In Bickley v. Dish Network, the Sixth Circuit on May 13, 2014 affirmed the dismissal of a claim for violating the Fair Credit Reporting Act for accessing a credit report without a permissible purpose. Dish Network accessed the plaintiff’s credit report to investigate whether the person attempting to order satellite television service using plaintiff’s
Court Finds Uncapped Punitive Damages Available Under the FCRA Precludes Dismissal When Offer of Judgment Not Accepted
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.
White House Issues Report Urging Future Regulation of Big Data
On Thursday, May 1, 2014, the White House issued a report outlining initiatives to supposedly better protect privacy in light of the growing realm of big data, the term used to describe a collection of large and complex data sets. The report, titled “Big Data and Privacy: A Technological Perspective,” was presented to the President
CFPB Publishes New Guidance on Credit Reporting for Child Welfare Caseworkers
On May 1, 2014, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau published action letters for child welfare caseworkers to send to credit bureaus if they find errors on the credit reports of the children in their care. The CFPB stated that the nearly 400,000 children in the United States foster care system often lack a permanent address,
New Legislation Proposes Amendments to FCRA
On Wednesday, April 9, 2014, Senators Brian Schatz (D-Hawaii) and Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio) announced legislation seeking to amend the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) to protect consumers from inaccurate credit reports and credit scores. Their legislation, the Stop Errors in Credit Use and Reporting (SECURE) Act, is aimed at easing the process by which
FTC Settles Claims Against Data Brokers Under FCRA
Two data brokers settled charges brought by the FTC for $1.5 million based on allegations that they violated the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) when selling consumer data.
The FTC alleged the companies operated as consumer reporting agencies when providing reports about consumers to users such as prospective employers and landlords. The complaints filed by
Senate Aims to Increase Transparency in Credit Reporting
On April 8, 2014, Senate Democrats introduced a bill that addresses a laundry list of frequent criticisms by federal and state regulators of the consumer reporting industry. The legislation, titled the Stop Errors in Credit Use and Reporting (SECURE) Act, is aimed at increasing the accuracy of consumer reports and assisting consumers who have information
CFPB Outlines Expansion of Nonbank Supervision, In Particular Increasing Consumer Access to Credit Scoring Information and Education
In a speech at the Consumer Bankers Association, CFPB Deputy Director Steve Antonakes discussed the nonbank segments of the financial services industry where the CFPB recently has expanded its supervision, including debt collection, student loan servicing, and large nonbank auto lenders.
Antonakes cited the receipt of more than 20,000 consumer complaints in March 2014 as
Proposed Legislation Would Require CFPB to Create Advisory Board of Small Financial Services Companies
Earlier today a bipartisan bill was introduced into the US House of Representatives which would require the CFPB to create an advisory panel of small financial services companies similar to other boards the Bureau has created. The Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection Small Business Advisory Board Act, introduced by Rep. Robert Pittenger, R-N.C., and
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