In Gusman v. Modern Adjustment Bureau, 2011 WL 2580358 (C.D.Cal. 2011), Judge Collins applied Walls v. Wells Fargo Bank, N.A., 276 F.3d 502, 510 (9th Cir.2002) to bar a plaintiff’s FDCPA claim. In Walls, the Ninth Circuit held that claims under the FDCPA are precluded when they are premised on an alleged violations of the Bankruptcy Code, in particular the… Read More
The FRB and the FTC issued final rules implementing Dodd-Frank's credit score disclosure requirements, amending their January 10, 2010 interim risk-based pricing rules to require disclosure of credit scores and information relating to credit scores in risk-based pricing notices if a credit score of the consumer is used in setting the material terms of credit. If a credit score is used in… Read More
The Federal Trade Commission will host its second roundtable to gather information on consumers’ experiences in the sale and financing of motor vehicles at dealerships. The roundtable will be held in San Antonio, Texas, on August 2-3, 2011, and will cover topics regarding military consumers’ experiences in buying and financing motor vehicles, the role of financial literacy in consumers’ understanding… Read More
In Grden v. Leikin Ingber & Winters PC, --- F.3d ----, 2011 WL 2518901 (6th Cir. 2011), the Court of Appeals found that certain statements provided by a debt collector to a debtor about the status of an account were not subject to the FDCPA, particularly when made in response to a consumer inquiry. The text of § 1692e makes… Read More
In Wolf v. Nissan Motor Acceptance Corp., 2011 WL 2490939 (D.N.J. 2011), Judge DeBenedictis applied Concepcion to stay a class action matter, and order same to arbitration. In Wolf, Matthew S. Wolf, filed a class action suit against Defendant NMAC alleging violations to the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act, 50 U.S.C.App. §§ 501 et seq. (or, “SCRA”). Nissan moved to dismiss… Read More
In Lynch v. Nelson Watson & Associates, LLC, 2011 WL 2472588 (D.Kan. 2011), Judge Melgren held that 56 calls in a 3 month period was not too many under the FDCPA. In this case, the Court finds there is no evidence of an unacceptable pattern of calls. The record is lacking any indicia of the type of egregious conduct… Read More
Yesterday, the FCC issued an Order implementing the Truth-in-Caller-ID Act, here. The FCC's press release explained: Increasingly, bad actors are altering or manipulating caller ID information—known as caller ID spoofing—to further a wide variety of malicious schemes, from identity theft to placing false emergency calls to SWAT teams. Using spoofing services accessible through the web or prepaid cards, anyone can… Read More
In Picon v. Bank of America, N.A., 2011 WL 2470118 (M.D.Fla. 2011), Judge Steele confirmed that injunctive relief is not a remedy afforded by FCRA. In general “[a] bsent the clearest command to the contrary from Congress, federal courts retain their equitable power to issue injunctions in suits over which they have jurisdiction.” Califano v. Yamasaki, 442 U.S.… Read More
In In re Bate, --- B.R. ----, 2011 WL 2469689 (Bkrtcy.M.D.Fla. 2011), Bankruptcy Judge Williamson held that although the National Bank Act preempts state laws that prevent or significantly interfere with the exercise by national banks of their powers, and the Florida Consumer Collection Practices Act applies generally to all creditors and prohibits inappropriate debt collection practices, the FCCPA does… Read More
In Leasure v. Willmark Communities, Inc., 2011 WL 2267598 (S.D.Cal. 2011), Judge Lorenz found no controlling Ninth Circuit authority holding that rent was not a debt under the FDCPA and, accordingly, found that rent was debt under the FDCPA, following Romea v. Heiberger & Assoc., 163 F.3d. 111, 114-15 (2d Cir. 1998). Read More
In Cordes v. Frederick J. Hanna & Associates, P.C, 2011 Wl 2214939 (D. Minn. 2011), Judge Kyle followed Zortman v. J.C. Christensen & Assoc., Inc., 2011 WL 1630935 (D. Minn. 2011) in holding a debt collector liable for inadvertent disclosure to third parties by way of voicemail messages left on an answering machine. Judge Kyle rejected the debt collector's argument… Read More
In Bourgi v. West Covina Motors, Inc., 2011 WL 2207477 (2011), the California Court of Appeal held in an unpublished decision that a dealer’s use of non-OEM parts to repair a new vehicle damaged in shipment did not negate the safe harbor of Vehicle Code 9990-1. In a previous opinion, the Court had held that In Bourgi I, we… Read More
In Cappo Management V, Inc. v. Britt, --- S.E.2d ----, 2011 WL 2277386 (Va. 2011), the Supreme Court of Virginia addressed a spot delivery situation where the dealer was unable to secure financing for the consumer and, accordingly, repossessed the car. The Court found the repossession proper under Article 9 of the UCC, explaining: Applying this principle, we hold… Read More
In Daniel v. West Asset Management, Inc., 2011 WL 2412950 (E.D.Mich. 2011), Judge Lujan rejected a TCPA claim against a debt collector based on land-line calls to a debtor. “Plaintiff Rochelle Daniel filed her third amended complaint against Defendant West Asset Management, Inc. Among its twenty-two counts, the complaint asserts fourteen counts of vio-lating the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (“TCPA”)… Read More
In D.G. ex rel. Tang v. William W. Siegel & Associates, Attorneys at Law, LLC, --- F.Supp.2d ----, 2011 WL 2356390 (N.D.Ill. 2011), Judge Kocoras rejected defendant’s claim that Plaintiff lacked TCPA standing. Plaintiff Tang was the regular user and carrier of a cellular phone with an assigned number of XXX–XXX–3757. From August 5, 2010, to December 14, 2010, Siegel… Read More
In Martin v. Bureau of Collection Recovery, 2011 WL 2311869 (N.D.Ill. 2011), Judge St. Eve ordered discovery against a debt collector on it’s ‘consent’ defense under the TCPA, rejected the argument that evidence of consent was in the possession of the debt-collector’s clients or other third parties. Judge St. Eve explained: The TCPA prohibits making “any call (other than… Read More
In Brown v. Mortensen, 2011 WL 2409912 (2011), the California Supreme Court held that FCRA only preempted claims against furnishers based on duties to provide accurate information and to take action upon being notified of a dispute and that FCRA did not preempt CMIA claims based on disclosure of medical information to CRAs. Read More
In Lesher v. Law Offices Of Mitchell N. Kay, PC, --- F.3d ----, 2011 WL 2450964 (3d Cir. 2011), the Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit held that a law firm’s use of its letterhead in collection activities implied potential legal action, notwithstanding disclaimers to the contrary on the back of the letter. Nor do we believe that… Read More
In Young v. BC Services, Inc., 2011 WL 2443765 (S.D.Ala. 2011), Judge Bivens allowed a debt collector to withhold production of recordings of its debt collection conversations with the Plaintiff until after the plaintiff was deposed so that the impeachment value of the recordings would not be lost. Judge Bivens described the procedural history as follows: This is an… Read More
In LaGrou v. Ford Motor Company, 2011 WL 2152832 (2011), the Court of Appeal in an unpublished opinion upheld dismissal of a class action against an automobile manufacturer arising from its termination of a credit card incentive program, which had no annual fee but allowed cardmembers to earn a 5 percent rebate (rebate) toward the purchase or lease of a… Read More
