Consumer Finance

In Perez v. Indian Harbor Ins. Co., No. 4:19-cv-07288-YGR, 2021 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 118267, at *2-4 (N.D. Cal. June 24, 2021), Judge Gonzalez Rogers said that Duguid was not much help to an insurance carrier fighting a final TCPA judgment entered against its insured. In this action, Ignacio Perez is now seeking to recover monies against Indian Harbor. (See Dkt. No. 1 at… Read More

In Hufnus v. Donotpay, Inc., No. 20-cv-08701-VC, 2021 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 118325, at *1-5 (N.D. Cal. June 24, 2021), Judge Chhabria dismissed a TCPA claim on the basis that defendant did not call using an ATDS. DoNotPay's motion to dismiss is granted. To state a claim under the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA), Hufnus must allege that DoNotPay sent messages using… Read More

In TransUnion LLC v. Ramirez, No. 20-297, 2021 U.S. LEXIS 3401, at *1-7 (June 25, 2021), the Supreme Court held that every classmember must meet Art. III Standing.  SCOTUS explained in the syllabus: The Fair Credit Reporting Act regulates the consumer reporting agencies that compile and disseminate personal information about consumers. 15 U. S. C. §1681 et seq. The Act also creates a cause… Read More

In  Bruce v. Am. Honda Fin. Corp., No. 3:20-cv-00128-ECM, 2021 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 107187, at *9 (M.D. Ala. June 8, 2021), Judge Marks ruled against a FCRA Plaintiff on the claim that identification of the amount monthly payment on a closed, zero-balanced account is "inaccurate" and suggests to users that the account is open. Now pending before the Court is… Read More

In Timms v. Usaa Fed. Sav. Bank, No. 3:18-cv-01495-SAL, 2021 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 108083, at *8 (D.S.C. June 9, 2021), Judge Lydon ruled against a TCPA plaintiff on whether an aspect dialer was an ATDS after Duguid.  Defendant's Motion submits that it is entitled to judgment as a matter of law on the TCPA claim because it did not use an ATDS… Read More

In Horn v. Liberty Ins. Underwriters, Inc., No. 19-12525, 2021 U.S. App. LEXIS 16279, at *1-3 (11th Cir. June 1, 2021), the Court of Appeals affirmed summary judgment for an insurance carrier regarding a dispute over coverage for a TCPA action. This appeal requires us to interpret an insurance agreement between iCan Benefit Group, LLC, a Florida company, and its… Read More

In Garland v. Orlans, PC, No. 20-1527, 2021 U.S. App. LEXIS 16107, at *7 (6th Cir. May 28, 2021), the Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit found no Article III standing arising from a debt collector's dunning letters sent to the Plaintiff. The Court of Appeals found that the confusion the Plaintiff allegedly suffered from the dunning letter did… Read More

In Mott v. PNC Fin. Servs. Grp., Inc., No. 20-15744, 2021 U.S. App. LEXIS 16085 (9th Cir. May 28, 2021), the Court of Appeals affirmed dismissal of an FDCPA case in an unpublished decision. Mott points to two letters, sent on February 23, 2016 and March 17, 2016, in which Trojan specified an 8.63 percent interest rate, when, based on… Read More

In Cheetham v. Specialized Loan Servicing LLC, No. 2:20-CV-762-JCC-DWC, 2021 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 99759 (W.D. Wash. May 26, 2021), Judge Cristel protected inquiry by a Furnisher from a FCRA plaintiff of the Plaintiff’s settlement with the CRAs. SLS seeks to compel Jon to respond to a deposition question inquiring into the total sum of monies Plaintiffs received from each CRA… Read More

In LaGuardia v. Designer Brands, Inc., No. 2:20-cv-2311, 2021 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 97396 (S.D. Ohio May 24, 2021), Magistrate Judge Morrison rejected the Creasy holding on the constitutionality of the TCPA after Barr.  Since the AAPC decision was issued less than a year ago, district courts have split on the application of AAPC to TCPA claims arising between 2015-2020. Two courts have… Read More

