On January 20, a Missouri federal judge issued an order granting a debt collector’s Motion to Compel Arbitration in an action under the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act.  Although such motions are frequently granted, the judge here rejected an argument from the plaintiff that her loan agreement – including its arbitration provision – was entirely

On January 28, Michael’s Stores, Inc. was hit with its second Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) class action lawsuit challenging Michael’s employment background check procedures in as many months.  This lawsuit should serve as another reminder to employers to verify their background check procedures comply with both state and federal law.

According to the allegations

On January 23, the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals heard oral arguments in a class action suit against Neiman Marcus Group LLC over the alleged 2013 hack that compromised the credit card numbers of 350,000 shoppers.

The suit was one of multiple proposed class actions filed after hackers infiltrated Neiman Marcus’ payment security system with

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 January 28, 2015, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau issued a bulletin warning financial institutions about entering into agreements with third parties that share or hide information related to regulatory exams, as well as warning entities under investigation about sharing information with third parties.

The bulletin is intended to assist supervised entities in complying with

On January 15, the NYC Coalition to Stop Credit Checks in Employment published an open letter to New York City Mayor de Blasio and the City Council, urging them to support legislation banning the use of credit checks in employment decisions.  To the extent New York City enacts such a law, it would create

Join us at the American Conference Institute’s 22nd National Forum on Consumer Finance Class Actions & Litigation. Two full days of expert strategies for in-house and outside counsel on navigating class actions, litigation, and government enforcement actions in the consumer finance industry.

April 13 – 14, 2015; Omni Los Angeles Hotel at California Plaza

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

New rules on overdraft protections and fees are one of the top items on the CFPB regulatory agenda this year.  In its Fall 2014 Rulemaking Agenda, the CFPB noted that they were “continuing to research overdraft services and considering whether rules governing overdraft and related services are warranted and what such rules may be”

On January 13, 2015, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) released a report on consumers’ mortgage shopping experiences.  The CFPB found that almost half of consumers who take out a mortgage fail to shop prior to application and that consumers seriously consider only a single lender or mortgage broker before choosing where to apply.  The