Commercial Law & Contracts, Finance & Banking, Privacy

Big Incentives for Investments in Cybersecurity

by Javier Siervo | Berkeley Research Group, LLC on 5/17/2013

Recently, Maryland Governor Martin O’Malley signed into law the Cybersecurity Investment Incentive Tax Credit. The credit is to be used against the state income tax of a Maryland cybersecurity company. To be eligible for the...more

FTC Sharpens Focus On Data Brokers

by BuckleySandler LLP on 5/14/2013

On May 7, the FTC released letters it sent to 10 data brokers warning that certain of the brokers’ practices could violate FCRA privacy protections. ...more

Not So Secret - When Under Seal Isn't Enough

by Shirley Dai, Sharon Levine, Michael Savetsky | Lowenstein Sandler LLP on 5/10/2013

In a recent decision, the United States Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York found the standard for sealing under § 107 of the Bankruptcy Code was not met and declined to seal a settlement agreement, despite...more

Big Regulation’s Big Data

by Richik Sarkar on 5/8/2013

In March 2012, the Obama Administration announced its Big Data Research and Development Initiative. The program involves a total of over $200 million in new commitments from several departments and agencies to improve the...more

Infobytes - A Weekly In-depth review of news & developments in the financial services industry - May 3, 2013

by BuckleySandler LLP on 5/6/2013

In This Issue: - FEDERAL ISSUES - STATE ISSUES - COURTS - FIRM NEWS - FIRM PUBLICATIONS - MORTGAGES - BANKING - CONSUMER FINANCE - CREDIT CARDS - E-COMMERCE - PRIVACY/DATA SECURITY -...more

SEC and CFTC Issue Identity Theft Rules

by Ana-Maria Ignat, Daniel A. Nathan | Morrison & Foerster LLP on 4/22/2013

Today, April 19, 2013, the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (“CFTC”) published in the Federal Register rules and guidelines requiring their respective regulated financial...more

Burr Alert: Blowing The Cap Off Statutory Damages Under The FCCPA?: An Analysis Of Kahmeyer v. Federal Credit Corporation

by John Chiles, Kristin Peters | Burr & Forman on 4/15/2013

In Kahmeyer v. Federal Credit Corporation, the 13th Judicial Circuit in Hillsborough County, Florida released an opinion that has given new life to the argument that each violation of the Florida Consumer Collection Practices...more

Court Limits Use of Zip Codes in Massachusetts Credit Card Transactions

by Thomas I. Elkind | Foley & Lardner LLP on 4/1/2013

In a recent decision, Tyler v. Michaels Stores, Inc., the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court held that zip codes are “personal identification information” and that a merchant asking for that information during a credit card...more

Massachusetts High Court Holds State Credit Card Law Intended To Protect Against Invasion Of Privacy, ZIP Codes Protected

by BuckleySandler LLP on 3/21/2013

On March 11, the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court held that a credit card holder may bring an action for violation of a state law prohibiting businesses from requiring personal identification information as part of a...more

Zip Code Requests Off-Limits in Massachusetts Credit Card Transactions

by Martin Bishop, Thomas I. Elkind, Michael Lueder | Foley & Lardner LLP on 3/21/2013

In a recent decision, Tyler v. Michaels Stores, Inc., the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court held that zip codes are “personal identification information” and that a merchant asking for that information during a credit card...more

Authorities Regarding GLBA Privacy and the FCRA

by James H. Mann | Davis Wright Tremaine LLP on 3/21/2013

One of PLA’s missions is to facilitate knowledge-management for payments practitioners. Pursuant to that mission, PLA is today posting four fundamental, but not always easily accessed, authorities regarding GLBA privacy and...more

Mortgage Banking Update - March 21, 2013

by Richard J. Andreano, Jr., Stefanie Jackman, Bruce Johnson, Anthony Kaye, Barbara S. Mishkin, Allison Mollenhauer, Amy Mushahwar, Burt M. Rublin, Trevor Salter, Matthew Saunig, more +John D. Socknat, Mercedes Kelley Tunstall, Abran Vigil, Michael S. Waldron, Shane Jasmine Young | Ballard Spahr LLP on 3/21/2013

In This Issue: - Uniform State Test Implementation Nearing - Mortgage Servicer's Alleged Failure To Be Licensed Subjects Company to Claims under State and Federal Debt Collection Statutes - Sixth Circuit...more

FTC Issues Report On Mobile Payment Consumer Protections

by BuckleySandler LLP on 3/20/2013

On March 8, the FTC released a report on mobile payments by consumers. The report, based on a FTC workshop held in April 2012, focuses on financial, security, and privacy consumer protections. The FTC encourages companies to...more

Retailers Beware: Massachusetts Court Restricts Ability To Collect ZIP Codes At Point Of Sale

by Amanda Beane, Thomas (Tom) C. Bell, Miriam Farhi | Perkins Coie on 3/19/2013

The Supreme Judicial Court of Massachusetts recently held that collecting a consumer's ZIP code at the point of sale may violate Massachusetts General Laws Chapter 93, Section 105(a) (Section 105(a)), which restricts the...more

It’s Déjà Vu All Over Again: Massachusetts Allows Actions for Violation of Privacy Rights Based on Collection of ZIP Codes

by Nicole Jeong, David McDowell, Purvi Patel | Morrison & Foerster LLP on 3/19/2013

Massachusetts appears to have followed California’s lead in opening a litigation floodgate over ZIP code collection at the point of sale. In 2011, the California Supreme Court held in Pineda v. Williams-Sonoma Stores, Inc.,...more