Financial Services
SCOTUS Nominee Has Written Few Consumer Financial Protection Opinions
Law360 reports that Tenth Circuit Judge and Supreme Court nominee Neil M. Gorsuch has authored 723 opinions – but a Lexis search reveals that only one of those opinions touched on matters of consumer protection. While the public debates the impact of Judge Gorsuch’s nomination on a host of issues, one question remains largely unanswered:…
Read MoreJury awards Over $25M in Texas AG Enforcement Action
It is rare for an enforcement action against debt collectors to go to a contested trial, and a jury verdict is even rarer. On June 7, 2017, a Harris County, Texas jury awarded over $25 million in in civil penalties against a Houston debt buyer, its attorney, and his law firm for a variety of…
Read MoreAnother Court Rejects Rulemaking-by-Enforcement Action Attack on BCFP
On August 3, 2018, a federal district judge rejected the defendants’ motion to dismiss in Consumer Fin. Prot. Bureau v. Think Fin., LLC. The motion, which was supported by a joint amicus curiae brief from The Native American Financial Services Association and the State of Oklahoma, asserted multiple grounds for dismissal, including: that the structure…
Read MorePlaintiff Who Denied Knowledge of a Debt Could Not Meet Burden of Proving Consumer Status
A decision by a U.S. Magistrate Judge in Wisconsin may provide an interesting defense for debt collectors who are sued by plaintiffs who will not acknowledge incurring the debts at issue. In Burton v. Kohn Law Firm, S.C., Burton sued a debt buyer and its law firm for alleged violations of the FDCPA. However, in…
Read MoreSecond Circuit Holds that Letter Need Not Reference Nonexistent Interest
The U.S. Second Circuit Court of Appeals has issued its decision in Taylor v. Fin. Recovery Services, Inc., affirming that a debt collector’s letters did not violate the FDCPA by failing to state affirmatively that interest was not accruing. Taylor sued FRS asserting that it violated the FDCPA because its initial collection letter stated the…
Read MoreSixth Circuit Dismisses FDCPA Claims for Lack of Article III Standing
Holding that “Congress cannot override [the] baseline requirement of Article III of the U.S. Constitution by labeling the violation of any requirement of a statute a cognizable injury,” the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit has ordered dismissal of an FDCPA suit predicated upon a letter’s lack of a “mini-Miranda” warning for lack…
Read MoreMinnesota and Wisconsin Fine Agency for Failure to Escheat and Individual Collectors for Failure to Give Mini-Miranda Warnings
The Minnesota Department of Commerce and the Wisconsin Department of Financial Institutions, Division of Banking have entered into their first joint consent order with a collection agency. American Accounts & Advisers, Inc. agreed to a civil penalty of $200,000 of which $125,000 will be stayed upon full completion of all action items listed in the…
Read MoreDecisions in the Third Circuit Highlight the Need for Supreme Court Review of Oliva
A line of cases developing within the Third Circuit highlights the need for the Supreme Court to grant the pending petition for a writ of Certiorari in Oliva v. Blatt, Hasenmiller, Leibsker & Moore, LLC. The crucial question to be put to the Court is whether a debt collector should be subjected to liability under…
Read MoreCollecting for a Creditor vs. Collecting for a Debt Collector?
Section 1692g of the FDCPA requires that “within five days after the initial communication with a consumer in connection with the collection of any debt, a debt collector shall . . . send the consumer a written notice” of the consumer’s validation rights. But how many such notices are required? Must each successive debt collector…
Read MoreNinth Circuit Rejects Creative Attempt to Defeat FDCPA Claim
A lawsuit is an asset. May a creditor execute upon a judgment against a debtor to take away the debtor’s FDCPA cause of action? The United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit has held that it may not. In Arellano v. Clark Cty. Collection Serv., No. 16-15467, 2017 U.S. App. LEXIS 23229 (9th…
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