News, Publications & Events

Under the March 2020 CARES Act, borrowers with federally-backed mortgage loans were able to request a 180-day forbearance on their loan payments if the borrower attested to a COVID-related hardship. That 180-day period could be extended for an additional 180-days upon the borrower’s request. In February 2021, the FHA, FHFA, USDA and VA announced that they were extending their forbearance… Read More

Jury Trials & Consumer Financial Services Cases Date July 22, 2021 Time 2:00 p.m. to 3:00 p.m. EDT Speakers Mark D. Lonergan, Esq. and Mark I. Wraight, Esq. Program Summary What strategies do trial lawyers use in selectingjurors and presenting the bank’s case at trial in order to increase the likelihood of a successful outcome? Mark Lonergan and Mark Wraight… Read More

Considering a motion to dismiss and an alleged violation of the CCPA, Judge Carney from the Central District of California ruled on April 21, 2021 that: Medical information or protected health information, as defined by the statute, includes information related to an individual’s healthcare “[t]hat identifies the individual” or “to which there is a reasonable basis to believe the information… Read More

In a 9-0 opinion, the U.S. Supreme Court today sided with Facebook and with what defendants have been arguing for years: that equipment that lacks capacity to generate random or sequential numbers to be called, and merely dials set lists of numbers, is not regulated autodialer equipment under the TCPA. This case resolved a split among circuit courts, rejecting the… Read More

Severson & Werson attorneys Scott Hyman and Laszlo Ladi (along with Paul Soter from the Law Offices of Paul Soter) co-authored an article in the Conference on Consumer Finance Law Quarterly, one of the nation’s preeminent publications on consumer financial services legal developments, on California’s new debt collection licensing scheme and “mini-CFPB” legislation and their impact on those collecting consumer… Read More

Severson & Werson congratulates Joel Halverson as the new Chair of the Firm’s Construction Practice Group. Mr. Halverson is an experienced trial lawyer and transactional counselor committed to servicing the design, construction, real estate, and insurance communities. He is adept at resolving clients’ legal problems and guarding them against losses. With over 25 years of practice primarily focused on the… Read More

Severson & Werson member Jarlath Curran will be speaking on “Hot Litigation Topics” at the upcoming California MBA Legal Issues and Regulatory Compliance Conference on January 12-13th, 2020. Mr. Curran represents major financial institutions, including banks, mortgage lenders, consumer finance companies and auto finance companies, in all stages of litigation. Read More

At the behest of the editors of the Conference on Consumer Finance Law Quarterly Report, Stephen Britt of the Firm’s Orange County Office co-authored an article with Rebecca Fuller of St. Mary’s School of Law on the impact of the Quarterly Report on consumer financial services.  The Article, Quarterly Report Impact Analysis, analyses empirical data of judicial citations of articles published… Read More

On September 30, 2020, the Firm’s DPO, Scott Hyman, sat on a panel entitled “Data Breach and Malware Insights” on with Steve Kerler, Steve Mejia, BSEE MMIS and Jeff Tutton, MSc., QSA, CCFE.   The Panel was the first of PrivacyOC’s Fall Series. https://www.linkedin.com/posts/stevekerler_cpra-ccpa-privacyoc-activity-6717239710797959168-QJws   Read More

In an effort to minimize the spread of COVID-19 and better track known cases, Governor Newsom recently signed A.B. 685, which goes into effect on January 1, 2021 and will require employers to immediately notify employees of any potential COVID-19 exposure at the employer’s worksite. When must written notice be provided? Within one business day after the employer is notified… Read More

The Diversity Committee and Severson community mourn the passing of Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg.  Prior to joining the court in 1993, she achieved many landmark legal victories, including before the Supreme Court, that brick by brick built legal precedent for the proposition that the 14th Amendment’s guarantee of equal protection applies not only to racial discrimination but also… Read More

In recognition of our commitment to diversity and inclusion, Severson & Werson has achieved Mansfield 3.0 Certification.  To be certified, the Mansfield Rule requires that at least 30% of the candidates considered for leadership and governance roles, equity partner promotions, formal client pitch opportunities, and senior lateral positions, be traditionally underrepresented lawyers – women, lawyers of color, LGBTQ+ lawyers, and… Read More

Employers have been facing unprecedented issues  with very little guidance from federal or state authorities. Although the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) have provided guidance for COVID-19 screening and business reopening protocols, inevitable wage and hour implications have been largely left out.  Moreover, courts provide… Read More

On May 1, 2020, plaintiff Hyde-Edwards Salon & Spa moved to create a multidistrict litigation (MDL) in the U.S. District Court, Southern District of California combining almost a dozen class actions over defendant JP Morgan Chase Bank N.A.'s handling of loans available through the federal Paycheck Protection Program (“PPP”) under the CARES Act. Another motion by plaintiff Cyber Defense Group seeks to transfer the cases… Read More

Employees who return to the workplace after months of teleworking in the comfort of their own homes will likely be anxious about working in close proximity with their co-workers and may draw inappropriate conclusions regarding which co-workers are more likely to contract or spread the virus to others in the workplace. In anticipation of these issues, employers must take reasonable… Read More

Labor & Employment In recent weeks the Small Business Administration (SBA) has taken important steps to clarify key, but otherwise not well understood provisions of the PPP enacted under the CARES Act. Most recently, the Paycheck Protection Program Flexibility Act of 2020 (PFA) was signed into law. The PFA appears both to supplement and possibly supersede some of the prior… Read More

Financial Services On April 23, 2020, California Governor signed Executive Order N-57-20, which exempts garnishment for any individuals receiving federal, state or local government financial assistance in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, including payments under the CARES Act. Executive Order N-57-20 was issued pursuant to the Governor’s powers to suspend regulatory statutes and agency rules during a state of emergency.… Read More

On May 8, 2020, Seto Marselian, d/b/a Bistro Pazzo filed a class action lawsuit in the U.S District Court for the Northern District of California against its lender. (case number 3:20-cv-03166.) Plaintiff is represented by Bottini & Bottini, Inc. Plaintiff is a restaurant owner who submitted a PPP loan application to its lender, and alleges that the lender wrongful denied… Read More

On April 3, 2020 Profiles, Inc. and other small businesses filed a putative class action against their lender for alleged discrimination arising from the denial of loans under the Paycheck Protection Program (case no. 20-00894.) Plaintiffs are represented by Rifkin Weiner Livingston Levitan and Silver LLC. Specifically, plaintiffs allege that their lender wrongly prioritized the applications of its existing customers… Read More

On March 16, 2020, plaintiffs James and Lisa Shuff sued their lender in the Southern District of West Virginia (case no. 20-cv-00184.) Plaintiffs are represented by Mountain State Justice, Inc. The complaint is a purported class action which seeks “to temporarily stop foreclosures in West Virginia during the national emergency caused by the spread of the COVID-19 virus.” Plaintiffs allege… Read More