On May 3, the Governor of Tennessee signed into law HB 2320 (the “Act”), which will amend pleading requirements for consumer debt suits and garnishment exemptions. The Act would require that, in a civil suit or arbitration...more
Payroll garnishments — “continuing earnings garnishments” — are court-ordered procedures that require an employer to withhold certain amounts from an employee’s paycheck and send those amounts directly to a third-person...more
FIA Card Services, NA (FIA) obtained a default judgment in a collection action against Jerome Redman in West Virginia state court. FIA, through its counsel Javitch Block LLC (Javitch), then filed a wage garnishment action...more
New York Governor Kathy Hochul recently signed legislation designed to prevent New York hospitals and medical providers from employing certain collection practices against patients with medical debt. This protection became...more
When a consumer fails to pay a debt, the creditor may engage in proceedings to collect, which may result in a court issuing a garnishment notice directing a bank to freeze and turn over funds in the consumer's deposit account...more
'Tis the season for returning to school and learning something new. When I was growing up, we learned the long multiplication algorithm by which you multiply numbers right to left, insert zeros along the way, write some...more
New York AG Letitia James reached a settlement with debt collector Andrew Fanelli and his companies (collectively “Fanelli”) to resolve allegations that Fanelli ran an illegal debt collection scheme in violation of the...more
Why the Overturned Eviction Moratorium May be Too Little, Too Late for Both Renters, Landlords - "However, the ruling doesn’t mean renters in states without protections will be immediately removed from their homes — an...more
Washington AG Bob Ferguson reached a settlement with Denver-based collection agency Machol & Johannes, LLC and its present and former owners (collectively “M&J”) to resolve allegations that the company engaged in unlawful...more
On June 8, 2020 the Washington Attorney General’s office (Washington AG) announced that a consent order had been reached with a Colorado-based debt collection agency that would require the agency to pay $475,000 to...more
The Second Circuit Court of Appeals recently upheld a ruling that reporting a judgment as “satisfied” was accurate under the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) when the underlying lawsuit was dismissed by stipulation as...more
Like most industries today, Consumer Finance Services businesses are being significantly impacted by the novel coronavirus (COVID-19). Troutman Pepper has developed a dedicated COVID-19 Resource Center to guide clients...more
Effective January 1, 2021, several key components of Georgia’s existing garnishment code were amended. Who Can Be Served? Plaintiff-creditors may now serve garnishments on a defendant-debtor’s employer or another...more
A number of state officials and regulators have taken steps to decrease the economic burdens stemming from COVID-19 on consumers in their states, including by placing additional restrictions on debt collection practices. ...more
Filing a bankruptcy petition automatically halts efforts to collect pre-petition debts from the debtor outside of bankruptcy. If a creditor wants to continue a lawsuit against a debtor outside of bankruptcy, repossess...more
If an individual or business owes but has not paid federal taxes, the IRS will make efforts to collect these taxes. The IRS will first send a series of notices requesting payment, but if the taxpayer does not respond to the...more
CFPB Takes Action Against Servicemember Auto Lender Security National Automotive Acceptance Company - On October 28, 2015, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) filed an administrative order against Security...more
Though it eventually reached the Eleventh Circuit, the Court’s decision in Miljkovic v. Shafritz & Dinkin, P.A., — F. 3d. –, No. 14-13715, 2015 WL 3956570 (11th Cir. June 30, 2015), had its origins in Florida state court,...more
Today, much-needed attention is being paid to wage garnishments. National Public Radio (NPR) released a story concerning the increasing use of wage garnishments to collect debts. The NPR piece relies on a report also released...more