A Pennsylvania federal judge has imposed sanctions and lambasted a law firm and its attorneys for having employees write falsified letters on behalf of clients involved in debt collection disputes....more
8/21/2024
/ Consumer Financial Products ,
Debt ,
Debt Collection ,
Debt Collectors ,
Employees ,
FDCPA ,
Financial Institutions ,
Financial Regulatory Reform ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Sanctions ,
Written Communications
Joining every other circuit to address the same issue, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit recently ruled that a consumer does not have to prove actual damages to recover statutory damages for willful...more
11/17/2023
/ Class Action ,
Class Certification ,
Credit Reports ,
Damages ,
Debt Collection ,
Debt Collectors ,
Experian ,
Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) ,
Financial Services Industry ,
FRCP 23 ,
Healthcare ,
Medical Debt ,
Regulatory Violations ,
Statutory Damages ,
Summary Judgment
In Allan v. Pa. Higher Educ. Assistance Agency, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit held that the Telephone Consumer Protection Act’s (TCPA) statutory definition of an automatic telephone dialing system (“ATDS”)...more
On July 6, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in Barr v. American Association of Political Consultants that the Telephone Consumer Protection Act’s exception from its automated call restriction for calls to collect government debts...more
7/9/2020
/ ATDS ,
Auto-Dialed Calls ,
Barr v American Association of Political Consultants Inc ,
Cell Phones ,
Compelling Governmental Interest ,
Constitutional Challenges ,
Content-Based Restrictions ,
Debt Collection ,
Exceptions ,
Federal Bans ,
First Amendment ,
Free Speech ,
Government Debt-Exception ,
Robocalling ,
SCOTUS ,
Severability Doctrine ,
Strict Scrutiny Standard ,
TCPA
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit held last week, in Medley v. DISH Network, LLC, that the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) does not allow a consumer to unilaterally revoke consent to receive...more
The U.S. Supreme Court has agreed to decide whether the Telephone Consumer Protection Act’s exception from its automated call restriction for calls to collect government debts violates the First Amendment of the U.S....more
1/15/2020
/ Auto-Dialed Calls ,
Barr v American Association of Political Consultants Inc ,
Certiorari ,
Constitutional Challenges ,
Content-Based Restrictions ,
Debt Collection ,
Discrimination ,
FDCPA ,
First Amendment ,
Free Speech ,
Government Debt-Exception ,
Petition for Writ of Certiorari ,
SCOTUS ,
Severability Doctrine ,
Solicitor General ,
Strict Scrutiny Standard ,
TCPA
A unanimous three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit in Duguid v. Facebook, Inc., has reaffirmed the broad reading of the Telephone Consumer Protection Act’s (TCPA) definition of an automatic...more
6/19/2019
/ ATDS ,
Constitutional Challenges ,
Debt Collection ,
Facebook ,
Financial Services Industry ,
First Amendment ,
Free Speech ,
Putative Class Actions ,
Social Media ,
TCPA ,
Text Messages
Plans announced on May 15 by the FCC to empower voice service providers to offer more aggressive call-blocking programs could create significant problems for creditors and debt collectors. ...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
Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) litigation has increased in 2017 and shows little sign of slowing. While a plaintiff’s actual damages may be minimal, the statute’s award of reasonable attorney’s fees and costs for a...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
A plaintiff did not have Article III standing to assert claims under the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) for alleged autodialed calls made to her without her consent, a California federal district court recently...more
9/7/2016
/ Article III ,
ATDS ,
Auto-Dialed Calls ,
Banking Sector ,
Consumer Lenders ,
Debt Collection ,
Debt Collectors ,
Invasion of Privacy ,
Prior Express Consent ,
Robocalling ,
Spokeo v Robins ,
Standing ,
TCPA
A plaintiff did not have Article III standing to assert claims under the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) for alleged autodialed calls made to her without her consent, a California federal district court recently...more
8/22/2016
/ Article III ,
Auto-Dialed Calls ,
Banking Sector ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Debt Collection ,
Dismissals ,
Injury-in-Fact ,
Popular ,
Prior Express Consent ,
Robocalling ,
Standing ,
TCPA
The Federal Trade Commission's (FTC) Bureau of Consumer Protection issued a Staff Comment on June 16, 2016, supporting several of the Federal Communication Commission's (FCC) proposed regulations implementing amendments to...more
In a new white paper, ACA International, a trade association for members of the credit and collection industry, argues that the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) must be modernized to accurately reflect the current...more
The Bipartisan Budget Act of 2015 (Act) amended the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) to remove the prior express consent requirement for calls ''made solely to collect a debt owed to or guaranteed by the United...more
5/13/2016
/ ATDS ,
Banking Sector ,
Bipartisan Budget ,
Cell Phones ,
Comment Period ,
Debt Collection ,
FCC ,
Federal Loans ,
Mortgages ,
NPRM ,
Prior Express Consent ,
TCPA
The new Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) exemption for calls made to cellular numbers to collect debts owed to or guaranteed by the United States applies retroactively to calls made before the exemption's effective...more
4/18/2016
/ ATDS ,
Bipartisan Budget ,
Cell Phones ,
Debt Collection ,
Exemptions ,
FCC ,
Federal Loans ,
Federal Student Loans ,
Popular ,
Retroactive Application ,
TCPA
A recent letter from Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Chairman Tom Wheeler describes the regulations being considered by the FCC for implementing new Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) exemptions for calls made...more
3/16/2016
/ Auto-Dialed Calls ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Debt Collection ,
Exemptions ,
FCC ,
IRS ,
NPRM ,
Popular ,
Prior Express Consent ,
Robocalling ,
TCPA
A creditor that received a consumer's cell phone number through an intermediary had the consumer's ''prior express consent'' under the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) to receive calls from a debt collector, the U.S....more
2/29/2016
/ Auto-Dialed Calls ,
Cell Phones ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Debt Collection ,
FCC ,
Health Care Providers ,
Popular ,
Prior Express Consent ,
Putative Class Actions ,
Summary Judgment ,
TCPA
Prior to the amendment, these calls would have been prohibited absent the recipient’s prior express consent if placed to a cellular telephone and if they were made by an automatic telephone dialing system or included an...more
As previously reported, the Federal Communications Commission recently approved a Declaratory Ruling and Order (the Order) addressing a number of petitions that requested the FCC clarify its interpretations of the Telephone...more
7/14/2015
/ Auto-Dialed Calls ,
Collection Agencies ,
Debt Collection ,
Declaratory Rulings ,
Exemptions ,
FCC ,
Financial Institutions ,
Healthcare ,
Prior Express Consent ,
Revocation ,
TCPA ,
Telemarketing ,
Text Messages