Consumer Finance

In I.C. v. Zynga Inc., No. 20-cv-01539-YGR, 2021 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 2227 (N.D. Cal. Jan. 6, 2021), Judge Rogers held that the defendant was entitled to limited discovery from the class representatives to obtain information to bring a proper Petition to Compel Arbitration. Currently pending in each of the captioned cases is defendant Zynga Inc.'s motion to compel arbitration or, in… Read More

In Paypal, Inc. v. Consumer Fin. Prot. Bureau, No. 19-3700 (RJL), 2020 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 244761 (D.D.C. Dec. 30, 2020), Judge Leon held that the CFPB’s Pre-Paid Card Rule exceeded the CFPB’s authority because Congress neither authorized it to require mandatory short forms nor permitted it to create a substantive restriction on a consumer's access to and use of credit under… Read More

In Santander Consumer USA, Inc. v. City of San Antonio, No. 04-20-00341-CV, 2020 Tex. App. LEXIS 10314 (Tex. App. Dec. 30, 2020), the Court of Appeal found no conflict between Gramm-Leach Bliley and the City’s impound laws.  The facts were as follows: In San Antonio, when a vehicle is abandoned, towed from a collision site, or seized in connection with… Read More

The procedural history in True Health Chiropractic Inc. v. McKesson Corp., No. 13-cv-02219-HSG, 2020 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 242297 (N.D. Cal. Dec. 24, 2020) is a handful, but sets the stage for Judge Gilliam’s ruling. Defendants were ordered to identify "each type of act that Defendants believe demonstrates a recipient's express permission to receive faxes (e.g. completing a software registration), (2)… Read More

In In re StockX Customer Data Sec. Breach Litig., No. 19-12441, 2020 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 241178 (E.D. Mich. Dec. 23, 2020), Judge Roberts ordered the class representative’s claims to arbitration, despite the fact that they were minors when they signed the Terms of Service containing the Arbitration Clause. This action arises from a data breach to StockX's system which occurred… Read More

In Donovan v. FirstCredit, Inc., No. 20-3485, 2020 U.S. App. LEXIS 39798 (6th Cir. Dec. 18, 2020) the Court of Appeals for the 6th Circuit reversed the trial court’s ruling granting FirstCredit’s motion for judgment on the pleadings and in doing so, rejected a “benign language” exception to 15 U.S.C. § 1692f(8) of  the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (“FDCPA”).… Read More

In Hanrahan v. Statewide Collection, Inc., No. 19-cv-00157-MMC, 2020 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 242290 (N.D. Cal. Dec. 23, 2020), Judge Chesney granted partial summary judgment to a Rosenthal Act Plaintiff.  She held that the bond fide error rule can apply to mistakes of fact, but not where the mistake occurred with respect to a well-publicized error made by the debt collector.… Read More

In Nettles v. Midland Funding LLC, No. 19-3327, 2020 U.S. App. LEXIS 40012 (7th Cir. Dec. 21, 2020), the Court of Appeals for the 7th Circuit declined to address arbitration of an FDCPA case because of lack of Art. III jurisdiction to start. Most of the briefing concerns the arbitration issue, but the parties also identify a possible problem with… Read More

In Trujillo v. Free Energy Sav. Co., LLC, No. 5:19-cv-02072-MCS-SP, 2020 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 239730 (C.D. Cal. Dec. 21, 2020), Judge Scarsi rejected the argument that Barr created a finite period of constitutional infirmity for the TCPA. Defendant does not present any authority deeming a statute ineffective, in whole or in part, where the statute suffered a finite period of constitutional infirmity… Read More

On the heels of the October 2020 Debt Collection Final Rule issued by the Consumer Finance Protection Bureau (CFPB), on December 18, 2020, the CFPB issued an additional final rule implementing the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act. The December 2020 final rule and an executive summary are available here: https://www.consumerfinance.gov/compliance/compliance-resources/other-applicable-requirements/debt-collection/. The December 2020 final rule primarily addresses the (1) requirements… Read More

