A federal bankruptcy court for the Southern District of Florida has ruled that the owner of a computer-financing scheme cannot hide behind a bankruptcy filing to shield himself from complying with a contempt order that required him to pay $13.4 million for violating an FTC order.
Joseph K. Rensin founded BlueHippo Funding, LLC and its
The Supreme Court agreed to hear a consumer’s appeal from the Third Circuit’s ruling that his claims under the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act were time-barred despite being brought within one year of discovering the violation. The circuits have been split on whether the one-year statute of limitations under the FDCPA begins to run when
On February 13, the Federal Trade Commission issued its annual report for fiscal year 2018 and announced that enforcement actions from July 2017 through June 2018 yielded more than $2.3 billion in refunds to allegedly defrauded U.S. consumers. To put the total sum in perspective, the $2.3 billion figure was almost eight times the FTC’s
The Federal Trade Commission has announced that it is retaining the CAN-SPAM Rule as is, deciding to keep the Rule unchanged as a result of a regulatory review. Hence, any business that sends marketing email must redouble efforts to comply with the CAN-SPAM Rule.
What is the CAN-SPAM Rule?
The CAN-SPAM Rule establishes requirements for
In a recent ruling, the Second Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed the district court’s $10 million disgorgement order assessed jointly and severally not only against collection agencies but also their individual owners. The Second Circuit’s decision can be found here.
This case involved thirteen debt collection companies that operated pursuant to the same strategy:
On February 13, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce released model data privacy legislation and urged Congress to pass a federal data privacy law.
“Technology has changed the way consumers and businesses share and use data, and voluntary standards are no longer enough,” said Tim Day, senior vice president of the Chamber’s Technology Engagement
The Federal Communications Commission will have to decide whether or how it will hold its January 30 monthly public meeting if the government shutdown lasts through the end of the month.
The Communications Act requires that “meetings of the commission shall be held at regular intervals, not less frequently once each calendar month,” and
The federal government shutdown continues and, in the wake of the President Donald Trump’s Oval Office address in support of the border wall, it appears that it could continue for some time. Press reports say approximately 800,000 federal workers are furloughed or working without pay. Consumer-facing companies are asking: What is the impact of the
Due to the U.S. Government partial shutdown, the Federal Trade Commission announced a temporary suspension of all of its investigations, including those into debt collection activities. As a result, the FTC has stated that its investigators cannot conduct normal fact-finding and attorneys cannot engage in settlement negotiations at this time. In particular, during the
This past November, the Department of Veterans Affairs (the “VA”) and the Federal Trade Commission signed an updated Memorandum of Agreement, which pledges ongoing efforts in the oversight and enforcement of laws pertaining to the advertising, sales, and enrollment practices of institutions of higher learning and other establishments that offer training for military education benefits