Debt Buyers + Collectors

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In a matter of first impression, a New Jersey appellate court found that whether a class is ascertainable – a factor that is commonly analyzed in federal court – played no role in its consideration of a “low-value” consumer class action.  In Daniels v. Hollister Co., the court determined that ascertainability is not …

Federal courts in New York and Georgia have granted the Federal Trade Commission’s request to temporarily stop certain debt collection practices that the FTC alleges violate federal law.  Specifically, the FTC alleges that the unlawful and scandalous activity includes threatening and deceiving consumers through text messages, emails, and certain types of phone calls.

On May…

On May 19, Ohio Attorney General Mike DeWine announced the filing of a lawsuit against the alleged operators of a fictitious debt collection enterprise that threatened and harassed consumers, many of whom were not actual debtors.

The Attorney General’s lawsuit, filed in Cuyahoga Common Pleas Court, names Mohan Bagga of Duluth, Georgia; Marcus Brown of…

The U.S. Supreme Court agreed on May 18 to hear an appeal from the U.S. Navy’s advertising partner challenging the Ninth Circuit’s remand of a potential class action over allegedly unsolicited text messages, potentially resolving the issue of whether a putative class claim is mooted by an offer of complete relief under Rule 68 of…

Despite the rise in student loan balances over the past decade, a new TransUnion study found that student loan obligations have not inhibited younger consumers’ ability to access and repay other consumer credit categories, such as auto loans and mortgages, when compared to their peers without student loans.

According to TransUnion, this is contrary …

In Modica v. Green Tree Servicing, LLC, the Northern District of Illinois limited the scope of what constitutes an Automatic Telephone Dialing System (ATDS) under the Telephone Consumer Protection Act.  Judge Zagel found that a system requiring an agent to manually access a consumer’s telephone number from a computer server and then “click” to …

As we discussed in March, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is soliciting public comment on how the credit card market is functioning and the impact of credit card protections on consumers and issuers.

To allow interested persons additional time to consider and submit their responses, the CFPB announced it is extending the comment period on…

On May 12, in Tamara Diaz v. Kubler Corporation d/b/a Alternative Recovery Management, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled 3-0 in favor of a collection agency on issues related to including interest in debt collection notices.  The Court of Appeals reversed the district court and held that a collection letter seeking 10 percent …

Lawsuits filed by consumers under the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, Telephone Consumer Protection Act, and Fair Credit Reporting Act all increased from February to March 2015, according to the latest report from WebRecon.

FDCPA lawsuits increased by 3.9 percent (892 to 927), from February to March, and FCRA lawsuits increased 3.3 percent (245 to…

Starting June 1, Alison Kutler will be the new acting chief of the Consumer and Governmental Affairs Bureau, the division of the Federal Communications Commission that oversees the Telephone Consumer Protection Act.  Kutler will replace current acting CGB bureau chief Kris Monteith who will remain at the FCC as deputy chief of the Wireline Competition…