In Steube v. Santander Consumer United States, No. 19-cv-522-wmc, 2020 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 236322 (W.D. Wis. Dec. 16, 2020), Judge Conley granted summary judgment against a debtor who claimed to have protested during a repossession. More to the point, in describing what constitutes a protest for purposes of 11 constituting a "breach of the peace," the Hollibush court explained that… Read More

In Slaughter v. Reg'l Acceptance Corp., No. 2:20-cv-01888, 2020 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 234729 (S.D. Ohio Dec. 14, 2020), Judge Marbley declined to exercise supplemental jurisdiction over a collection counter-claim to a TCPA case. The Court declines to exercise supplemental jurisdiction over Regional's counterclaim for breach of contract in view of the second and fourth considerations. With respect to the former,… Read More

In Robinson v. Capital One Auto Fin., No. 1:20-cv-23105-UU, 2020 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 234681 (S.D. Fla. Dec. 11, 2020), Judge Ungaro dismissed a case against an auto lender under TILA based on ‘predatory lending’. Further, "there is no cause of action under TILA for predatory lending practices." Pickard v. Serra Mazda, Case No. 2:19-cv-02119-JHE, 2020 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 184125, *22-23… Read More

In Reygadas v. DNF Assocs., LLC, No. 19-3167, 2020 U.S. App. LEXIS 38989 (8th Cir. Dec. 14, 2020), the Court of Appeals held that a debt buyer was subject to the FDCPA. Emphasizing that the Supreme Court in Henson overruled the so-called "default test," DNF argues that the debt buyer is a creditor -- a person "to whom a debt… Read More

In Maclean v. Collection Bureau of Am., Ltd., No. 3:20-cv-00426-JLS-DEB, 2020 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 233508 (S.D. Cal. Dec. 11, 2020), Judge Sammartino dismissed an FDCPA claim based on language in a validation letter regarding fee accrual. Defendant contends that the language included in the collection letter is appropriate and is nearly identical to the language relied on by multiple circuits… Read More

In Dollaga v. Specialized Loan Servicing Llc, No. 20-cv-07472-JSC, 2020 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 233610 (N.D. Cal. Dec. 11, 2020), Magistrate Judge Corley remanded a Rosenthal Act claim for wont of federal question jurisdiction. Plaintiff's complaint seeks damages and injunctive relief for: (1) breach of contract; (2) breach of the implied covenant of good faith and fair dealing; (3) intentional interference… Read More

In Grigorian v. Fca Us Ltd. Liab. Co., No. 19-15026, 2020 U.S. App. LEXIS 38370 (11th Cir. Dec. 9, 2020), the Court of Appeals affirmed the District Court’s dismissal of a TCPA class action on standing grounds, declining to reach the issue of whether ringless voicemail technology is subject to the TCPA. FCA manufactures motor vehicles and sells those vehicles… Read More

In Alan v. JP Morgan Chase Bank, NA, No. 2:20-cv-04544 AB (AFMx), 2020 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 230614 (C.D. Cal. Dec. 7, 2020), Judge Birotte denied a motion for reconsideration of his ruling in favor of a creditor under the Rosenthal Act. Further, as the Court previously noted, standing under the Rosenthal Act occurs when a Plaintiff "owes the debt or… Read More

During a telephone conference call on December 8 labeled as a “listening session,” California’s newly renamed DFPI (formerly DBO) provided additional details about its upcoming plans for rulemaking related to the California Consumer Financial Protection Law (AB 1864, aka the mini-CFPB) and related to the Debt Collectors License Act (SB 908). Similar to what was discussed during the first such… Read More

In Woodard v. O'Brien, No. 2:18-cv-1523, 2020 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 228608 (S.D. Ohio Dec. 4, 2020), Judge Marbley addressed the standards for an ID theft victim to prove an FDCPA claim. When determining if an individual is a "consumer" under the FDCPA, the typical inquiry is to ask whether the debt was for "personal, family, or household purposes." Martin v.… Read More