On Thursday, May 29, 2014, defendant New England Motor Freight (“NEMF”) agreed to a $870,500 settlement of a putative class action claim under the Fair Credit Reporting Act pending in New Jersey federal court. The class complaint alleged that NEMF had purchased consumer reports for potential job applicants from various wholesalers without first asking for
Class Actions
Court Finds Uncapped Punitive Damages Available Under the FCRA Precludes Dismissal When Offer of Judgment Not Accepted
By David M. Gettings & Ethan G. Ostroff on
On April 7, 2014, the United States District Court in the Eastern District of Virginia declined to dismiss a class action under the Fair Credit Reporting Act as moot because it could not conclude with certainty that an offer of judgment under Rule 68 afforded complete relief.
New York Federal Court Dismisses Class Action Against Credit Card Issuer
By H. Scott Kelly & Michael E. Lacy on
Last month, the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York granted a motion to dismiss (opinion here) in favor of a defendant credit card issuer because the plaintiff lacked standing to bring his claims. The plaintiff had received a full refund of the disputed interest charge prior to the filing of…
Credit Card Issuer Settles UDAAP Class Action in California
By H. Scott Kelly & Michael E. Lacy on
On April 23, 2014, the parties reached a settlement in a putative class action pending in California federal court between a bank credit card issuer and consumers alleging misrepresentations and improper practices related to customer payments. The plaintiffs alleged that the bank misled consumers about how it applied credit card payments to promotional purchases by…
Settlement in FDCPA Class-Action Over Collection Letters Approved
By David N. Anthony & Massie P. Cooper on
On April 15, 2014, a federal judge in New Jersey approved the settlement of a class-action suit against a law firm that allegedly violated the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA). Plaintiffs claimed that Mattleman, Weinroth & Miller, whose principal office is in Cherry Hill, NJ, and Executive Credit Management, located in Stanhope, NJ, had…
American Conference Institute’s 18th National Forum on Consumer Finance Class Actions & Litigation
Troutman Sanders’ lawyer David Anthony will be presenting at the upcoming American Conference Institute’s 18th National Forum on Consumer Finance Class Actions & Litigation. The conference will be held April 8-9, 2014 at the Westin Bonaventure Hotel &Suites in Los Angeles, CA. David will be presenting on , “CLASS ACTIONS: New and Emerging…
New Decision Provides Hope for Common-Sense Application of TCPA, but the High-Stakes Debate Over the Scope of the TCPA Will Continue
On Thursday, March 21, 2014, the Eastern District of Pennsylvania in Dominguez v. Yahoo!, Inc., held that Yahoo did not violate the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) because Yahoo’s SMS system could not “randomly or sequentially generate telephone numbers.” The Dominquez court is the most recent to weigh in on one of the most…
Seventh Circuit Finds Collectors Settlement Letters “Misleading”
On March 11, 2014, the Seventh Circuit ruled that settlement letters sent to debtors concerning the settlement of time-barred debt were misleading even though the letters did not threaten litigation.
The plaintiffs were both Illinois residents with outstanding debt that was subject to the state’s four-year statutes of limitations, and the collection firms named in…
Consero Financial Services and Insurance Litigation Forum – Miami, FL – May 18-20, 2014
Consero’s 2014 Financial Services and Insurance Litigation Forum will be held May 18-20, 2014 at the Trump National Doral Miami in Miami, FL. Join Troutman Sander’s lawyer, Ashley Taylor at the forum. Consero’s 2014 Financial Services and Insurance Litigation Forum will address current and looming legal and business challenges faced by today’s Chief Litigation Officers…
CFPB and FTC File Amicus Brief Targeting Time-Barred Debt Collection Activities
On March 5, 2014, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) and the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) filed a joint amicus brief in Buchanan v. Northland Group Inc., No. 13–2523 (6th Cir. Mar. 5, 2014), a putative consumer FDCPA class action challenging collection practices related to debts that were time barred (i.e., for which the…