In a matter of first impression, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit has ruled that the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA) requirement for a debt collector to "cease collection of the debt" after receipt...more
Debt collectors should take note of a recent decision by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit holding that a Texas federal district court was justified in relying on "special circumstances"...more
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit recently ruled that an auto repossession company's alleged demand that a debtor pay an administrative property retrieval fee to retrieve personal property left in her...more
In Loja v. Main Street Acquisition Corporation, the plaintiff filed a lawsuit in federal district court for alleged FDCPA violations against Main Street Acquisition Corporation and the law firm it retained to file a state...more
New York has enacted legislation that requires creditors to provide new disclosures when using devices to remotely disable vehicles, commonly referred to as “kill switches.” The new law took effect immediately upon its...more
10/16/2018
/ Automation Systems ,
Automotive Loans ,
Creditors ,
Debt Collection ,
Default ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Motor Vehicles ,
New Legislation ,
Repossess ,
State and Local Government ,
Uniform Commercial Code (UCC)
In Scheffler v. Gurstel Chargo, P.A., the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit rejected a career plaintiff’s attempts to manufacture a Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA) claim by baiting a debt collector into...more
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit has ruled that although the plaintiffs had plausibly alleged facts stating a claim that a debt collector had violated the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA) by not using...more
Weltman, Weinberg & Reis Co., L.P.A., the law firm that recently defeated the CFPB’s FDCPA lawsuit against it, has filed a motion seeking attorney’s fees of approximately $1.2 million from the CFPB....more
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit has ruled that because the plaintiff’s attorney had not yet filed a written appearance or pleading with the Illinois state court where the defendant law firm had filed a...more
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit held in Tepper v. Amos Fin., LLC, that debt buyers (i.e., entities collecting, on their own behalf, consumer debts they acquired when the debts were in default), can qualify as...more
A report issued last week by the U.S. Treasury Department recommends sweeping regulatory changes intended to promote innovation in the consumer financial services market, reduce regulatory burdens on consumer financial...more
8/8/2018
/ Consumer Financial Products ,
Consumer Information ,
Data Security ,
Debt Collection ,
Financial Services Industry ,
FinTech ,
Innovation ,
Non-Bank Lenders ,
Online Marketplace Lending ,
Reassigned Phone Numbers ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Regulatory Oversight ,
Regulatory Requirements ,
Special Purpose National Bank Charter ,
Student Loans ,
TCPA ,
True Lender ,
U.S. Treasury ,
Valid When Made Doctrine
Resolving tension between New York and federal law, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit has ruled that a debtor must show that a debt collector's alleged false representation was material for it to be a "false,...more
8/3/2018
/ Consumer Financial Products ,
Creditors ,
Debt Collection ,
FDCPA ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Foreclosure ,
Judicial Intervention ,
Misrepresentation ,
Mortgage Servicers ,
Motion to Dismiss ,
Unfair or Deceptive Trade Practices
The one-year statute of limitations (SOL) for Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA) claims begins to run when the alleged violation occurs and not when it is discovered, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit...more
A consumer's alleged oral revocation of consent to receive autodialed or prerecorded calls to his cell phone was ineffective under the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) when his credit card agreement provided that...more
A company did not violate the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA) by creating a false impression that it was meaningfully involved in a medical center’s debt collection, even though it “did not engage in many of the...more
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit recently ruled that a debtor must show that a debt collector's alleged false representation was material for it to be a "false, deceptive, or misleading representation" in...more
The second presentation of the 23rd Annual Consumer Financial Services Institute, sponsored by the Practising Law Institute, will take place in Chicago on May 7-8, 2018. ...more
The CFPB has issued its twelfth Semi-Annual Report to the President and Congress covering the period April 1, 2017 through September 1, 2017....more
4/5/2018
/ Administrative Authority ,
Banking Sector ,
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) ,
Debt Collection ,
FDCPA ,
Financial Regulatory Reform ,
HMDA ,
Payday Loans ,
Proposed Rules ,
Regulation CC ,
Regulatory Oversight ,
Restructuring ,
Single Director ,
Title Loans
A letter sent to collect a time-barred debt that makes a settlement offer can, even without a threat of legal action, violate the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act's (FDCPA) general prohibition against a debt collector's use...more
2/19/2018
/ Appeals ,
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) ,
Debt Collection ,
Debt Collectors ,
FDCPA ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Motion to Dismiss ,
Settlement Offer ,
Statute of Limitations ,
Time-Barred Debt ,
Unfair or Deceptive Trade Practices
Safe harbor language is not always safe, as illustrated by a recent decision of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals in Boucher v. Finance System of Green Bay....more
A federal district court in Pennsylvania recently granted summary judgment to a debtor in a lawsuit filed against a collection law firm under the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA)....more
A debt collector cannot avoid claims under the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA) by purchasing the debtor's lawsuit, according to a recent opinion from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. ...more
Businesses that have not already done so should consult with counsel regarding "consent to be called" provisions in their consumer contracts in the wake of the decision by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit...more
Much attention has been devoted to the issuance very soon of the CFPB’s small-dollar lending rule. I thought that once that rule was issued, Richard Cordray would soon thereafter resign as Director to return to Ohio to run...more
A debt-collection law firm's overstatements in a state court complaint of $3,000 in the principal amount due and 0.315 percent in the interest rate were actionable under the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA) as...more