On August 25, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau released its monthly consumer complaint snapshot, which included a focus on complaints regarding credit reporting. According to the snapshot, the CFPB has handled 105,000 credit reporting complaints, making them the third most popular type of complaint received by the CFPB. The CFPB received nearly 7,000 credit
Third Circuit Upholds FTC’s Authority to Prosecute Companies for Data Breaches
On August 24, the Third Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed the authority of the Federal Trade Commission to bring cases against companies that experience a data breach.
The Third Circuit Court of Appeals ruled the FTC could proceed with a lawsuit alleging that the hotel chain Wyndham Worldwide Corp. violated the unfairness and deception prong
Upsurge in Car Lending Sends Total Auto Debt Above $1 Trillion for First Time
The Federal Reserve Bank of New York released its Household Debt and Credit Report this month. The report, which uses anonymous credit data to generate a nationally representative sample, found that consumers’ overall indebtedness increased $2 billion to $11.9 trillion in the second quarter of 2015.
This number was aided by the increased number of
Third Circuit Upholds FTC’s Authority to Prosecute Companies for Data Breaches
On August 24, 2015, the Third Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed the authority of the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to bring cases against companies that experience a data breach.
The Third Circuit Court of Appeals ruled the FTC could proceed with a lawsuit alleging hotel chain, Wyndham Worldwide Corp., violated the unfairness and deception prong
Spokeo-Based Stays Gaining Steam in Consumer Litigation
On April 27, 2015, the United States Supreme Court granted certiorari in Spokeo Inc. v. Robins to address the issue of whether Congress may confer Article III standing on a plaintiff who suffers no concrete harm by simply authorizing a private right of action based on the violation of a federal statute alone. Although the
Seventh Circuit Opines that Rule 68 Offer Does Not Moot Suit
On August 6, the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that a defendant’s offer of full relief does not render a plaintiff’s claims moot. The case, Chapman v. First Index, Inc. (No. 14-2773, 2015 U.S. App. LEXIS 13767 (7th Cir. 2015)), was a junk fax case brought pursuant to the Telephone Consumer Protection Act
Eleventh Circuit Holds That Class Action Tolling Not Available for Subsequent Class Actions Even When First Case is Dismissed for Reasons Specific to Prior Named Plaintiff
On August 3, the Eleventh Circuit held in Ewing Industries Corporation v. Bob Wines Nursery, Inc., et al., that a proposed class action accusing a Florida nursery of sending unsolicited faxes did not suspend the statute of limitations for a later-filed proposed class action challenging that same conduct, despite the fact that the
11th Circ. Strikes Back At Untimely ‘Piggyback’ Class Actions
Suppose that you have been successful in defeating a proposed class action. The glow of success begins to fade, however, when your client is hit with another putative class action by a member of the first class. Worse yet, that second class claim looks like one that should be barred by the statute of limitations,
Missouri Federal Court Finds FDCPA’s Limitations Period is Jurisdictional and Rejects Credit Reporting Claims Against Debt Collector
On July 14, the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Missouri granted United Collection Bureau’s motion for summary judgment in an individual action brought under the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act. Troutman Sanders served as counsel for UCB in this matter. See Martin v. United Collection Bureau, Inc., No. 4:14cv804-JAR, 2015 U.S.
Congressional Committees’ Approving Financial Services Appropriations Bills Indicates Momentum is Accelerating to Reform the CFPB
On July 23, the full Senate Committee on Appropriations approved 12 appropriations measures, including provisions to increase oversight of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau by bringing its funding under the annual Congressional appropriations process and to change the CFPB’s leadership structure to a five-member commission. Our discussion of the Subcommittee’s work leading to this