A new Florida federal district court case is yet another reminder of the minefield of federal and state regulations governing employer criminal background check forms. In Graham v. Pyramid Healthcare Solutions, the Court certified a class action against the employer under the federal Fair Credit Reporting Act and ruled that whether the employer willfully
USPS’ Motion to Dismiss Putative FCRA Class Action Denied by Wisconsin Magistrate Judge
A Wisconsin federal magistrate judge denied the United States Postal Services’ attempt to dismiss a Fair Credit Reporting Act putative class action, holding that the plaintiff’s complaint sufficiently alleged an injury-in-fact.
According to the complaint, plaintiff Rondo Tyus applied for a security clearance to work at the USPS. The USPS obtained a criminal background report,
Employer Seeks Supreme Court Review of Ninth Circuit Finding of Willful FCRA Violation
On January 20, 2017, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals issued a decision of first impression in Syed v. M-I, LLC, a putative class action, when it held that a prospective employer willfully violated the Fair Credit Reporting Act by including a liability waiver in its FCRA background check disclosure form.
In the underlying
New Consumer Finance Lawsuits Increase in May 2017, On Pace with 2016
New data from WebRecon reflects an increase in the number of consumer finance lawsuits filed during the month of May. After a sharp decline in the number of Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, Telephone Consumer Protection Act, and Fair Credit Reporting Act lawsuits filed during the month of April, May saw a roughly 30% increase
WV Appellate Court Finds High Volume of Unanswered Calls Alone Does Not Violate § 46A-2-125(d)
On June 12, the Supreme Court of Appeals of West Virginia reversed a Circuit Court ruling and stated that a high volume of telephone calls from a debt collector to a consumer, absent any evidence the debt collector placed the calls with an intent to annoy, abuse, oppress, or threaten the consumer, is not sufficient
J. Crew Beats FACTA Class Action on Spokeo Grounds
On June 6, a federal judge in New Jersey for the second time dismissed a putative class action against clothier J. Crew Group, Inc. on the grounds that the plaintiff, Ahmed Kamal, had not pled a concrete injury sufficient for Article III standing light of Spokeo, Inc. v. Robins. Kamal alleged that J. Crew violated
Federal and State Regulators Obtain Record Judgment Enforcing TCPA Violations Predicated Upon Insufficient Vendor Oversight
On June 5, 2017, an Illinois federal judge awarded $280 million to the federal government and the states of California, Illinois, North Carolina, and Ohio against Dish Network LLC over violations of numerous federal and state do-not-call laws. The district court’s $280 million penalty constitutes the largest ever for violations of telemarketing laws. In addition,
FTC Obtains Judgments Against Defendants Who Initiated Billions of Illegal Robocalls
On May 31, a California Federal District Court approved default judgments against ten defendants for violations of the Federal Trade Commission Act, 15 U.S.C. § 45 et seq., (“FTC Act”), and Telemarketing and Consumer Fraud and Abuse Prevention Act, 15 U.S.C. § 6105 et seq., (“Telemarketing Act”). The case is Federal Trade Commission v. Aaron
District Court Dismisses FCRA Class Action for Lack of Standing Based on Insufficient Risk of Imminent Harm
Since the Supreme Court issued its decision in Spokeo, Inc. v. Robins, appellate and district courts throughout the country have been grappling with the ruling’s reach. Just this past month, the District Court for the Southern District of New York weighed in on the issue and found that a plaintiff must show more
Insurance Company Settles Nationwide TCPA Class Action for $4.25M
On May 31, plaintiffs Jim Youngman and Robert Allen filed a motion for preliminary approval of class action settlement for their pending Telephone Consumer Protection Act action against Florida-based insurance company A&B Insurance and Financial Inc. The case is Youngman v. A&B Insurance and Financial, Inc., No. 6:16-cv-01478-CEM-GJK (M.D. Fla. May 18, 2017).