The United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit recently held that certain letters seeking collection of time-barred debt by using “ambiguous offers and threats with no indication that the debt is old, much less that the limitations period has run, misrepresent the legal enforceability of the underlying debt in violation of” the Fair
On March 30, several financial service providers filed a petition with the Federal Communications Commission asking for clarification on the Telephone Consumer Protection Act’s emergency purposes exception in the context of the coronavirus (“COVID-19”). The comment period on that petition closed this week, with a further reply date of May 21, 2020. This follows the
The status of the Louisiana Public Service Commission’s (“Commission”) potential enforcement of the available emergency measures pursuant to the Do Not Call General Order (Docket No. R_29617, decided Oct. 11, 2006) (“DNC Order”) has been unclear. While these emergency measures generally have been imposed during prior emergencies, they presently remain unimplemented despite Governor John Bel
On April 22, the Supreme Court of Appeals of West Virginia issued another amended emergency order extending court deadlines. The order can be found here. The Court’s new order delays all court deadlines for matters scheduled to occur during the emergency period from March 23, 2020 to May 15, 2020 until May 18, 2020.
In an order issued on April 20, the Indiana Supreme Court has exercised its rulemaking authority to prevent creditors from being able to attach or garnish stimulus payments issued under the federal Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (“CARES Act”). See In re Petition to the Indiana Supreme Court to Engage in Emergency Rulemaking
Senators Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio) and Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) last week released a proposal for new consumer protection measures that they claim are critical to helping Americans weather the coronavirus (“COVID-19”) pandemic. Noting that the stimulus payments provided by the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (“CARES Act”) may not be enough to cover basic
Last week, in Russo v. POM Recoveries, Inc., the United States District Court for the Eastern District of New York denied summary judgment and allowed a suit to proceed against a debt collector for an alleged violation of Section 1692c of the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act. Plaintiff John Paul Russo alleged that POM violated
Earlier this week, millions of Americans began receiving direct deposits from the federal government as part of the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (“CARES Act”), signed into law last month. Although meant to provide relief to consumers feeling the impact of furloughs and pay cuts as a result of the
Massachusetts Attorney General Maura Healey issued on Tuesday the latest in a series of orders regarding debt collection in the face of the coronavirus (“COVID-19”) outbreak. The most recent guidance document is aimed at protecting the relief payments that many Americans expect to receive in coming weeks thanks to the Coronavirus Aid, Relief,
Earlier this year, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau created a Taskforce on Federal Consumer Financial Law to “examine the existing legal and regulatory environment facing consumers and financial services providers and report to [the Bureau] its recommendations for ways to improve and strengthen consumer financial laws and regulations.” To assist the Taskforce, the Bureau recently