Civil Procedure › Business Torts › Consumer Protection

Updated Version "The Texas Anti-SLAPP Statute: Issues for Business Tort Litigation," by Mark C. Walker, 7th Annual Bill of Rights...

In this issue: - Table Of Contents - Table Of Authorities - I. Introduction. - II. Texas Citizens Participation Act: What is it? - A. Background and Enactment of the TCPA. - 1....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

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

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

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

Judicial Fact Finding Increasing in Class Action Certification Hearings

Class action certification under the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure (“FRCP”) only permit a class action if, among other things, “there are questions of law or fact common to the class.” (FRCP 23) This means that trial...more

President Signs H.R. 4367 Eliminating the Requirement of Exterior Fee Disclosure Signage on ATM’s

On December 20, 2012, President Obama signed H.R. Bill 4367, which became effective upon his signing of the bill, and which eliminates the mandatory requirement that signage be placed on the exterior of Automated Teller...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

Judge Denies S&P’s Motion to Dismiss Claims Brought By Illinois AG

On November 7, Judge Mason of the Circuit Court of Cook County, Illinois ruled that the Illinois Attorney General’s state law deceptive business and trade practice claims against Standard and Poor’s survived S&P’s motion to...more

New York Federal Court Certifies Class Alleging Fraudulent Collection Practices Based on Documentation Deficiencies

A recent decision by a New York federal court provides yet another example of the documentation-related challenges that creditors and debt buyers are increasingly facing in collection actions involving non-mortgage consumer...more

Legal Byte: Citing to unpublished appellate opinions: may I?

Legal Byte: Judicial notice can get you around the "no-citation" rule to cite to unpublished appellate opinions to support your analysis. ...more

Devere Group GMBH v. Opinion Corp. et al.

Order Dismissing Trademark Claim Against PissedConsumer.com for Failure to State a Claim

Order dismissing, for failure to state a claim under Fed. R. Civ. P. 12(b)(6), defamation claim pleaded as a Lanham Act trademark infringement in attempt to circumvent DMCA section 230....more

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

Order on Motion to Dismiss

Per blogger and law professor Eric Goldman: "You may recall PissedConsumer, the site that solicits user gripes, SEOs the crud out of them, and then offers the griped business pay-to-play to downgrade the visibility of those...more

Criminal Code Used in Civil Action to Recover Triple Damages and Attorney Fees

When is a breach of contract also fraud? When the party never intended to perform. So how do you get into the mind of the defendant to determine if he intended to perform when he signed the agreement? Thankfully,...more

Faitro v. Top Surgeons et al.

Demurrer to First Amended Complaint

Defendants' demurrer to the First Amended Complaint's UCL, FAL and CLRA causes of action based on failure to plead reliance, and failure to plead requisite damages sufficient to confer standing under Simpson Strong Tie v....more

Faitro v. Top Surgeons et al.

Defendants' Petition to Compel Arbitration

Defendants filed their petition to compel individual arbitration of the putative class action claims pursuant to the United Supreme Court's ruling in Concepcion v. ATT. Briefing schedule and hearing date to be set by the...more

"Infected" Tissue Claim Not A Consumer Fraud Claim

Readers have seen my warnings about plaintiff attorneys trying to turn every marketing statement of opinion or puffing into a consumer fraud claim. Now comes a decision about a non-consumer product consumer fraud claim. A...more

Routt County District Court Colorado

Order on Summary Judgment Dismissing Tortious Interference with Contract Claim

In this real estate contract dispute I represented a party defending a tortious interference of contract claim. We successfully argued that under Colorado law the claim had no basis and should be dismissed on summary...more

Falcon Stainless, Inc. v. Rino Companies, Inc.

Order Granting Defendants' Post-Trial Motions For Judgment As a Matter of Law

After a 3-week trial and a flurry of post-trial motions, U.S. District Court Judge Alicemarie H. Stotler issued this 43-page ruling overturning the $1 million jury verdict against defendants, finding no likelihood of...more

National Class Action Suit Challenges Hotel Group's Disclosure of Guest Newspaper Fees

Hotel companies could soon be facing class action suits over fees for morning newspapers in the wake of a recently filed complaint in federal court in California. A Sacramento man accuses Hilton Group, PLC, Hilton...more

Faitro v. Top Surgeons et al.

Defendants' Special Motion to Strike Pursuant to Anti-SLAPP Statute

Defendants (Top Surgeons, LLC; 1 800 Get Thin, LLC; Almont Ambulatory Surgery Center, Inc.; Beverly Hills Surgery Center, LLC, Julian Omidi; and Michael Omidi) filed an anti-SLAPP motion against plaintiffs, who in early 2011...more

Paris International Litigation Bulletin no. 1

OVERVIEW OF RECENT DEVELOPMENTS Legislative developments in France Page 1 Proceedings before French courts Page 1 European law Page 3 Foreign case law Page 4 FEATURES The French Supreme Court holds that an order to...more

Senate Bill 558 - Letter to California Assembly Judiciary Committee in Opposition

SB 558 proposes to lower the evidentiary standard for obtaining enhanced remedies available under California's Elder Abuse and Dependent Adult Civil Protection Act (EADACPA) from "clear and convincing" to "preponderance of...more