On June 17, ACA International – a trade group representing collection agencies and attorneys, creditors, debt buyers, and industry service providers – presented substantive comments to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau in response to the agency’s recent request for information related to the consumer credit card market. The CFPB’s request contained four debt collection questions,
FCC Passes New Declaratory Rule Clarifying and Interpreting Multiple, Key Provisions of the TCPA in a Manner That is Generally Unfavorable to Defendants
On June 18, 2015, the Federal Communications Commission (“FCC”) voted 3-2 to approve an order that promises to have major and negative impacts on companies who use modern telephone technology to text and call consumers.
The stark increase in the number of lawsuits that were filed under the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (“TCPA”) has been
ACA Provides Commentary to CFPB on Credit Card Market
On June 17, ACA International – a trade group representing collection agencies and attorneys, creditors, debt buyers, and industry service providers – presented substantive comments to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau in response to the agency’s recent request for information related to the consumer credit card market. The CFPB’s request contained four debt collection questions,
CUNA and ABA Join Chorus of Objections Against CFPB’s Overdraft Information Requests
Piggy-backing on the recent criticisms lodged by the Independent Community Bankers of America, the Credit Union National Association (“CUNA”) and American Banks Association (“ABA”) recently joined the chorus of objections against the CFPB’s burdensome requests to data processors for information regarding bank and credit union overdraft policies. In November 2014, the CFPB ordered Fiserv, FIS
CFPB Argues that Guarantor is Credit Applicant in Supreme Court Amicus Brief
According to a Supreme Court amicus brief filed last month by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, consumers who are required to guarantee their spouses’ credit applications are themselves credit applicants who are protected from discrimination under the Equal Credit Opportunity Act and Regulation B.
The CFPB claims that courts should defer to Regulation B’s “reasonable”
Connecticut Attorney General Applauds General Assembly’s Passage of Data Breach Notification Legislation
On June 1, the Connecticut legislature passed a bill that would require businesses exposed to a data breach to notify victims within 90 days of the breach. The bill would also require businesses to provide victims with one year of identity-theft protection if their Social Security number is compromised. Senate Bill 949, An Act
Small Banks Criticize CFPB’s Information Requests to Data Processors on Overdraft Fees
On June 1, 2015, the Independent Community Bankers of America (“ICBA”) heavily criticized the CFPB’s decision to lodge information requests to data processing firms regarding checking account overdraft fees, particularly because of their alleged high costs and unwarranted breadth. The requests are targeted at information on community bank and credit union overdraft plans and seek
Supreme Court Grants Petition to Potentially Decide Whether a Rule 68 Offer of Judgment for Complete Relief Moots Potential Class Claims
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
Second Circuit Rules That Unaccepted Offer of Judgment Does Not End Case
In the wake of the U.S. Supreme Court’s May 18 announcement that it may decide whether a Rule 68 offer of judgment for complete relief moots potential class claims, the Second Circuit issued an amended ruling on May 21 that partially answered that question in the negative, further compounding a split among the federal circuit
FTC and State Attorneys General Charge Cancer Charities With Bilking Over $187 Million from Consumers
On May 19, the Federal Trade Commission and all fifty state attorneys general and the District of Columbia charged four cancer charities and their operators with bilking more than $187 million from consumers. The alleged fraud, detailed in a complaint filed in the United States District Court for the District of Arizona, is said to