The Supreme Court of Appeals of West Virginia issued an administrative order on Sunday, March 22 that covers public health and safety concerns related to the coronavirus (“COVID-19”). In it, the Court recognizes “the current COVID-19 crisis creates an unprecedented public health emergency that requires immediate action to encourage effective social distancing and reduce the
On February 4, the Oakland City Council in California forbade the use of criminal background checks in most housing applications. The stated purpose of the law, the Fair Chance Housing Ordinance, is to allow formerly incarcerated individuals an increased opportunity to compete for rental housing, reintegrate into their communities, and avoid homelessness.
The property
The United States District Court for the District of Idaho in Dorfman v. Albertson’s, LLC recently granted a Telephone Consumer Protection Act defendant’s motion to deny class certification – not once, but twice – based on the emergency purposes exception to TCPA liability. This exception does not require prior consent to receive autodialed calls or
In the world of pick-up basketball, no one likes to play with the guy who cries foul every time he is lightly bumped going for a layup. It appears that the courts are starting to follow the same logic when it comes to Fair Debt Collection Practices Act claims.
In Flecha v. Medicredit, Inc., the Fifth Circuit decertified a Fair Debt Collection Practices Act letter class and noted that the putative class “present[ed] substantial questions of Article III standing.” In doing so, the Fifth Circuit became part of a growing trend of circuit courts that are raising significant questions as to whether a
On January 23, the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit affirmed the dismissal of the class action complaint filed by plaintiff Muhammad M. Butt against FD Holdings, LLC d/b/a Factual Data in the case styled, Butt v. FD Holdings, LLC, d/b/a Factual Data. A copy of the Court’s opinion can be
Wire fraud cases, arising from what the Federal Bureau of Investigation calls “business email compromise,” are on the rise. In 2018, the FBI reported that business email compromise and other internet-enabled theft, fraud, and exploitation resulted in $2.7 billion of financial loss. See FBI – IC3 Annual Report Released. Surprisingly, even sophisticated parties and
In December, the United States District Court for the Northern District of Georgia refused to submit to arbitration a dispute alleging violation of the Telephone Consumer Protection Act because plaintiff Keith Hobbs provided a declaration stating that he did not visit defendant Apollo Interactive, Inc.’s website. In doing so, the Court kept alive a TCPA
In Dancel v. Groupon, Inc., No. 19-1831 (7th Cir. Oct. 9, 2019), the Seventh Circuit split with the Eleventh Circuit regarding jurisdictional discovery to prove federal subject matter jurisdiction under the Class Action Fairness Act (“CAFA”).
This case involved a claim brought by Christine Dancel regarding the unauthorized use of Dancel’s image in Groupon
On December 20, the Ninth Circuit affirmed the Washington district court’s decision that denied Huuuge, Inc.’s bid to arbitrate a proposed class action based on a browsewrap agreement. In Wilson v. Huuuge, Inc., No. 18-36017, 2019 U.S. App. LEXIS 37952 (9th Cir. Dec. 20, 2019), the Ninth Circuit held that “because Huuuge did not
