Class Actions

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A federal judge in Utah has ruled that a debt collector may rely on the “bona fide error” defense to defeat a claim for violations of the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, 15 U.S.C. § 1692, et seq.  Analyzing the compliance procedures that the debt collector had in place, the Court granted summary judgment for …

California Governor Jerry Brown has signed legislation creating a new exception to mandatory arbitration within the California Arbitration Act.  SB 33, introduced by Sen. Bill Dodd in December 2016, permits an existing customer of a bank to sue a depository bank when a fraudulent account is opened unknowingly in the consumer’s name.  The exception specifically…

On July 10, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau issued its long-awaited final Rule banning class action waivers in arbitration provisions for covered entities, as well as requiring the covered entities to provide information to the CFPB regarding any efforts to compel arbitration.  This Rule is of significance to any financial services company that utilizes consumer…

On March 13, 2017, Carlos Guarisma filed a class action complaint against Hyatt Equities, alleging violation of the Fair Credit Reporting Act.  The complaint alleges that Hyatt printed more than the last five digits of customers’ credit card numbers on hotel receipts.  Guarisma sought to represent a class of Hyatt hotel guests.  This …

The U.S. Chamber of Commerce and other business groups have filed a federal lawsuit seeking to invalidate the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s Rule banning class action waivers in arbitration provisions contained in financial institutions’ contracts with consumers.  Compliance with the Rule would be required beginning March 19, 2018.  The lawsuit was filed in the United…

On September 28, 2017, the District of New Jersey denied a debt collector’s motion to dismiss a Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (“FDCPA”) claim based on 1099C language contained in a collection letter.  This decision continues a recent trend, particularly within the courts of the Third Circuit, in denying motions to dismiss on this issue. …

In Fosbrink v. Area Wide Protective, Inc., William Fosbrink sued defendant Area Wide Protective in a class action complaint for allegedly violating the Fair Credit Reporting Act’s provisions regarding employment background checks.  According to Fosbrink, Area Wide violated the FCRA in three ways: (1) it failed to provide him with a stand-alone disclosure informing…

Starbucks Corp. has been sued in a proposed class action in the Northern District of Georgia for alleged violations of the Fair Credit Reporting Act with its employment application process.  Plaintiff Kevin Wills claims Starbucks rejected job applicants based on consumer reports without first providing a copy of the reports to the applicants and notifying…

In re Monitronics International, Inc., pending in the Northern District of West Virginia, is a consolidated class action lawsuit brought under the Telephone Consumer Protection Act.  After years of contentious litigation, this past week the Court preliminarily approved a class action settlement of $28 million.  This significant settlement serves as another example of the high…

This past May, Rep. Barry Loudermilk (R-Ga.) introduced H.R. 2359, the FCRA Liability Harmonization Act, which would cap class action damages in Fair Credit Reporting Act claims at $500,000 or one percent of the defendant’s net worth, whichever is less, and eliminate punitive damages.  Such changes would align the Fair Credit Reporting Act with numerous…