Business Torts › Civil Remedies › Consumer Protection

VERONICA GUTIERREZ, ERIN WALKER, and WILLIAM SMITH v WELLS FARGO BANK N.A.

CLASS ACTION FINDINGS OF FACT AND CONCLUSIONS OF LAW AFTER BENCH TRIAL AWARDING $203 MILLION TO WELLS FARGO'S CALIFORNIA CUSTOMERS

CLASS ACTION FINDINGS OF FACT AND CONCLUSIONS OF LAW AFTER BENCH TRIAL AWARDING $203 MILLION TO WELLS FARGO'S CALIFORNIA CUSTOMERS. A California judge ordered Wells Fargo to pay California customers $203 after finding that...more

THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA vs. JPMORGAN CHASE & CO.; CHASE BANK USA, N.A; CHASE BANKCARD SERVICES, INC.

Complaint for Fraudulent and Unlawful Debt-Collection Practices against tens of thousands of Californians.

Attorney General Kamala D. Harris today filed an enforcement action against JPMorgan Chase & Co. (Chase) alleging that the bank engaged in fraudulent and unlawful debt-collection practices against tens of thousands of...more

Someone defamed my business and/or property, is there anything I can do about it?

If someone has damaged your business interests by a false and defamatory statement in Massachusetts, then this post is a must read! Contact: George E. Bourguignon, Jr. Phone: (508) 769-1359 or (413)...more

National Consumer Law Center Re: Restoring the Wisdom of the Common Law: Applying the Historical Rule Against Contractual Penalty...

NATIONAL CONSUMER LAW CENTER (NCLS) Banks Raking In Billions In Profits From Overdraft Fees The notion behind an overdraft fee — in which a bank customer is charged a penalty for overdrafting his account — is twofold:...more

What’s That Charge on My Mobile Phone Bill? The FTC Wants to Know

“Cramming” – while it sounds like the experience of being in the middle row of a cross-country flight – actually refers to unauthorized charges on phone bills. Residential and business telecommunications customers have...more

Ninth Circuit Rejects Class Action Settlement Providing Conditional Incentive Awards

Earlier this week, the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit reversed approval of a $45 million class action settlement that had been reached with three credit reporting agencies in Radcliffe v. Experian...more

Surprising Risk of Discrimination Claims for Restaurants Moving Away from Meal Customization

Chicago, IL, April 15, 2013 - Many restaurants, especially upscale and higher-end independents, are moving toward prix-fixe menus, tasting menus, and policies that restrict additions, subtractions, and substitutions. Such...more

Presentation - Social Networking: An Ethical Issues Update.

The ethical issues surrounding the use of social media in the legal environment is constantly evolving, making it very important for attorneys to keep abreast of recent decisions, regulatory initiatives and legislative...more

CFPB Annual Report 2013 re Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA)

CFPB Annual Report 2013 re Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA)

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (“CFPB” or “the Bureau”) submits to Congress its second annual report summarizing its activities to administer the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (“FDCPA” or “the Act”), 15 U.S.C....more

Appeal Victory -- Court of Appeal Agrees that Penal Code Section 496(c) Allows Recovery of Triple Damages and Attorney Fees for...

The case involved a loan made by our client to the defendant, Igal Feibush. Feibush and his entities failed to repay the loan, and we were retained by the plaintiff to sue. Penal Code section 496(c) makes it illegal to...more

Sharon Bell v. Igal Feibush

Opinion -- California Court of Appeal Permits Treble Damages for Failure to Repay Loan

Court of Appeal affirmed trial court's determination that making a loan based on a false promise to repay amounted to theft by false pretense, and Penal Code 496 therefore applied, entitling the victim to recover treble...more

Real Estate Sellers: Keep Those Skeletons in Your Closet!

Recently, the Pennsylvania Superior Court held that sellers of residential real estate are under no duty, pursuant to the Real Estate Seller Disclosure Law, 68 Pa.C.S. §7101 et seq. (“RSDL”), to disclose prior to a sale that...more

Questionable Actions of Class Counsel Did Not Merit Decertification in Class Action

This week we discuss the recent 7th Circuit junk fax class action case which determined that the misconduct of class counsel only merits decertification or denial of certification where the misconduct creates a "serious...more

ASSET ACCEPTANCE. LLC vs. ALLEGED DEBTOR

COMPLAINT FOR VIOLATIONS OF THE FAIR DEBT COLLECTION PRACTICES ACT (FDCPA)

Sample FDCPA Lawsuit Unfair Debt Collection Practices Shown below is a sample lawsuit filed under the Federal Fair Debt...more

7th Circuit Provides Much Needed Clarification of Class Action “Predominance” Requirement: Butler v. Sears

This week's article covers the landmark 7th Circuit decision Butler v. Sears that provided much needed clarification of the "predominance" requirement in class action cases....more

Court of Appeals Revisits Disclaimers and Integration Clauses in Contracts

This week's article discusses the role of disclaimers and integrations in clauses and the parol evidence rule that can act to bar evidence from terms of a contract not specifically written into the paper version of the...more

Credit Crunch Digest -- September 2012

This issue of the Credit Crunch Digest focuses on various actions brought by the FDIC, as the receiver for failed banks, against large financial institutions for losses arising out of mortgage-backed securities sold to the...more

Manhattan U.S. Attorney Files Mortgage Fraud Lawsuit Against Wells Fargo Bank, N.A. Seeking Hundreds of Millions of Dollars in...

The following allegations are based on the Complaint filed today in Manhattan Federal court: WELLS FARGO, the largest originator of home mortgages in the United States, has been a participant in the Direct Endorsement Lender...more

The Voluntary Payment Doctrine – The Most Profoundly Evil Legal Doctrine

This week's article briefly discusses the voluntary payment doctrine and its shocking application to allow businesses to keep illegally gained money....more

Feed a pig, but slaughter a hog!

When your settlement company doesn't record your deed, and takes your money, you may have to push your lender to do the right thing, or make claim on your owner's title insurance policy. Most lenders will make claim on their...more

CFPB Exercises Enforcement Authority Against Alleged Mortgage Modification Scheme

On July 18, the CFPB filed suit against a group of California companies and individuals alleged to have orchestrated a mortgage modification scam in violation of the Consumer Financial Protection Act and Regulation O....more

Banks Defraud Customers with Manufactured Overdraft Charges

Nobody wants to pay $35 for a cup of coffee or loaf of bread, but that’s essentially what has happened to debit card users around the nation, according to class action lawsuits against dozens of banks. In July, U.S. Bank,...more

Amerigas Propane, L.P. v. Opinion Corp. d/b/a PissedConsumer.com

Answer, Affirmative Defenses and Jury Demand

See the affirmative defenses. From BusinessInsider.com: "Propane giant AmeriGas recently sued online complaints forum Pissed Consumer for trademark infringement. "Gas company executives were presumably upset with how...more

VO Group, LLC v. Opinion Corp. et al.

Decision and Order Granting in Part and Denying in Part Motion to Dismiss

Order and opinion on motion to dismiss complaint filed in New York Supreme Court (trial level), Kings County (i.e., Brooklyn), by timeshare sales company seeking to censor criticism of the company found on...more

In Nutella Advertising Case, Whom Is the System Protecting?

The world is full of surprises, like the fact that Nutella chocolate spread is loaded with saturated fat and sugar and is not itself healthy. Ferrero USA, Inc., the company that makes Nutella, learned the hard way that...more