Consumer Finance

In Paredes v. Credit Consulting Servs., No. H048092, 2022 Cal. App. Unpub. LEXIS 4848, at *28-31 (Aug. 8, 2022), the Court of Appeal affirmed denial of an anti-Slapp motion filed against a Rosenthal Act complainant suing over alleged misrepresentations made in a debt collection complaint.  First, the Court found that the Rosenthal Act cross-complaint was not barred by the statute… Read More

D'Happart v. First Commonwealth Bank, 2022 PA Super 132, 2022 Pa. Super. LEXIS 328 (No. 580 WDA 2021 August 5, 2022) , Judge Bender affirmed the Court of Common Pleas finding against a consumer who challenged the application of the UCC's safe harbor to the notice required after his vehicle was repossessed. Appellants' second issue, they claim that FCB's "pre-sale… Read More

In Weister v. Vantage Point AI, LLC, No. 8:21-cv-1250-SDM-AEP, 2022 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 139642, at *2-5 (M.D. Fla. Aug. 3, 2022), Judge Merryday denied summary judgment to a ringless voicemail message provider whose telemarketing messages were challenged under the TCPA. The facts were as follows: The following facts are either undisputed or construed in Weister's favor. VantagePoint sells "financial, technical… Read More

In Moore v. Robinhood Fin. LLC, No. 2:21-cv-01571-BJR, 2022 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 138392, at *2-5 (W.D. Wash. Aug. 3, 2022), Judge Rothstein allowed a CEMA claim to proceed against Robin Hood under its "Refer-a-Friend" program. The facts alleged are as follows: Robinhood is an online investments brokerage service firm that, through its free mobile application (the "Robinhood App") and website,… Read More

In In Valdera v. PHH Mortg. Corp., No. 20-470-JJM-PAS, 2022 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 139869, at *10-12 (D.R.I. Aug. 4, 2022), Judge McConnell denied summary judgment to an FDCPA Defendant who argued that the loan documents designated the loan for investment purposes because the Plaintiffs claimed that they lived at the property. PHH argues that the FDCPA does not protect Plaintiffs'… Read More

Ruling on Defendant's Motion to Dismiss (Aviva Kirsten v. Cal. Pizza Kitchen, Inc., No. 2:21-cv-09578-DOC-KES (C.D. Cal. July 29, 2022), Judge David O. Carter of the Central District of California held: Defendant argues that Plaintiffs’ CCPA claim fails because Plaintiffs provide no facts to maintain that Defendant failed to maintain reasonable security procedure and practices. Mot. at 20. However, Defendant… Read More

On July 27, the CFPB issues an extensive FAQ or "Compliance Aid" on how to comply with the new FDCPA regulations.  A Compliance Aid is This designation will provide the public with greater clarity regarding the legal status and role of these materials, as discussed below. The Bureau does not intend to use Compliance Aids to make decisions that bind… Read More

In Gallo v. Wood Ranch United States, No. B311067, 2022 Cal. App. LEXIS 652, at *3-6 (Ct. App. July 25, 2022), the Court of Appeal addressed the effect of late payment of arbitration fees under the penalties provided for by Civil Procedure Code sections 1281.97 and 1281.99, which obligate a company or business who drafts an arbitration agreement to pay… Read More

In Wynne v. Audi of Am., No. 21-cv-08518-DMR, 2022 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 131625, at *2-4 (N.D. Cal. July 25, 2022), Judge Ryu found that the CCPA, by itself, does not confer Article III standing under the SCOTUS' TransUnion decision.  The facts of the data breach were as follows: Wynne makes the following allegations in the amended complaint: Defendant Audi is a… Read More

In Richmond v. Medicredit, Inc., No. 5:21-CV-00068-KDB-DSC, 2022 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 130092, at *8 (W.D.N.C. July 22, 2022), Judge Bell denied an FDCPA defendant's summary judgment motion. The Court finds that there is a genuine issue of material fact as to whether Medicredit reported Richmond's debts as disputed to the credit reporting agencies ("CRAs"). The FDCPA protects consumers from certain… Read More

