable Services, LLC to collect the debt. 

A district court in the Northern District of Illinois recently granted a debt collector’s motion to compel arbitration in a Fair Debt Collection Practices Act lawsuit even though it could not provide the original bill of sale to prove it purchased the debt and the concomitant rights to enforce the arbitration provision in the underlying

On April 13, the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Wisconsin granted summary judgment to defendants in a lawsuit brought under the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (“FDCPA”) and the Wisconsin Consumer Act (“WCA”).  A copy of the Court’s opinion can be found here.

The case arises from a state court

In the fall of 2017, the New York Times documented the existence of laws in nineteen jurisdictions which allow for the revocation of government-issued professional licenses if a holder defaults on a student loan. Pleas for reform soon swamped states.

In Texas, whose next regular legislative session will begin on January 8, 2019,

We are pleased to announce that Troutman Sanders attorney Ron Raether will be presenting during the NetDiligence Cyber Risk Summit Conference at the Bellevue Hotel in Philadelphia, PA. This conference features two full days of panel discussions by leading cyber experts who will share their insights on hot topics, trends, and cybersecurity concerns.  Ron will

A district court in Ohio dismissed a plaintiff’s claims under the Fair Credit Reporting Act, 15 U.S.C. § 1681 et seq., because he could not show that the report caused him an injury or that the background screening company failed to maintain reasonable procedures to ensure accuracy.

Plaintiff Thomas Black brought a putative class

On April 23, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency Bank added its support to Bank of America’s efforts to convince the Ninth Circuit to review a March 2 panel decision holding that the National Bank Act does not preempt a California state law requiring the payment of 2% interest on escrow accounts. “The