Increased claims of identity theft by consumers have given rise to more disputes that accounts are being inaccurately reported. Our clients are seeing a dramatic increase in the number of identity theft-related FCRA lawsuits. To learn more, please join us for a webinar, "How to Defend Identity Theft Claims Under the FCRA" on Wednesday, August 4 from 11:30 am to 12:30 pm CDT. Panelists will discuss critical elements to a reasonable identity theft investigation and techniques for defending FCRA claims related to identity theft.
Panelists will also cover the duties of a furnisher of ...
In just a few days, on July 31, 2021, the national moratoriums on residential evictions and foreclosures are set to expire. With this deadline fast approaching, the Biden administration announced a new mortgage relief plan on July 23 to provide relief for individuals with federally-backed mortgages who might soon face the possibility of losing their homes.
The new program is aimed at reducing the monthly payments for individuals with qualifying mortgage loans. Borrowers struggling to make their payments and facing foreclosure as the moratorium ends can negotiate a reduction in ...
On July 6, 2021, the Eleventh Circuit issued a per curiam opinion affirming the Southern District of Alabama’s entry of summary judgment in the lender’s favor on a plaintiff’s claim under the Fair Credit Reporting Act (“FCRA”), therein finding that the district court did not err in dismissing the claim for willful violation of the FCRA because the plaintiff failed to establish that the lender’s interpretation of its obligations under the statute was objectively unreasonable.
In Ajomale v. Quicken Loans Inc., –– Fed Appx. ––, 2021 WL 2799939 (Jul. 6, 2021), the ...
On May 5, 2021, the United States District Court for the District of Columbia issued an opinion that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention ("CDC") exceeded its statutory authority by issuing and extending a nationwide moratorium on evictions during the COVID-19 pandemic. See Alabama Association of Realtors v. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, No. 20-cv-3377 (DLF) (D.D.C. May 5, 2021). A judgment was entered vacating the moratorium, which was set to expire on June 30, 2021. However, the court entered a stay of this judgment pending the outcome of an appeal to the ...
On June 25, 2021, in a 5-4 decision, the Supreme Court held that the individual members of a class "must demonstrate, among other things, that they suffered a concrete harm" in order to have Article III standing to recover individual damages in a class action. [1]
In TransUnion LLC v. Ramirez, --- S. Ct. ----, 2021 WL 2599472 (2021), a certified class of over 8,000 people alleged TransUnion LLC ("TransUnion") violated the Fair Credit Reporting Act ("FCRA") by failing to use reasonable procedures to ensure the accuracy of its credit files. [2] The allegations arose after TransUnion ...
On June 14, 2021, the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals issued a one-line order stating that the Court was withholding issuance of the mandate in Hunstein v. Preferred Collection and Management Services, Inc. The appeals court’s April 21, 2021, published ruling in Hunstein sent shockwaves through the collection industry when it held that debt collectors who share information about consumers’ debts with collection vendors can violate provisions in the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (“FDCPA”) aimed at protecting consumer privacy.
The withholding of the mandate was ...
On September 4, 2020, the CDC issued a broad order temporarily halting evictions nationwide, citing the COVID-19 pandemic as its basis. 85 Fed. Reg. 55,292 (Sept. 4, 2020). The CDC determined that such a moratorium was necessary to encourage isolation and social distancing for individuals who might become homeless or forced to move in with a larger group upon eviction. Initially, the moratorium was set to expire on December 31, 2020, but has since been extended, currently set to expire on June 30, 2021. However, after a recent ruling from the United States District Court for the ...
In a decision that could throw the debt-collection industry into turmoil, on April 21, 2021, the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals released its opinion in the case Hunstein v. Preferred Collection & Mgmt. Servs., Inc., No. 19-14434, 2021 WL 1556069 (11th Cir. Apr. 21, 2021). The crux of the opinion is the court’s holding that a debt collector faces potential liability under the FDCPA for transmitting a consumer’s personal information to any third-party not explicitly designated by the statute. The potential implications of this decision are far-reaching.
The underlying facts ...
When President-elect Joe Biden takes office in January, it is safe to bet that addressing the pandemic-related financial pressures facing millions of Americans will be at the top of his agenda. And in particular, the administration is expected to focus on consumer finance, which should give renewed energy and purpose to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, an agency the Trump administration all but grinded to a halt.
Pursuant to a recent Supreme Court ruling that gives the President the right to remove the head of the CFPB at will, President-elect Biden will be able to select a new ...
On April 13, 2020, the District Court of Kansas in Hampton v. Barclays Bank Delaware, No. 18-4071-DDC-ADM, 2020 WL 4698476 (D. Kan. Aug. 13, 2020), joined the Seventh and Eleventh Circuits in holding that devices that exclusively dial numbers stored in a customer database do not qualify as autodialers under the TCPA.
The Plaintiff, Anthony Hampton ("Plaintiff"), asserted numerous claims against multiple defendants, including a TCPA claim against Marketplace Loan Grantor Trust, Series 2016-LD1's ("Marketplace"). Specifically, Plaintiff claimed Marketplace violated the ...