FDCPA

The New York Times recently published an interesting article entitled “Automated Debt Collection Lawsuits Engulf Courts.”   The article points out that with the downturn in the economy, collection lawsuits are growing in number even though many of the lawsuits are either based on stale (time barred) claims, or are based on summary file information that…

One of my favorite productivity blogs, MakeUseOf.com, recently published an article about a free credit score service called CreditKarma.com.  CreditKarma seeks to approximate your credit score based on factors that the Fair Isaac Company (FICO) has made public – but note that CreditKarma does not provide a FICO score. Apparently, however, CreditKarma has done a…

The Washington Post reports that Indonesian authorities are accusing Citibank of responsibility for the death of 50 year old Irzen Octa, who was $5,700 in debt on his Citibank credit card.   Mr. Ocra was allegedly beaten to death by non-employee debt collectors hired by Citibank to collect a delinquent $5,700 credit card debt. Citibank denies…

You have probably heard the terms “zombie debt” or “out of statute debt” but how can these types of debts impact you?  In this 20 minute video, comedian John Oliver describes in a very entertaining manner how the debt buying industry works and how this largely unregulated industry harms consumers. If you ever get sued…

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit recently held that a trial court abused its discretion in denying attorney’s fees to a prevailing plaintiff despite the plaintiff’s failure to recover an award which exceeded the pre-trial settlement offers. A copy of the opinion… Coleman Braun

Following the ruling by the Supreme Court of the United States in Bank of America Corp. v. City of Miami, 137 S. Ct. 1296 (2017), one of the primary and developing issues in FHA disparate impact litigation is proximate cause. The issue of whether an alleged violation… Coleman Braun

In a follow up to an advisory jury’s verdict, finding that a law firm’s pre-suit collection letters contained “false, deceptive, or misleading representations or means in connection with the collection of a debt” while rejecting a claim that the firm’s attorneys were not meaningfully involved… Shannon P. Miller

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit recently held that a consumer plaintiff’s breach of contract claim against a defendant bank failed where the bank processed the consumer’s transactions in accordance with the terms of the agreement with the consumer, even though the… Jeffrey Karek

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit recently vacated a judgment of dismissal in consolidated class actions arising from a data breach of personal information, holding that the plaintiffs had standing to sue because fraudulent credit cards were actually opened in the victims’… Hector E. Lora