In Costa v. Dvinci Energy, Inc., Civil Action No. 21-11501-NMG, 2022 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 130208, at *4-6 (D. Mass. July 22, 2022), Judge Gorton declined to strike a TCPA class action at the pleadings stage despite complaints that it is a "fail-safe" class. Dvinci contends that the proposed class is fail-safe—and thus must be struck—because it defines its membership in… Read More

In Tukin v. Halsted Financial Services, LLC, Judge Wood found no Article III standing for a Hunstein claim (of sharing a consumer's data with a vendor) where the sharing was done by way of encrypted data transfer. First, of note, Judge Wood found no "glassine window" violation for use of an "Intelligent Mail Code" on the dunning letter's envelope. Count III alleges that… Read More

In El v. Ally Bank, No. 2:22-cv-00874-APG-DJA, 2022 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 130239, at *1-5 (D. Nev. July 22, 2022), Magistrate Albregts dismissed a claim that the Court described as being based on sovereign citizen theories against a Bank. Not only do El's motions fail to state the grounds for the relief she seeks or even what relief she seeks, El's motions… Read More

In Riser v. Cent. Portfolio Control, Inc., 2022 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 109545, Case No. 3:21-cv-05238-LK (W.D. Wash. June 21, 2022), Judge King dismissed an FCRA claim against a consumer reporting agency over the propriety of reporting a medical debt which the Plaintiff claimed that she did not owe because she was covered by Washington's Medicaid plan. Relying on the Ninth… Read More

In Soliman v. Subway Franchisee Advert. Fund Tr., Ltd., No. 3:19-cv-592 (JAM), 2022 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 126468, at *6-8 (D. Conn. July 18, 2022), Judge Meyer disposed of the argument that Subway's text message software was an ATDS. And under Soliman's reading, the Act would probably cover much more than mass dialing. As she admits, sequential number generation is "an… Read More

On July 15, the DFPI issued proposed regulations on the scope of  debt collection licensure required by the DCLA.  The text of the proposed regulations can be found  here:  PRO-05-21-Text-DCLA-Invitation-for-Comments.-7.14.22 There are a number of significant proposed regulations for licensees, applications, or potential licensees. First, the DFPI's proposed regulations would confirm that W-2 or true employees are not required to… Read More

In Ramirez v. Volkswagen Grp. of Am., Inc., No. CV 22-00734 MWF (MRWx), 2022 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 121034 (C.D. Cal. July 8, 2022), Judge Fitzgerald remanded a lemon law case after reducing the Plaintiff’s claimed damages by unrecoverable negative equity. At the hearing, Plaintiff raised the issue of negative equity, which Defendant also addressed in the briefing, arguing that any… Read More

In Fernandez v. Progressive Mgmt. Sys., No. 3:21-cv-00841-BEN-WVG, 2022 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 120329 (S.D. Cal. July 7, 2022), Judge Benitez allowed a UCL claim to proceed predicated on a Rosenthal Act violation where the customer did not allege to have paid money to the defendant. Defendant, however, is incorrect that Plaintiff must have paid EACMC monies to establish UCL standing.… Read More

In George v. Summit Credit Union, No. 21-CV-259-JPS, 2022 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 112739, at *14-21 (E.D. Wis. June 27, 2022), Judge Stadtmueller granted partial summary judgment to an FCRA Plaintiff against a furnisher, leaving for further litigation only the issue of recoverable damages. The FCRA provides that a furnisher (such as Summit) can be held liable to a consumer for… Read More

We previously reported on this case here:  https://www.severson.com/consumer-finance/district-court-cal-finds-no-fdcpa-claim-based-on-reporting-account-as-disputed-when-debtor-did-not-dispute-the-debt/ Now, again, in Samano v. LVNV Funding, LLC, No. 1:21-cv-01692-SKO, 2022 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 114028, at *4-8 (E.D. Cal. June 27, 2022), Magistrate Oberta again granted a Motion to Dismiss, but again gave leave to amend, on whether credit reporting constituted debt collection activity. The purposes of the FDCPA are "to eliminate… Read More