Governor Newsom signed AB 3254, which, in addition to the requirements of Civil Code 1632, would require delivery of a translation to any other person who will be signing the contract or agreement and would make conforming and correctional changes with regard to the definition of “the party’s own interpreter” in reference to the exemptions described above. According to the… Read More
In Esparza v. Joe MacPherson Ford, 2017 WL 1534664, at *5–6 (Cal.App. 4 Dist., 2017), in an unpublished decision, the Court of Appeal disagreed with the jury's determination that a RISC was not negotiated primarily in the Spanish language, and held that the trial court should have granted a JNOV. There is nothing in the language of section 1632 which… Read More
In Dykes v. Portfolio Recovery Associates, LLC., 2016 WL 346959, at *3-4 (E.D.Va., 2016), Judge Cacheris denied class certification in an FDCPA class action due to lack of ascertain ability. The class proposed in Plaintiff's Memorandum in Support of her Motion for Class Certification includes recipients of PRA's Spanish-language dunning letters who actually speak Spanish and indicated to PRA that… Read More
In Ramos v. Westlake Services LLC, 2015 WL 6605215, at *4 (Cal.App. 1 Dist., 2015), the Court of Appeal in an unpublished decision affirmed the denial of a petition to arbitrate because, apparently, the dealer gave the customer the wrong translated form of the RISC -- one without an arbitration clause. "[T]he trial court found that while he had received a… Read More
In Lopez v. Asbury Fresno Imports, LLC, --- Cal.Rptr.3d ----, 2015 WL 513150 (Cal.App. 5 Dist. 2015), the Court of Appeal affirmed a bench trial award in favor of a car dealer against a consumer. The Court of Appeal rejected Plaintiffs’ claim under the Rees-Levering Automobile Sales Finance Act, finding that even if a “Four-Square” was a “purchase order” under… Read More
In Stone v. Advance America, 278 F.R.D. 562 (S.D.Cal. 2012), Judge Battaglia refused to certify a class of payday loan customers who claimed that the defendant violated the California Deferred Deposit Transaction Law (“CDDTL”) Cal. Fin.Code § 23005 in its dealing with Spanish-speaking customers. Judge Battaglia found that whether the customers primarily spoke Spanish in their respective transactions lead to… Read More
The FTC is seeking public comment on proposed changes to the Used Car Buyers Guide required by the agency’s Used Car Rule. The FTC's Press Release is http://www.ftc.gov/opa/2012/12/usedcarrule.shtm. The FTC also issued a final rule that makes technical corrections and revises the Spanish translation of the Buyers Guide. The Used Car Rule, formally known as the Used Motor Vehicle Trade Regulation Rule,… Read More
In Khozayev v. America's Wholesale Lender, 2010 WL 3036001 (E.D.Cal. 2010), Judge Drozd held that section 1632 did not afford rescission to contracts negotiated in the Russian language, explaining: Next, plaintiffs allege that they are primarily Russian speakers with limited understanding of English and that no loan documents provided to them were translated into Russian in violation of California Civil Code… Read More
In Villegas v. U.S. Bankcorp, 2010 WL 2867424 (N.D.Cal. 2010), Judge Seeborg found that the Plaintiff stated a claim against the defendant automobile lender for violation of Civil Code section 1632, California's foreign language translation requirement for consumer contracts. Judge Seeborg described Plaintiff's complaint as follows: Plaintiff Gloria Villegas bought a car. She was referred by the dealer to U.S. Bank… Read More
In Galindo v. Financo Financial, Inc. (N.D.Cal. 2008) 2008 WL 5170204, Judge Alsup refused to allow a consumer to pursue rescission based on Civil Code § 1632 when the consumer had refinanced the loan at issue. In her second amended complaint, Galindo alleged that that the "broker defendants failed to provide any disclosures in the Spanish language." and that "said Defendant's… Read More
