In a case of first impression, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit held in July that all debt collectors must send debtors a verification notice. “In other words, if there are multiple debt collectors that try to collect a debt, each one must send the required notice after its first communication with
CFPB Outlines Overhaul of Acceptable Debt Collection Practices
On July 28, at a public hearing in Sacramento, California, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau released an outline of new rules targeting third-party debt-collection operations. The new rules seek to curb “excessive or disruptive” communication by restricting collectors from calling debtors numerous times a day, require debt collection companies to have “more and better
CFPB Files Amicus Brief Before Ninth Circuit in Spokeo
On May 16, the Supreme Court in Spokeo, Inc. v. Robins found that the Ninth Circuit had not adequately addressed whether the named plaintiff had sufficiently alleged a “concrete” injury in connection with his putative FCRA class action against Spokeo, Inc. In Spokeo, the plaintiff (Robins) sued the “people search engine” for alleged violations of
CFPB Reaches $107M Settlement Related to Corporate Consumer Debt Defrauding Scheme
On July 19, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau reached a $107 million settlement agreement with three individuals who conspired with World Law Group to swindle millions of dollars from consumers in a debt-relief scheme.
In August 2015, the CFPB brought suit in U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida against several defendants, including
House Financial Services Committee Releases Draft of Bill to Replace Dodd-Frank
On June 23, a discussion draft of “The Financial CHOICE Act” was released by the House Financial Services Committee. A primary purpose of this bill is to replace the Dodd-Frank Act, including reforming financial institution regulations and significantly changing the structure and authority of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.
Specifically, the
New York Federal Court Dismisses FDCPA Class Claims in a Letter Case
On July 7, the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York granted a debt collector’s motion to dismiss a plaintiff’s claims brought on a class basis under the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (“FDCPA”).
The case arose out of a debt collection letter that
CFPB Seeks $40 Million Penalty Against Purported Debt Relief Providers
Defendants World Law Debt Services, LLC, World Law Processing, LLC, and Family Capital Investment & Management LLC, face a potentially hefty penalty after failing to respond to a complaint filed by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau relating to alleged illegal debt relief services.
According to a complaint filed in the Southern District of Florida in
CFPB Monthly Report Highlights Complaints About Various Consumer Loans
On June 28, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau released its Monthly Complaint Report, which aims to provide “a high-level snapshot of trends in consumer complaints” concerning products such as auto loans, installment loans, and title loans. The CFPB claims that since it began collecting such complaints in July 2011, it has handled a total
$4.5 Million TCPA Class Action Settlement Preliminarily Approved in California Federal Court
On July 1, the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of California granted plaintiffs’ motion for preliminary approval of a $4.5 million class action settlement in a Telephone Consumer Protection Act case.
According to the complaint in Sanders v. RBS Citizens, N.A. filed in 2013, the plaintiffs alleged that they received
Sirius XM Settles TCPA Class Action for $35 Million
In one of the largest settlements in history under the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (“TCPA”), Sirius XM Radio Inc. agreed to pay $35 million to resolve putative class actions filed throughout the country alleging that it had used an automatic telephone dialing system to engage in telemarketing to trial users of its satellite radio service