On January 21, the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania struck a class action under the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, 15 U.S.C. §§ 1692 et seq. (“FDCPA”) and the Telephone Consumer Protection Act of 1991, 47 U.S.C. §§ 227 et seq. (“TCPA”).  Although the judge allowed the lead plaintiff to pursue

On February 3-5, 2015, DBA International will host its annual conference – Passport to the Future – at the Aria Resort & Casino in Las Vegas.

DBA International describes this year’s event:

“This conference brings together all the players in the industry – welcoming over 1,200 attendees and showcasing over 130 exhibit booths – and

On January 20, 2015, the Department of Justice, on the Federal Trade Commission’s behalf, filed a complaint against Commercial Recovery Systems, Inc. (CRS), a Texas-based debt collector, including its current and former principals, for allegedly using illegal tactics, such as threatening consumers with false claims of lawsuits and potential garnishments, in the United States District

Last week, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) announced four appointments to its leadership team.

In addition to naming Anthony Alexis as assistant director of enforcement, the CFPB also announced the hiring of Leandra English as deputy chief operating officer, Agnes Bundy Scanlan as the regional director of supervision examination, and Jeffrey Sumberg as chief

Freddie Mac is selling three pools of deeply delinquent loans with the combined unpaid principal balance of $410 million.  According to Freddie Mac’s spokesman, the loans involved in the sale include “a large share that are more than two years delinquent,” which is consistent with Freddie Mac’s “continued goal of reducing illiquid assets from its

On January 5, the Federal Communications Commission announced that it was creating a new complaint portal.  As shown on the FCC form for complaints, which can be found here (Word format) and here (.pdf), this portal is very much designed to capture complaints arising from the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) and, specifically, automatic telephone

The Colorado Attorney General’s Office, in a recent press release, warned its in-state consumers of a “debt-collection” scam whereby imposters pose as law enforcement officials or government agencies.  This warning was triggered by a sharp increase in the number of reports to the AG’s Office of threatening telephone calls and emails as part of

As part of the Federal Trade Commission’s ongoing initiative to promote consumer education and protection in the Latino community through its fotonovelas series, it recently announced the creation of a new Spanish-language graphic novel.  As the third and most recent installment of the FTC’s fotonovelas series, the graphic novel titled “Cobradodres de Dueda”,

On January 16, the CFPB announced it is accepting applications for membership on the Consumer Advisory Board (CAB), Community Bank Advisory Council, and Credit Union Advisory Council.

Members of the CAB and the Advisory Councils include representatives of consumers, communities, and the financial services industry, as well as academics. Membership on the CAB lasts three

On January 7, the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit reversed and remanded the district court’s decision to grant a plaintiff’s motion to remand and kept a putative employment class action against trucking company Knight Transportation Inc. in federal court.  In so doing, the Ninth Circuit held that defendants trying to establish