In a change of course, the Utah court of appeals has reversed the dismissal of a plaintiffs’ suit against a debt collector based on its alleged failure to register as a collection agency prior to filing collection suits....more
On December 15, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) announced it had reached a settlement with medical debt collector Commonwealth Financial Systems, Inc. (Commonwealth) in its lawsuit over alleged illegal debt...more
12/19/2023
/ Consent Order ,
Consumer Financial Products ,
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) ,
Debt ,
Debt Collection ,
Debt Collectors ,
FDCPA ,
Financial Institutions ,
Financial Regulatory Reform ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Medical Debt ,
Settlement
On November 22, the Third Circuit Court of Appeals issued a decision finding that the plaintiff lacked Article III standing in a putative class action brought under the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA)....more
On November 16, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB or Bureau) released its Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA) Annual Report detailing the CFPB’s 2022 activities related to debt collection practices. This...more
11/21/2023
/ Consumer Financial Products ,
Consumer Financial Protection Act (CFPA) ,
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) ,
Credit Reporting Agencies ,
Debt ,
Debt Collection ,
Debt Collectors ,
FDCPA ,
Financial Institutions ,
Financial Regulatory Reform ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Medical Debt
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit issued a summary order affirming a district court’s holding that an emailed response to the plaintiff’s email did not constitute an “initial communication” under the Fair Debt...more
A U.S. District Court in the Western District of Wisconsin recently denied both the defendant and plaintiff’s summary judgment motions in a Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) case, holding that the reasonableness of the...more
10/27/2023
/ Consumer Reporting Agencies ,
Cross Motions ,
Debt Collection ,
Debt Collectors ,
Debtors ,
Dispute Resolution ,
Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) ,
Financial Institutions ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Identity Theft ,
Reasonableness Factors ,
Summary Judgment
New York City’s Department of Consumer and Worker Protection (NYC DCWP) recently released a notice of proposed amendments to its debt collection rules. The proposed amendments are detailed, lengthy, and include expanded...more
10/25/2023
/ City of New York ,
Consumer Reporting Agencies ,
Debt Collection ,
Debt Collectors ,
Electronic Communications ,
Financial Assistance Policies ,
Financial Regulatory Reform ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Medical Debt ,
Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NOPR) ,
Proposed Amendments ,
Recordkeeping Requirements ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Reporting Requirements ,
Time-Barred Debt
Recently, the New Jersey appellate division held that a debt purchaser is not liable under the New Jersey Consumer Fraud Act (NJ Fraud Act) for failing to obtain a license under the New Jersey Consumer Finance Licensing Act...more
10/18/2023
/ Class Action ,
Consumer Fraud ,
Credit Cards ,
Debt Buyers ,
Debt Collection ,
Debt Collectors ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Midland Funding ,
New Jersey ,
Payment Plans ,
Private Right of Action ,
State Licenses ,
Summary Judgment
As U.S. consumer solar energy use increases, so does potential exposure under state consumer protection statutes. A recent decision by the California Court of Appeals in the case of Hagey v. Solar Service Experts, LLC...more
9/18/2023
/ California ,
Clean Energy ,
Consumer Protection Act ,
Debt Collection ,
Debt Collectors ,
FDCPA ,
Homeowners ,
Installment Agreements ,
Non-Parties ,
Payment Plans ,
Renewable Energy ,
Solar Energy ,
Solar Panels ,
The Rosenthal Act
The Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals recently affirmed a district court’s dismissal of a suit holding that the plaintiff had not suffered a concrete injury, and therefore, lacked standing to assert a claim under the Fair Debt...more
On August 22, a district court judge in the Western District of New York denied the defendants’ motions to dismiss a case brought by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) alleging violations of the Fair Debt...more
On August 1, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit upheld a trial court’s order granting summary judgment in favor of a debt buyer holding that claim preclusion barred the plaintiff’s claims brought under the Fair...more
On July 26, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB or Bureau) released the summer edition of its Supervisory Highlights report, providing a high-level overview of alleged unfair, deceptive, or abusive acts or...more
7/28/2023
/ Automated Clearing House (ACH) ,
Consumer Financial Products ,
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) ,
Debt Collection ,
Debt Collectors ,
Fair Lending ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Military Lending Act ,
Mortgages ,
Payday Lending Rule ,
Supervisory Highlights ,
UDAAP
On June 16, Nevada Governor Joe Lombardo signed into law Senate Bill 276, which significantly amended Nevada Revised Statute 649, otherwise known as the Nevada Collection Agencies Licensing Act (the Act). The Act regulates...more
On June 8, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) announced that it had entered a consent order against medical debt collector Phoenix Financial Services for alleged violations of the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA)...more
In Casillas v. Thunderbird Collections Specialists Incorporated, et al., the plaintiff sustained a work-related injury requiring medical treatment for which a worker’s compensation claim was filed. Under state law, an injured...more
Nearly two years after the Supreme Court’s 2021 decision in Transunion v. Ramirez, courts and litigants continue to grapple with standing issues in Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA) cases brought by plaintiffs...more
On April 26, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB or Bureau) issued an advisory opinion reminding the industry that a debt collector who brings or threatens to bring a foreclosure action to collect a time-barred...more
In Ingersoll v. Brandsness, the suit arose out of an effort by a collection agency and its counsel to obtain a judgment on unpaid medical bills. After the filing of the complaint, and the consumer’s filing an answer, the...more
On March 15, Judge Eve M. Reilly of the Circuit Court of Cook County, Illinois, dismissed a class action complaint based solely on the allegation that a collection letter was sent by a third-party letter vendor....more
A federal district court in the Middle District of Florida recently dismissed a pro se plaintiff’s Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA) and Florida Consumer Collection Practices Act (FCCPA) action as time-barred because...more
The U.S. House of Representatives has introduced a bill, H.R. 1773, that seeks to amend the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA). The proposed amendment would include a two-year bar on the collection of medical debts...more
As discussed here, in August 2020, a district court for the Middle District of Tennessee held that a medical provider’s third-party billing servicer did not qualify as a debt collector under the Fair Debt Collections...more
On February 27, Wyoming Governor Mark Gordon signed into law House Bill 284, which requires debt buyers be licensed as “collection agencies” starting July 1, 2023....more
As discussed here, on September 8, 2022, an en banc panel of the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals reversed the district court’s decision that a debt collector’s outsourcing of its letter process to a third-party mail vendor...more