Consumer Finance

 In Lindblom v. Santander Consumer USA, Inc., 2016 WL 2625925, at *3-7 (E.D.Cal., 2016), Chief Judge O'Neill allowed Plaintiff's Rosenthal Act claim to proceed past the pleading stage.Plaintiff made payments on the loan by phone and online through Western Union's “Speedpay” service. To do so, Plaintiff was required to pay a fee to Western Union.   Plaintiff alleges Western Union then remitted… Read More

In Aguayo v. U.S. Bank, 2016 WL 2609296, at *2-4 (S.D.Cal., 2016), Judge Whelan granted partial summary judgment to an NOI class action plaintiff who argued that US Bank's NOI violated state law.  First, Judge Whelan rejected US Bank's conflict preemption argument. On September 24, 2009, this Court granted U.S. Bank's motion to dismiss the case based on the finding… Read More

In Chiba v. Bayview Loan Servicing, Inc., 2016 WL 2593979, at *3-4 (S.D.Cal., 2016), Judge Benitez granted summary judgment to a debt collector on the FDCPA Plaintiff's claim of improper debt validation. Plaintiff argues that she disputed the debt and requested validation from Bayview as early as November 14, 2012, yet she never received validation. She argues that because Bayview sent… Read More

In Harper v. The Law Office of Harris & Zide, LLP, 2016 WL 2344194, at *5 (N.D.Cal., 2016), Judge Gilliam certified an FDCPA class, despite the impact of the statutory cap on class certification.  Plaintiffs alleged that Defendant, acting to collect debts from the putative class on behalf of BOA, failed to provide the exact disclosure required by 15 U.S.C. §… Read More

In Weisberg v. Kensington Professional and Associates LLC, 2016 WL 1948785, at *3 (C.D.Cal., 2016), Judge Pregerson refused to stay a TCPA case pending the outcome of Spokeo because the Plaintiff alleged actual injury. The invasion of privacy and the allegation that the illegal calls cost Plaintiff and the class money — financial harm — are not speculative future injuries or… Read More

In Shaw v. Equinox Information Solutions, Inc., 2016 WL 2344353, at *3-5 (E.D.Mich., 2016), Judge Hood denied a Motion to Dismiss a FCRA case, saying that a case was better suited for summary judgment. Plaintiff's cause of action is based on her contention that Defendants inaccurately reported that the account was charged off on multiple occasions over a series of months. Specifically,… Read More

Today, the CFPB issued a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking with regard to consumer arbitration, here:  CFPB_Arbitration_Agreements_Notice_of_Proposed_Rulemaking.  The CFPB's press release is here:  CFPB Press Release. The CFPB proposal is seeking comment on a proposal to prohibit companies from putting mandatory arbitration clauses in new contracts that prevent class action lawsuits. The proposal would open up the legal system to consumers… Read More

In Sandusky Wellness Center, LLC v. Medtox Scientific, Inc., 2016 WL 1743037, at *3-4 (8th Cir. 2016), the Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit held that a TCPA blast-fax class action could proceed as a class act, reversing the district court's denial of class certification on ascertainability grounds. Sandusky's class definition includes: “All persons who (1) on or after four… Read More

 In Brown v. Collections Bureau of America, Ltd., 2016 WL 1734013, at *1-2 (N.D.Cal., 2016), Judge Seaborg allowed a TCPA class action past the pleading stage based on, well, almost nothing.In this putative class action, named plaintiff Malik Brown complains that defendant Collections Bureau of America, Ltd. has violated the Telephone Consumer Protection Act, 47 U.S.C. § 227 et seq. (“TCPA”).… Read More

In Foster v. Allianceone Receivables Management, Inc., 2016 WL 1719824, at *2 (N.D.Ill., 2016), Judge Farrah denied a motion to dismiss by a debt collector who referenced IRS charge-off rules for compromised debt.  Plaintiff incurred a debt from Capital One Bank (USA).   Defendant sent Plaintiff a single collection letter on or about March 9, 2015, advising that its client, Capital… Read More

