A pro se plaintiff’s lawsuit brought pursuant to the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act was dismissed by the District of New Jersey for lack of standing in Kraft v. Phelan Hallinan Diamond & Jones, P.C., U.S. Dist. LEXIS 126323 (D. N.J. July 30, 2019). Plaintiff Warren R. Kraft inherited real estate from his deceased
On August 1, a three-judge panel of the New Jersey Appellate Division affirmed a $40 million jury award to investment firm NuWave Investment Corporation for reputation damage by an allegedly inaccurate and defamatory background report issued by First Advantage Litigation Consulting LLC. Court records indicated that the allegedly offending information in the report issued by
On August 9, a court in the United States District Court for the Northern District of Georgia joined several other district courts in finding consumer reports obtained for independent contractors do not trigger the protections applicable for consumer reports obtained for “employment purposes” under the Fair Credit Reporting Act. Although the issue remains unsettled, this
On June 24, the Consumer Education Foundation (“CEF”), a California-based nonprofit consumer organization, filed a petition with the Federal Trade Commission requesting that it investigate the use of so-called “Secret Surveillance Scores” in the consumer market. The complaint alleges that consumer data points are covertly tracked and amassed by private firms to create a single
The Federal Trade Commission has issued a Final Rule rescinding several Model Forms and Disclosures it had promulgated under the Fair Credit Reporting Act. The FTC determined these Model Forms and Disclosures were no longer necessary following the transfer of rulemaking authority associated with these forms to the Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection (“CFPB”) under
On April 16, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit ruled that the definition of “conviction” under the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA), 15 U.S.C. 1681, et seq, should be interpreted under federal law, not the law of the state where the criminal record is generated. See Aldaco v. RentGrow, Inc.,
Requiring an employee or consumer to submit any dispute to binding arbitration as a condition of employment or purchase of a product or service is commonly referred to as “forced arbitration.” Many times, the employee or consumer is required to waive their right to sue or to participate in a class action lawsuit. Critics argue
On February 26, the House Financial Services Committee held a hearing entitled “Who’s Keeping Score? Holding Credit Bureaus Accountable and Repairing a Broken System,” with the CEOs of the big three credit bureaus – TransUnion, Equifax, and Experian – testifying. The hearing was the first time the current CEOs of the major credit bureaus have
The Eighth Circuit recently provided a reminder that district courts must ensure Article III standing, including case and controversy requirements, exists throughout a case and not just when the complaint is filed. In Schumacher v. SC Data Ctr., Inc., No. 17-3112, 2019 U.S. App. LEXIS 505 (8th Cir. Jan. 8, 2019), the three
2018 was a busy year in the consumer financial services world. As we navigate the continuing heavy volume of regulatory change and forthcoming developments from the Trump administration, Troutman Sanders is uniquely positioned to help its clients successfully resolve problems and stay ahead of the compliance curve.
In this report, we share developments on
