On October 29, 2015, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (“CFPB”) announced the settlement of an enforcement action against two affiliated consumer reporting agencies under the Fair Credit Reporting Act (“FCRA”) based on these companies’ employment background screening practices. The consent order requires these background screeners to pay a total of $13 million in penalties and
Standing on Thin Air: Spokeo, Inc. v. Robins
On November 2, 2015, a sharply divided Supreme Court of the United States heard oral arguments in Spokeo, Inc. v. Robins, where it considered whether Congress may confer Article III standing by authorizing a private right of action based on the violation of a federal statute alone, despite a plaintiff having suffered no concrete
CFPB Orders Another Auto Lender to Pay $3.28 Million to Settle Claims for Illegal Debt Collection Involving Service Members
On October 28, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau filed an administrative consent order against Security National Automotive Acceptance Company (“SNAAC”), an Ohio auto lender specializing in loans to service members, for engaging in illegal debt collection practices. The order requires the company to refund or credit about $2.28 million to service members and other consumers
Senate Passes Cybersecurity Bill That Provides Liability Shield to Companies that Share Information
On October 27, the United States Senate passed the Cybersecurity Information Sharing Act (“CISA”) by a vote of 74-21. CISA claims to improve cybersecurity by encouraging the sharing of threat information among companies and the U.S. Government.
As previously reported here, CISA would permit private entities to share cyber threat
CFPB Obtains Judgment in Excess of $500 Million Against Defunct College Chain for Student Lending Scheme
On October 27, the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois awarded the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau $531.2 million against for-profit college chain Corinthian Colleges, Inc. for what the Bureau described as a “predatory” student lending program that the company administered. Prior to its liquidation through bankruptcy earlier this year, Corinthian was one
Cybersecurity, Information Governance, and Privacy Partner, Ron Raether, Quoted in HealthcareInfoSecurity.com Article on Proposed FTC Settlement
LifeLock, an identity theft and data protection company, has reached a tentative proposed settlement with the FTC regarding deceptive marketing claims.
Privacy and security attorney Ron Raether, a partner at the law firm Troutman Sanders LLP, says that it appears, based on what LifeLock disclosed so far, that the FTC may not be demanding additional
Protecting the Attorney-Client Privilege: Companies Sue CFPB For Not Allowing Them to Attend Their Former Counsel’s Investigatory Testimony
In July 2015, several companies that were the targets of non-public Consumer Financial Protection Bureau investigations sued the Bureau after it refused to allow their current counsel to attend the Bureau’s investigative testimony of one of the companies’ former attorneys. The companies wanted one of their current attorneys to attend the testimony and assert the
Expect Greater FTC Scrutiny In Wake Of Schrems
On Monday, the European Union said it had reached an agreement in principle with the United States on a revised safe harbor program for trans-Atlantic data flow, following the recent Schrems decision before the Court of Justice of the European Union. Although the specifics remain to be worked out, organizations should brace themselves for likely
Missouri Attorney General Files Suit Against Charter Communications Alleging No-Call Violations
On October 19, Missouri Attorney General Chris Koster filed a federal lawsuit in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Missouri against Charter Communications, Inc., alleging violations of federal and state telemarketing and “do-not-call” laws. Koster claims that his office received 350 complaints from consumers “about harassing practices by Charter’s telemarketers …
Fifth Circuit: TCPA Violation Requires Connection for Prerecorded Message, But Not for Dialer
On October 20, the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit delivered its opinion in Ybarra v. DISH Network, LLC (“DISH”), a case involving alleged violations of the Telephone Consumer Protection Act, which prohibits callers from using an automatic telephone dialer system (“ATDS”) and delivering messages with an “artificial or prerecorded voice” without