The Third Circuit recently clarified in important ways its ascertainability standard for class actions under Rule 23 in a case that arose from the efforts of an auto finance company to generate business by marketing efforts directed at automobile dealers. The decision reflects two key findings: (1) that defendants who argue a class is not
FCC Adopts New Rules on Blocking Robocalls
On November 16, the Federal Communications Commission adopted new rules to allow telephone carriers to block robocalls as potentially fraudulent when they come from certain types of phone numbers.
According to the FCC’s press release, robocalls are the top consumer complaint submitted to the FCC, with more than 200,000 annually. The FCC’s report also highlights
President Likely Has Authority To Appoint Acting Director To Replace Cordray At CFPB
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) Director Richard Cordray’s announced yesterday (as covered here) that he will be resigning from his position by the end of this month.
The Administration appears poised to announce Office of Management and Budget Director Mick Mulvaney as an interim replacement until a permanent director can be selected by the
CFPB Director’s Resignation Sparks Conjecture About Future Leadership
On November 15, as has been widely reported, the Director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, Richard Cordray, announced by email to his staff that he would be resigning at the end of the month. While he did not state the reason for his departure, it is believed that Cordray, a former Ohio attorney general,
Federal Court Finds 29 Calls in 24 Days Sufficient to State FDCPA Claim
A federal district court in Connecticut recently ruled that a debt collector’s 29 telephone calls to a debtor’s home telephone over a period of 24 days was sufficient to establish a claim under the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act. In denying in part the defendant debt collector’s motion for judgment on the pleadings, Judge Jeffrey
Supreme Court Declines to Hear Appeal of Ninth Circuit Decision on FCRA Willfulness in Disclosure Forms
One of 2017’s more significant Fair Credit Reporting Act court opinions was the Ninth Circuit’s January 20 decision in Syed v. M-I, LLC, a putative FCRA class action. In its decision, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals held that a prospective employer willfully violated the FCRA by including a liability waiver in its background
CFPB Director Richard Cordray to Step Down
Richard Cordray, the Director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (“CFPB”), announced today that he plans to step down from that post by the end of the month. Cordray’s term was otherwise set to expire in July of 2018.
Cordray, who was appointed by the Obama Administration after the CFPB was created in 2011, issued
CFPB Solicits Comments on Access to Free Credit Scores
In recent years, many financial institutions and credit card companies have begun offering consumers free access to their credit score. On November 13, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau published a request for information in the Federal Register regarding consumers’ experiences “with access to free credit scores and the experience of companies, and nonprofits, offering their
Oklahoma AG Sides with Tribal Defendants, Assails CFPB’s Expansive Interpretation of Enforcement Powers
In an amicus brief filed last week in the U.S. District Court for the District of Kansas, Oklahoma Attorney General Mike Hunter assailed the expansive interpretation of enforcement powers against state and tribal sovereigns adopted by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. The case is CFPB v. Golden Valley Lending, Inc., et al., No. 2:17-cv-02521
New York AG Proposes Changes to Data Breach Law
New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman has introduced a bill that would expand that state’s existing data breach laws. This proposed legislation, called the Stop Hacks and Improve Electronic Data Security Act, or the SHIELD Act, is sponsored by two Democratic members of the state legislature (Senator David Carlucci and Assembly member Brian Kavanagh). Schneiderman