Consumer Finance

In Thompson v. Portfolio Recovery Assocs., No. 19-cv-62220-SINGHAL/Valle, 2020 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 72971, at *4-6 (S.D. Fla. Apr. 25, 2020), the District Court granted summary judgment to a debt collector in a TCPA case. A. The "Called Party".  From what can be gathered, it appears case law on the undefined term "called party" is rather thin. Nevertheless, PRA insists Plaintiff… Read More

In Navient Sols., LLC v. Law Offices of Jeffrey Lohman, No. 1:19-cv-461(LMB/TCB), 2020 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 65648, at *22-25 (E.D. Va. Apr. 14, 2020), Judge Brinkema allowed a number of claims, including RICO, to proceed arising from an alleged scheme to defraud a national student loan servicer through manufactured TCPA litigation and arbitration claims. Lastly, defendants argue that even if… Read More

In Nbt Bank Na, No. 528759, 2020 N.Y. App. Div. LEXIS 2382, at *3-4 (App. Div. 3rd Dept. Apr. 16, 2020), the N.Y. Appellate Division held that a floorplan lender properly debited a dealer's dealer reserve. Upon our review of the record, we find that a fair interpretation of the evidence supports Supreme Court's determination that the "dealer reserve account… Read More

In Matthias v. Tate & Kirlin Assocs., No. 19-cv-182-slc, 2020 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 63894, at *8-9 (W.D. Wis. Apr. 13, 2020), Judge Crocker was unpersuaded that individual questions of commercial versus consumer debt could defeat class certification in an FDCPA dunning letter class action. Similarly, there is no authority supporting defendants' contention that Matthias must show that each putative class… Read More

In Holly v. Alta Newport Hosp., Inc., No. 2:19-cv-07496-ODW (MRWx), 2020 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 64104, at *1-3 (C.D. Cal. Apr. 10, 2020), Judge Wright held that a data breach victim, on behalf of a putative class, did not plead enough.    The facts were as follows: On October [*2]  18, 2019, Plaintiff Sallie Holly filed her First Amended Complaint ("FAC"). (FAC,… Read More

In Gilliam v. Psg Ks, No. 18-56373, 2020 U.S. App. LEXIS 11706, at *2-3 (9th Cir. Apr. 14, 2020), the Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit held that a loan obtained by a trustee for the benefit of a beneficiary remained a 'consumer credit transaction'. This case presents an issue of first impression under federal and state regulation of… Read More

In Duran v. La Boom Disco, Inc., No. 19-600-cv, 2020 U.S. App. LEXIS 10861, at *16-22 (2d Cir. Apr. 7, 2020), the Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit followed the 9th Circuit's decision in Marks. The next question is whether the ExpressText and EZ Texting programs also have the second capacity required by the statute to be ATDSs—the "capacity… Read More

In Hayward v. Bank of Am., N.A., No. 2:16-cv-03047-MCE-DMC, 2020 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 60318, at *19-25 (E.D. Cal. Apr. 6, 2020), Judge England denied summary judgment in a Rosenthal Act case. In support of her Second Claim, for violation of California's Rosenthal Act, Plaintiff alleges that [*20]  BANA made harassing calls to Plaintiff and in so doing used false and unconscionable… Read More

In Bryan v. Credit Control, LLC, No. 19-244-cv, 2020 U.S. App. LEXIS 10519, at *7-9 (2d Cir. Apr. 3, 2020), the Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit gave guidance on disclosure of "true creditor" in a credit card collection transaction for a credit card for a private label retailer. In arguing that Credit Control violated Section 1692g, Bryan insists… Read More

In Brogan v. Fred Beans Motors of Doylestown, Inc., No. 17-5628, 2020 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 58863, at *35-37 (E.D. Pa. Apr. 3, 2020), Judge Kenney found that an automobile transaction that involved multiple RISC re-writes and multiple lender declinations did not violate TILA. In Count IV, Plaintiff alleges that the "Federal Truth in Lending Disclosures in the retail sales installment… Read More

