On July 23, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau published in the Federal Register a proposed policy statement that is expected to expand the type of data disclosed in its consumer complaint database to include unstructured consumer complaint narrative data. The CFPB extended the comment period to September 22 to permit additional time for the submission
On September 29, the Eleventh Circuit issued its highly anticipated decision in Mais v. Gulf Coast Collection Bureau, Inc., overturning the district court’s prior holding and providing defense-favorable law on prior express consent. The decision was in response to an unprecedented May 2013 ruling by the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of
On September 24, U.S. District Judge James S. Moody, Jr., of the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Florida, issued a preliminary injunction against several law firms accused by the attorneys general of Connecticut and Florida of charging illegal upfront fees to distressed homeowners in a mortgage rescue scam.
Judge Moody agreed that
The United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit has issued a decision upholding a district court ruling that several defendants based in the U.S. and Canada deceived consumers through a telemarketing scheme designed to sell them phony mortgage assistance and debt relief programs, according to the Federal Trade Commission.
The Court’s decision
On September 25, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau announced a Project Catalyst research pilot to examine the effectiveness of early intervention credit counseling for consumers who are at risk of default on their credit card debt. The project is aimed at exploring ways to help consumers better manage their credit card debt and avoid default.
New York Court administrators recently announced new rules impacting cases involving debt collector-plaintiffs with certain debt claims against consumers. As we discussed on May 7th when the proposed rules were announced, the new rules place a higher burden of proof on debt collector-plaintiffs to establish chain of title and that they actually own the debt
On September 24, a federal judge in Minnesota declined to dismiss a proposed class action alleging that Sempris LLC (“Sempris”) sold “memberships” in supposed money-saving programs that instead resulted in illegal, unauthorized monthly credit card charges.
The plaintiff, a Georgia resident, alleges Sempris, which operates “membership loyalty programs” that offer discounts and coupons, was responsible
The Automotive Recyclers Association (ARA) sent a letter to Louisiana Attorney General James D. “Buddy” Caldwell this past week to dispute statements made by the Attorney General about a recent lawsuit filed against State Farm Insurance, which called into question State Farm’s practice of encouraging repair shops to use recycled parts when repairing damaged vehicles.
On August 1, the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit issued an opinion rejecting federal jurisdiction under the Class Action Fairness Act (CAFA) and the National Banking Act for a lawsuit filed by the Attorney General of Hawaii on behalf of state residents (sometimes called a parens patriae suit) against financial companies
According to a recent study by the U.S. Government Accountability Office, the financial data gathered by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau on 25 million to 75 million U.S. credit cardholders is not safe enough. As part of its government mandate, the GAO examined laws, regulations, and contracts pertaining to the CFPB’s data collection methodologies, risk