In Covarrubias v. CitiMortgage, Inc ., the plaintiff brought a lawsuit against CitiMortgage, claiming it improperly foreclosed on her home by failing to comply with U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development regulations incorporated into her deed of trust. Specifically, she claimed CitiMortgage failed to conduct, or make a reasonable effort to conduct, a
Whole Foods Becomes Most Recent Retailer to Settle FCRA Background Check Lawsuit
On September 15, the United States District Court for the Middle District of Florida preliminarily approved a Fair Credit Reporting Act background check class action settlement in Speer v. Whole Foods Market Group, Inc. We previously wrote about this lawsuit on the Consumer Financial Services Law Monitor blog here. The settlement adds Whole Foods
Better Business Bureau Data Show Sharp Decline in Debt Collection Complaints
The Better Business Bureau recently released data from 2014 regarding the number of complaints received pertaining to registered debt collection agencies. The statistics show a sharp decrease in the number of complaints lodged against debt collection agencies. This number is contrary to data released by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, which show an increase in
FTC Closes Investigation Against Health Care Provider, Offers Further Statements Regarding Background Screening Policies
The Federal Trade Commission has closed an investigation into potential violations of the Fair Credit Reporting Act by a California-based health care company. However, despite its decision to not recommend enforcement action, the Commission rejected the notion that the company’s use of background screening reports — or the use of reports to investigate job applicants
FTC Urges Start-Ups to Incorporate Cybersecurity Early
The Federal Trade Commission is proactively encouraging start-ups to take cybersecurity seriously and include consumer data safeguards early in the innovation process. At the FTC’s Start with Security conference in San Francisco on September 9, FTC Chairwoman Edith Ramirez called on innovators to instill a “culture of security” early in the product development lifecycle.
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NYC Commission on Human Rights Issues Enforcement Guidance on SCDEA
Earlier this month, the New York City Commission on Human Rights provided enforcement guidance on the Stop Credit Discrimination in Employment Act (SCDEA). The SCDEA took effect on September 3, 2015, and restricts employers from requesting or using applicants’ and employees’ credit history when making employment decisions. The Commission referred to SCDEA as
FTC Changes Location and Re-Opens Registration for its Second Debt Collection Dialogue in Dallas
The FTC announced it has changed the location and has re-opened registration for its second “Debt Collection Dialogue” in Dallas. The September 29 event is now going to take place at Southern Methodist University’s Dedman School of Law. Pre-registration, which originally closed on August 13, was re-opened for this larger event.
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Oneida Tribe Wins Dismissal of FACTA Class Action on Sovereignty Grounds
On September 4, the Oneida Tribe of Indians of Wisconsin won dismissal of a putative class action alleging that it printed expiration dates and more than the last five digits of credit cards on receipts at its retail stores. In Jeremy Meyers, et al. v. Oneida Tribe of Indians of Wisconsin (Civil Action No. 1:15-cv-00445,
Trade Groups’ Comment Letters Urge CFPB to Fix Complaint Database Before Trying to Normalize Data
In response to the CFPB’s request for information (RFI) regarding “best practices” for normalizing the data in the Consumer Complaint Database, issued on June 30, 2015, the American Bankers Association (ABA) submitted a comment letter that argues any efforts made by the CFPB to “normalize” data in its consumer complaints database – that is,
FCC Continues to Expand Its TCPA Reach with E-Faxes
On August 28, the Federal Communications Commission issued a declaratory ruling holding that electronic faxes or “e-faxes” are covered by the Telephone Consumer Protection Act and the Junk Fax Protection Act. E-faxes are communications that originate as a fax, but are converted to electronic files during transmission and received as attachments to emails. This ruling