7th Cir. Holds Pl’s Recovery of Less Than Pre-Trial Settlement Offers Does Not Justify Denying Atty Fees
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
Read MoreQuick Primer on FHA Disparate Impact Claims
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
Read MoreOhio Debt Collection Law Firm Files Findings of Fact, Conclusions of Law in Response to CFPB Action
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
Read More6th Cir. Rejects Account Overdraft Claims
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
Read More4th Cir. Holds Data Breach Victims Have Standing When Fraudulent Accounts Opened
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
Read MoreFla. Supreme Court Holds Lenders May Pursue Separate Deficiency Action After Foreclosure
The Florida Supreme Court recently resolved a conflict among the state appellate courts. At issue in the case was whether section 702.06, Florida Statutes (2014) permitted lenders to pursue a deficiency claim as a separate action at law even though the foreclosure court had reserved… Mickey J. Lee
Read More9th Cir. Holds Judicial Foreclosures Are Debt Collection Under FDCPA
A panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit recently held that a law firm’s effort to collect homeowner association (“HOA”) assessments through judicial foreclosure constitutes debt collection under the federal Fair Debt Collection Practices Act. In so ruling, for purposes of… Stuart Miles
Read MoreSCOTUS Rules Credit Card Company’s Anti-Steering Rules Did Not Violate Antitrust Law
In a 5-4 ruling, the Supreme Court of the United States held that anti-steering provisions in agreements between a credit card company and merchants wishing to accept the card do not violate federal antitrust law. A copy of the opinion in Ohio v. American Express… Jeffrey Karek
Read MoreTo the U.S. Supreme Court: Does the FDCPA Apply to Non-Judicial Foreclosure Proceedings?
On June 28, the U.S. Supreme Court granted a Petition for a Writ of Certiorari in Obduskey v. McCarthy & Holthus LLP that presents the question “whether the FDCPA applies to non-judicial foreclosure proceedings.” The borrower in the underlying case defaulted on his home loan… Eric Rosenkoetter
Read MoreCalifornia Enacts Consumer Privacy Act of 2018
On June 28, California passed into law the California Consumer Privacy Act of 2018, which becomes operative on Jan. 1, 2020. As with the EU’s General Data Protection Regulation, the Privacy Act gives consumers greater control over the use and sharing of their personal information.… Eric Rosenkoetter
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