Amid the COVID-19 pandemic, the FCC met remotely on Tuesday March 31, 2020 and took the next step in implementing the TRACED Act. The TRACED Act was enacted on December 30, 2019, with the stated purpose of “helping to reduce illegal and unwanted robocalls” through numerous mechanisms. Along with other provisions directed at addressing robocalls, the TRACED Act directed the… Read More

The American Bankers Association, Consumer Bankers Association, AFSA, Credit Union National Association, Independent Community Bankers of America, Mortgage Bankers Association, and National Association of Federally Insured Credit Unions filed a petition for expedited declaratory ruling with the Federal Communications Commission. The petition seeks an expedited declaratory ruling confirming that phone calls and text messages placed by banks, credit unions, and… Read More

In DeCapua v. Metro. Prop. & Cas. Ins. Co., No. 18-590 WES, 2020 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 47695 (D.R.I. Mar. 18, 2020), Judge Smith granted a TCPA defendant’s motion to dismiss. The Court accepts the R&R's reasoning. See Glasser, 948 F.3d at 1312 ("Far from automatically dialing phone numbers, this system requires a human's involvement to do everything except press the… Read More

In Hagood v. Portfolio Recovery Assocs., LLC, No. 3:18-CV-1510-NJR, 2020 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 47507 (S.D. Ill. Mar. 19, 2020), Judge Rosenstengel followed the Gadelhak decision and granted summary judgment to a TCPA defendant, finding that no ATDS was used under the TCPA. Hagood argues that this definition of an ATDS should be construed to cover any device that automatically dials… Read More

In Gadomski v. Patelco Credit Union, No. 2:17-cv-00695-TLN-AC, 2020 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 51070 (E.D. Cal. Mar. 23, 2020), Judge Nunley dismissed an FDCPA case because of the lack of damages. Plaintiff further contends that FRCA plaintiffs may prove a claim for actual damages by showing the unreasonable investigation of a credit dispute has resulted in emotional harm or humiliation, even… Read More

In McAdory v. DNF Associates, LLC (9th Cir. 2020), the Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit followed the Third Circuit’s decision in Barbato v. Greystone All., LLC (3d Cir. 2019) 916 F.3d 260, to find that a company whose principal business activity is buying defaulted debts from creditors is a "debt collector" for purposes of the FDCPA even if… Read More

Forbes reported that it received an email from representatives of Attorney General Xavier Becerra refusing an industry group request to delay enforcement of the California Consumer Privacy Act of 2018 (“CCPA”) due to the ongoing disruptions caused by the response to 2019 novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV) (“COVID-19”).  With California on lockdown, and most businesses forced to close or have employees work… Read More

In Campbell v. Facebook, Inc., __ F.3d __, 2020 WL 1023350, The Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit held that violations of the federal Electronic Communications Privacy Act, 18 U.S.C. § 2510, et seq. (ECPA) and the California Invasion of Privacy Act, Cal. Pen. Code § 630, et seq. (CIPA) are, in and of themselves sufficient, without further allegations… Read More

In Cagayat v. United Collection Bureau, Inc, No. 19-3431, 2020 U.S. App. LEXIS 7234 (6th Cir. Mar. 9, 2020), the Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit adopted and expanded the Third Circuit’s  Douglass decision to apply to an enclosed letter’s text that bleeds through an envelope. The Letters attached as exhibits do not utterly discredit Cagayat's assertion that the… Read More

In Northrup v. Innovative Health Ins., No. 8:17-cv-1890-T-36JSS, 2020 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 31851, at *12-21 (M.D. Fla. Feb. 25, 2020), Judge Honeywell granted summary judgment to a TCPA defendant. The Eleventh Circuit's holding that a device qualifies as an ATDS only if it uses a random or sequential number generator resolved a large part of the consolidated appeals. One of… Read More