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In a matter of first impression, a New Jersey appellate court found that whether a class is ascertainable – a factor that is commonly analyzed in federal court – played no role in its consideration of a “low-value” consumer class action.  In Daniels v. Hollister Co., the court determined that ascertainability is not …

In Modica v. Green Tree Servicing, LLC, the Northern District of Illinois limited the scope of what constitutes an Automatic Telephone Dialing System (ATDS) under the Telephone Consumer Protection Act.  Judge Zagel found that a system requiring an agent to manually access a consumer’s telephone number from a computer server and then “click” to …

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) is modifying its complaint database so that consumers can post narratives about their experiences with financial service providers.  According to the CFPB’s release, available at http://www.consumerfinance.gov/newsroom/cfpb-finalizes-policy-to-give-consumers-the-opportunity-to-voice-publicly-complaints-about-financial-companies/, the purpose of the database enhancement is to help consumers make informed choices and identify market trends.  But the implementation could result…

On April 13, 2015, a bipartisan group of 34 members of the United States House of Representatives introduced a bill that would repeal a Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) bulletin from 2013 challenging a common practice in the indirect auto finance industry where automobile dealers would set interest rates on consumer financings.

The bill, entitled…

On April 22, the House of Representatives passed a bill requiring the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau to solicit input from several advisory boards and to cap the CFPB’s future funding.

H.R. 1195, the Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection Advisory Boards Act, was adopted in a 235-183 vote, after a House committee earlier adopted…

On March 26, the Federal Trade Commission conducted a media call regarding the completion of “Operation Ruse Control,” a joint effort targeting deceptive auto dealer practices involving approximately 252 enforcement actions executed by the FTC and approximately 30 other government agencies.  During the media call, two individuals –  Jessica Rich, Director of the…

Following up on the failure in 2014 to implement changes to the CFPB through legislative action, on March 5, U.S. Rep. Sean Duffy (R-Wis.) reintroduced a package of bills seeking to make changes to the CFPB’s leadership structure, how data is collected from consumers, and more.

Representative Duffy is the Chairman of the House Financial…

As anticipated, yesterday the CFPB announced the release of its report to Congress following the CFPB’s study of arbitration agreements in connection with offering or providing consumer financial products or services. According to the CFPB, the study’s results “indicat[e] that arbitration agreements restrict consumers’ relief for disputes with financial service providers by limiting class…

On March 10, the CFPB will hold a field hearing on arbitration at 11 a.m. in Newark, New Jersey.

The event will include remarks by Richard Cordray, head of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, and will be held at the J. Harry Smith Lecture Hall at Essex Community College, 303 University Avenue.  Tomorrow’s field hearing…

A recent decision of the Northern District of Ohio, Vantu v. Echo Recovery, L.L.C., held that a repossession agency, while generally not subject to liability under the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, becomes subject to such liability when it undertakes to repossess collateral that it does not have a present right to possess.

This case…