A District Court judge in Wisconsin has denied a defendant’s motion for fees and costs in a Fair Debt Collection Practices Act case, even though it won a summary judgment ruling and the plaintiff admitted owing the debt, not writing the dispute letters himself, and never following up to make …
Read More »Plaintiff in a Hunstein Copycat Class Action Does Not Have Standing to Sue in Federal Court, NDIL Judge Rules
In a case that is being defended by David Schultz and the team at Hinshaw Culbertson, a District Court judge in Illinois has granted a plaintiff’s motion to remand a Hunstein class action lawsuit back to state court, disagreeing with the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals’s ruling in the case …
Read More »N.Y. Governor Signs Law Requiring New Disclosure in Initial Communications
A new law is scheduled to go into effect in New York next month that will require collectors to provide an additional disclosure on initial letters sent to consumers, letting consumers know that the letter can be requested in an alternative format, such as large print, braille, or audio compact …
Read More »CFPB Announces Leadership Changes on Chopra’s First Day on the Job
On his first full day on the job at the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, former Acting Director Mick Mulvaney brought donuts with him, ostensibly for the protestors he expected to be there to oppose his appointment. Encountering none, Mulvaney ended up giving the donuts his new employees. There aren’t any …
Read More »Chopra Sworn in as CFPB Director, Lays Out Vision for Agency Going Forward
Rohit Chopra said in a message to his new employees and fellow regulators yesterday that he is looking forward to shifting “market power toward consumers and law-abiding businesses” now that he has officially been sworn in as the new Director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. Chopra outlined his vision …
Read More »Ex-Collection Agency CEO Pleads Guilty in Pay-to-Play Scandal
The former owner of a collection agency pleaded guilty yesterday to one count of making payments to support the former Circuit Court Clerk of Cook County, Illinois, while the company he ran entered into a deferred prosecution agreement and will pay a $225,000 fine. Donald Donagher, who ran Penn Credit …
Read More »Nevada FID to Hold Workshop on Medical Collection Regs
The Financial Institution Division (FID) of Nevada’s Department of Business and Industry will be holding a virtual workshop on Tuesday, October 26 at 1pm ET to solicit comments from interested persons about regulations related to SB248, a new medical debt collection law that went into effect earlier this year. The …
Read More »Judge Grants MSJ in FDCPA Case Over Mis-Identified Consumer
An interesting Fair Debt Collection Practices Act case out of Minnesota involving a creditor who mis-spelled a customer’s first and last name when placing the account with a law firm for collection, a customer who changed her name before filing for bankruptcy protection, and a law firm that may or …
Read More »Compliance Digest – October 11
I’m thrilled to announce that Bedard Law Group is the new sponsor for the Compliance Digest. Bedard Law Group, P.C. – Compliance Support – Defense Litigation – Nationwide Complaint Management – Turnkey Speech Analytics. And Our New BLG360 Program – Your Low Monthly Retainer Compliance Solution. Visit www.bedardlawgroup.com, email John H. Bedard, Jr., or call (678) 253-1871. Every week, …
Read More »Judge Awards Plaintiff $70k in Damages, Attorney’s Fees in FDCPA Case
A District Court judge in Ohio has awarded a plaintiff more than $70,000 in damages and attorney fees after a default judgment was entered against a defendant in a Fair Debt Collection Practices Act case that accused the defendant of not properly identifying itself as a debt collector in conversations …
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