In Cranor v. 5 Star Nutrition, L.L.C., No. 19-51173, 2021 U.S. App. LEXIS 15795 (5th Cir. May 26, 2021), the Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit found Art. III standing arising from the sending of a single text message. On similar facts, the Eleventh Circuit concluded there is no common law analogue to the harm of receiving an unwanted… Read More

In Lenzini v. DCM Servs., LLC, No. 4:20-cv-07612-YGR, 2021 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 100007 (N.D. Cal. May 26, 2021), Judge Gonzalez Rogers dismissed an FDCPA claim. Notwithstanding the foregoing, Lenzini avers that the letter fails to satisfy the FDCPA where the letter (1) does not specifically use any modifying language to denote that Capitol One is the current creditor, and (2)… Read More

In Henry v. Vantage Credit Union, No. 4:20-cv-01865-SRC, 2021 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 101571 (E.D. Mo. May 28, 2021), Judge Clark granted an auto finance company’s motion to compel arbitration. As stated above, state law governs the validity of an arbitration agreement and Henry's argument has been explicitly rejected in Missouri. See Boulds v. Chase Auto Finance Corp., 266 S.W.3d 847… Read More

In Best v. Ocwen Loan Servicing (May 21, 2021) ___Cal.App.5th___ [2021 Cal. App. LEXIS 423] the court rejected arguments by a mortgage loan servicer and beneficiary that the Rosenthal Fair Debt Collection Pracitices Act did not apply to non-judicial foreclosures, relying on Obduskey v. McCarthy & Holthus LLP (2019) 139 S.Ct. 1029 and Davidson v. Seterus, Inc. (2018) 21 Cal.App.5th… Read More

In Leyse v. Bank of Am. Nat'l Ass'n, No. 20-1666, 2021 U.S. App. LEXIS 14897, at *1-3 (3d Cir. May 19, 2021), the Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit found that a TCPA Plaintiff had no standing. On March 11, 2005, DialAmerica Marketing, Inc., on behalf of Bank of America, called the residential telephone line that Leyse shared with… Read More

In Davidson v. United Auto Credit Corp., No. 1:20-cv-1263 (LMB/JFA), 2021 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 95302, at *11-17 (E.D. Va. May 19, 2021), Judge Brinkema dismissed a claim against an automobile lender under the Military Lending Act because Plaintiff's theory was based on a DoD interpretation that had been withdrawn. On December 14, 2017, using the same question and answer format,… Read More

Friends, We started this as a research bank 13 years ago, before law firm 'blogs became ubiquitous.  Some have come and some have gone, but we've remained constant. In 13 years, we're now tallying almost 3,000 posts summarizing consumer financial services decisions for our subscribers, and the 'blog has evolved from a timely news source to also historical research tool.… Read More

In Pearson v. April Healthcare Grp., 2021 U.S.Dist.LEXIS 90010 (S.D.Cal. 2021), Judge Hayes granted summary judgment to a debt collector attempting to collect a medical debt despite the availability of medical insurance. Denial of a plaintiff's motion for partial summary judgment as to the plaintiff's FDCPA claim is appropriate when "no mention of [the] plaintiff's debt was conveyed at any… Read More

In  Klein v. Affiliated Grp., Inc., No. 19-3562, 2021 U.S. App. LEXIS 10602 (8th Cir. Apr. 14, 2021) the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit affirmed summary judgment on behalf of debt collectors related to claims they violated the FDCPA in connection with the assignment of a collection agreement. The plaintiff owed money to a hospital, North Memorial… Read More

In FTC v. Am. Future Sys., No. 20-2266, 2021 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 83401, at *3-4 (E.D. Pa. Apr. 30, 2021), Judge Slomsky allowed the FTC to proceed on unfair debt collection claims against a debt collection agency collecting on business related education and publication debts. On May 13, 2020, the FTC initiated this action against American Future Systems, Inc. ("AFS"),… Read More