On August 12, the California Supreme Court answered a certified question from the Ninth Circuit, holding in White v. Square, Inc. that a person has standing under the California Unruh Civil Rights Act (“Unruh”) to sue an internet-based service provider for an alleged discriminatory policy even if the person does not use or subscribe to
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau hosted a symposium with private attorneys to discuss the term “abusive” in “unfair, deceptive, and abusive acts and practices” (“UDAAP”) in late June. This was the first symposium, part of a symposia series, that will help the CFPB explore consumer protections in the changing financial services marketplace. There were two
The Eastern District of New York recently granted a debt collector’s motion for summary judgment in a Fair Debt Collection Practices Act case because the collection letter clearly identified the creditor to whom the debt was owed and would not mislead even the least sophisticated consumer. In doing so, the Court critiqued the “lawyer’s case”
The Financial Crimes Enforcement Network of the U.S. Department of Treasury (“FinCEN”) issued new interpretive guidance last week relating to the application of anti-money laundering (“AML”) laws under the Banking Secrecy Act (“BSA”) to financial institutions engaged in the business of convertible virtual currencies (“CVCs”), including bitcoin and other cryptocurrency.
The stated purpose of the
A fight over a receipt for chocolate could end up in the Supreme Court. The Eleventh Circuit affirmed a $6.3 million settlement between Godiva Chocolatier, Inc. and a class of plaintiffs who alleged that Godiva violated the Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act by printing too many digits of the plaintiffs’ credit cards on their
On March 29, in Marshall v. Verde Energy USA, Inc., Judge John Vazquez of the United States District Court for the District of New Jersey dismissed a plaintiff’s putative class action lawsuit against Verde Energy, finding, in part, that the plaintiff failed to state a claim under the New Jersey Consumer Fraud Act (“CFA”). Marshall
On April 10, Priority Payout Corporation, a payment processing company and the successor of InterBill Ltd., agreed to settle charges with the Federal Trade Commission regarding violations of a 2009 Final Judgment and Order for Permanent Injunction and Other Equitable Relief (the “2009 Order”). The 2019 settlement with the FTC bans
On March 18, New Jersey governor Phil Murphy signed a bill that prohibits discrimination against cash-paying retail customers. The new law bans retailers who sell goods or services from requiring buyers to use a credit card or prohibiting the use of cash as payment for the goods or services. The new law takes effect immediately.
Requiring an employee or consumer to submit any dispute to binding arbitration as a condition of employment or purchase of a product or service is commonly referred to as “forced arbitration.” Many times, the employee or consumer is required to waive their right to sue or to participate in a class action lawsuit. Critics argue
On February 25, the Federal Trade Commission and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau reauthorized their Memorandum of Understanding, or “MOU.”
The MOU, which governs the FTC’s and CFPB’s joint operations, focuses on five key areas of cooperation:
