Consumer Finance

In De Armas v. Financial Corp. of America, --- F.Supp.3d ----, 2014 WL 4922373 (S.D.Fla. 2014), Judge Martinez found that a debt collector did not violate the FDCPA by failing to give validation notices in Spanish, or when the debt collector included instructions in Spanish for Spanish speakers to call the debt collector.  In Ehrich v. I.C. Sys., Inc., 681 F.Supp.2d 265 (E.D.N.Y.2010), the District… Read More

In Abdullah v. Ocwen Loan Servicing, Inc., 2014 WL 4851760 (M.D.Ga. 2014), Judge Royal found that auto-dialed loan servicing calls to a residential land-line were not actionable under the TCPA. Plaintiff alleges Ocwen violated 47 U.S.C. § 227(b)(1)(B) of the TCPA by using an automated telephone dialing system to call her telephone line and leave recorded messages without permission. Ocwen's telephone calls,… Read More

In McKenna v. WhisperText, 2014 WL 4905629 (N.D.Cal. 2014), Judge Grewal required a TCPA plaintiff to plead more as to whether an ATDS was used, and refused to stay the case based on the Primary Jurisdiction Doctrine. Plaintiff Tony McKenna filed a class action complaint pursuant to the federal Telephone Consumer Protection Act, 47 U.S.C. 227(b)(1)(A)(iii) (TCPA). McKenna brought suit against Defendants… Read More

In Hagler v. Credit World Services, Inc., Judge Hagler found that a debt collector did not violate the FDCPA by leaving a single voicemail message for the debtor. The facts of this case are few and undisputed. Defendant Credit World Services is a debt collector. On June 11, 2013, Bill Jackson, an employee of defendant, called plaintiff and spoke to him… Read More

In Slorp v. Lerner, Sampson & Rothfuss, --- Fed.Appx. ----, 2014 WL 4800100 (6th Cir. 2014) refused to apply the continuing violation doctrine to an FDCPA case. Application of the continuing-violation doctrine to FDCPA claims would be inconsistent with the principles underlying the Supreme Court's limited endorsement of that doctrine in Morgan. In Morgan the Court differentiated between discrete acts and continuing… Read More

In Jung v. Cottonwood Financial Wisconsin, LLC, 2014 WL 4796756 (W.D.Wis. 2014), Judge Peterson barred Plaintiff's FDCPA claim based on wrongful garnishment due to the Rooker-Feldman doctrine. Jung's complaint and the parties' supplemental materials support defendants' position that the Rooker–Feldman doctrine applies in this case. Jung alleges that defendants violated both federal and Wisconsin law by using the garnishment notice to collect… Read More

It was a criminal case, and it’s difficult to do, but Judge D’Agostino in Muhammad v. Smith, 2014 WL 3670609 (N.D.N.Y. 2014) layed out the redeptionist/sovereign citizen movement about as succinctly as possible. Plaintiff's assertions appear to be based, at least in part, on the “redemptionist” theory or the related “sovereign citizen” theory, which are frivolous legal theories that have… Read More

In Mais v. Gulf Coast Collection Bureau, 2014 WL 4802457 (11th Cir. 2014), the Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit reversed the District Court's decision holding that it was not bound by the FCC's determination of "prior express consent" under the TCPA.   The 11th Circuit found that "The district court exceeded its jurisdiction by declaring the 2008 FCC Ruling to… Read More

In Brenner v. American Educ. Services, --- Fed.Appx. ----, 2014 WL 4783216 (8th Cir. 2014), the Court of Appeals for the 8th Circuit remanded a TCPA case to require the District Court to determine whether the consumer revoked prior express consent. Joshua Seth Brenner appeals the district court's adverse grant of summary judgment in his action against American Education Services (AES),… Read More

In DeCapri v. Law Offices of Shaprio Brown & Alt, LLP, 2014 WL 4699591 (E.D.Va. 2014), Judge Hudson found a debt collection law firm’s FDCPA validation non-compliant with the FDCPA. Among other violations, Judge Hudson stated: Plaintiff alleges that Defendant violated 15 U.S.C. § 1692g(a)(3) by failing to include “by the debt collector” or similar language in the letter's validation… Read More

In Pickens v. American Credit Acceptance, LLC,  2014 WL 4662512 (S.D.Ala. 2014), Judge Nelson stayed a TCPA case under the Primary Jurisdiction Doctrine. Primary jurisdiction doctrine applies “whenever enforcement of [a] claim requires the resolution of issues which, under a regulatory scheme, have been placed within the special competence of an administrative body.” United States v. W. Pac. R.R. Co., 352 U.S.… Read More

In Wahl v. Stellar Recovery, Inc., 2014 WL 4678043 (W.D.N.Y. 2014), Judge Geraci stayed a TCPA case under the Primary Jurisdiction Doctrine. Plaintiffs oppose the stay request, arguing that (1) the doctrine of “primary jurisdiction” assumes the issue presented one of first impression and is inapplicable in this case where on multiple occasions in the past the FCC has determined that predictive… Read More

In Peters v. Financial Recovery Services, Inc., here, Judge Fenner held that although TILA may prohibit a creditor –and hence, it’s debt collector – from charging post-charge-off interest, neither TILA nor the FDCPA prohibit the debt collector from charging state statutory pre-judgment interest after charge-off. Defendant’s final basis for dismissal is that even if GE waived the right to contractual… Read More

In Potter v. Chex Systems, Inc., 2014 WL 4666960 (S.D.Cal. 2014), Judge Burns dismissed a Plaintiff's FCRA claim, where the Plaintiff argued that since he'd paid off the charges on the Account, the CRA should not have reported that his bank account was closed for Account Abuse. Potter admits he overdrew his account, and allowed it to remain overdrawn, and that after… Read More

In Simpson v. Safeguard Properties, LLC, 2014 WL 4652336 (N.D.Ill. 2014), Judge Gotschall certified the following class under the FDCPA: Beginning in October 2012 and ending in February 2013, at the instruction of Midland, representatives of Safeguard left door hangers on Simpson's door on an approximately monthly basis. ( Id. ¶¶ 18–23.) These door hangers all contained the same text. The front… Read More

In Gomez v. Campbell–Ewald Co., --- F.3d ----, 2014 WL 4654478 (9th Cir. 2014), the Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit reversed the district court's summary judgment in favor of a TCPA defendant marketing company. The message was the result of collaboration between the Navy and the Campbell–Ewald Company,FN1 a marketing consultant hired by the Navy to develop and execute a… Read More

In Prater v. Medicredit Inc., --- F.Supp.3d ----, 2014 WL 4652942 (E.D.Mo. 2014), Judge Collin refused to stay a TCPA case based on the Primary Jurisdiction Doctrine because Swope already decided the ATDS issue. [T]o the extent Defendants argue that a stay should be granted because the pending petitions “ask[ ] the FCC to declare that predictive dialers do not fall under the TCPA's… Read More

In Jacobson v. Credit Control Services, Inc., 2014 WL 4636449 (D.Colo. 2014), Judge Daniel found that a Defendant's Rule 68 Offer mooted the FDCPA case. A majority of circuits have accepted Defendant's argument that an Offer of Judgment for the full relief to which a plaintiff is entitled may moot a case. See Lucero v. Bureau of Collection Recovery, Inc., 639 F.3d… Read More

In Miller v. 3G Collect, LLC, 2014 WL 4634966 (E.D.Pa. 2014), Judge Buckwalter retained jurisdiction in a TCPA case over the underlying debt itself. Thus, unlike the TILA and FDCPA, the explicit terms of the TCPA make the giving of prior express consent by the debtor to the debt collector an absolute defense to liability. See Baird v. Sabre Inc., 995… Read More

In Hartley–Culp v. Credit Management Co., 2014 WL 4630852 (M.D.Pa. 2014), Judge Blewitt rejected a TCPA defendant's request for a stay/bifurcation of discovery. Defendant CMC seeks the Court to bifurcate discovery into two phases with the first phase limited to the issue of whether Plaintiff expressly consented to receiving calls on her cell phone. Defendant CMC maintains that if it proves… Read More