On March 16, Massachusetts Attorney General Maura Healey announced a $7.4 million settlement with two national auto lenders, American Credit Acceptance LLC (“ACA”) and Westlake Services LLC (“Westlake”). The settlement resolves claims against the lenders that they charged excessive interest rates on subprime automotive loans. ACA settled for $1.7 million, and Westlake for $5.7 million.
House Democrats Join Senate Colleagues With Introduction of Identical HANGUP Act
House Democrats have joined an effort to ensure that the Telephone Consumer Protection Act of 1991 (“TCPA”) applies to calls to collect government-backed debt. We previously reported that on November 4, 2015, Sen. Edward Markey (D-Mass.) introduced the Help Americans Never Get Unwanted Phone calls Act of 2015, also known as the
Join Us at the ABA Business Law Section Spring Meeting in Montreal
We are pleased to announce that Troutman Sanders partner David Anthony will be a panelist at the American Bar Association’s Business Law Section Spring Meeting at Fairmont The Queen Elizabeth in Montreal, Canada on April 6-9.
David will speak on a panel sponsored by the Consumer Financial Services Committee entitled “Update on the Telephone Consumer
FCC Circulates Draft Rule to Implement TCPA Exception for Government-Backed Loans
As we previously reported, section 301(b) of the Bipartisan Budget Act of 2015 permits an exception to the Telephone Consumer Protection Act of 1991 for calls and text messages “made solely to collect a debt owed to or guaranteed by the United States.” The TCPA generally prohibits calls made and text messages sent utilizing
Coalition of State Attorneys General Urges Passage of the HANGUP Act
As we previously reported, on November 4, 2015, U. S. Senator Edward Markey (D-Mass.) introduced the Help Americans Never Get Unwanted Phone calls Act of 2015—or HANGUP Act for short. The legislation, which has 14 Democratic co-sponsors, would repeal section 301(b) of the Bipartisan Budget Act of 2015, which
Toyota Resolves CFPB/DOJ Joint Action Alleging Discriminatory Loan Practices
On February 2, following a joint investigation of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and the Civil Rights Division of the Department of Justice, Toyota Motor Credit Corporation, the financing arm and subsidiary of the Japanese auto giant, agreed to pay up to $21.9 million in restitution to thousands of minority borrowers who allegedly were charged
U.S. Supreme Court Wounds Important Defense to TCPA Class Actions, Raising Already High TCPA Risks
On January 20, 2016, the United States Supreme Court issued an opinion that addresses a narrow procedural point with major implications for legal risks for companies under the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA).
Campbell-Ewald Co. v. Gomez addresses whether a class action lawsuit under the TCPA can continue after the defendant makes the plaintiff an
TCPA Suit Involving Reassigned Phone Number Stayed Pending Appeal of FCC’s Order
On December 17, Judge Christina Snyder of the United States District Court for the Central District of California granted a motion to stay a lawsuit under the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (“TCPA”) by Defendant Time Warner Cable (“TWC”). The Court granted the motion pending the District of Columbia Circuit Court of Appeals’ decision in ACA
FCC Files Responsive Brief in D.C. Circuit Appeal in Support of Controversial TCPA Order
On January 15, the Federal Communications Commission defended its controversial July 10, 2015 Order (the “Order”) expansively interpreting the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (“TCPA”) in a 110-page brief filed in ACA International et al. v. FCC et al., where several consolidated challenges to the Order by businesses and trade groups are being heard in
The FCC Continues to Expand the Scope of the TCPA
On January 11, in Club Texting, Inc.’s Petition for a Declaratory Ruling, the Federal Communications Commission issued an Order that has the potential of increasing the scope of senders who can be liable for unwanted text messages under the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (“TCPA”). In the process, the FCC doubled-down on its controversial July