In Luther v. Convergent Outsourcing, Inc., 2016 WL 1698396, at *6 (E.D.Mich., 2016), Judge Cohn certified an FDCPA class action, finding that the small class recovery was no impediment to class certification. A class action is superior “[w]here it is not economically feasible to obtain relief within the traditional framework of a multiplicity of small individual suits for damages, aggrieved… Read More

In Konopca v. Comcast Corp., 2016 WL 1645157, at *4 (D.N.J., 2016), Judge Arpert found that the defendant did not meet the requirements to convince the Court to stay the TCPA proceedings pending the outcome of the ACA omnibus proceedings. Third, the Court considers whether the stay would further the interest of judicial economy, and whether resolution of the appeal to… Read More

In Yu v. Design Learned, Inc., 2016 WL 1621704, at *5 (N.D.Cal., 2016), Judge Beeler dismissed an FDCPA claim because the Plaintiff did not plead that the debt was for consumer use. First, he does not allege that the debt was for personal, family, or household purposes. See 15 U.S.C. § 1692a(5). See also Bloom v. I.C. Systems, Inc., 972… Read More

In Roberts v. AT&T Mobility, LLC, 2016 WL 1660049, at *1-4 (N.D.Cal., 2016), Judge Chen enforced AT&T's arbitration clause and class action waiver against Plaintiff's constitutional challenge. Plaintiffs essentially raise three arguments as to why arbitration should not be compelled: (1) because, if this Court were to compel arbitration, that would be state action that would violate their First Amendment rights –… Read More

In Stavrinides v. Pacific Gas and Electric Company, 2016 WL 1598744, at *2 (N.D.Cal., 2016), Judge Alsup held: As an initial matter, plaintiff has not alleged that he was charged for the call, which he must allege to state a claim under the TCPA. Moreover, the complaint does not, in anything other than conclusory fashion, allege that PG&E used an… Read More

In Schwyhart v. AmSher Collection Services, Inc., 2016 WL 1620096 (N.D.Ala., 2016), Judge Ott refused to stay a TCPA case based on the pending ACA Omnibus proceedings. Having considered the parties' respective arguments for and against a stay, the court concludes that a stay is not warranted in this instance, for two primary reasons. First, AmSher's motion to stay is… Read More

In Blakeney v. Experian Information Solutions, 2016 WL 1535085, at *1-2 (N.D.Cal., 2016), Judge Koh grants a Motion to Dismiss filed by a FCRA furnisher who was alleged to have failed to properly re-investigate a dispute regarding an account that passed through Chapter 13. On November 7, 2014, Plaintiff filed for Chapter 13 bankruptcy. ECF No. 1 (“Compl.”) ¶ 5. “Chapter… Read More

There's something about all these chiropractors suing under the TCPA  Anyway, In South Orange Chiropractic Center, LLC v. Cayan, LLC d/b/a/ Capital Bankcard, 2016 WL 1441791, at *4-5 (D.Mass., 2016), Judge Saris The parties do not dispute that Defendant has offered to fully provide all requested relief for Plaintiff's individual claims under the TCPA. . . .Defendant has already fallen on… Read More

In Chen v. Allstate Ins. Co., 2016 WL 1425869, at *1-2 (9th Cir. 2016), the Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit said that it was not enough post-Campbell-Ewald to merely deposit sums with the Court in order to try to moot a TCPA class action. Florencio Pacleb filed a class action complaint against Allstate Insurance Company, alleging he received unsolicited… Read More

In Janetos v. Fulton Friedman & Gullace, LLP, 2016 WL 1382174, at *4-5 (7th Cir. 2016), the Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit held that a debt collection law firm failed to clearly identify the creditor in its debt collection validation letter and, accordingly, the Plaintiff need not demonstrate materiality by extrinsic evidence. It is true that for claims… Read More