Compliance

Manny Newburger from Barron & Newburger has published a summary of a case where The Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals has reversed a lower court’s summary judgment ruling that had dismissed a case filed by an individual who sued a collection law firm for allegedly violating the Fair Debt Collection …

The National Consumer Law Center, a consumer advocacy group, has published a list of the state consumer laws that are scheduled to go into effect this year. While many of the laws have already been covered and a lot of them may not have much to do with the credit …

The Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit has upheld a lower court’s summary judgment ruling, affirming an $11 million judgment and banning two individuals from the collections industry for life. A copy of the ruling in Federal Trade Commission v. William Moses, Mark Briandi, and Federal Recoveries can be …

A federal judge in Minnesota has pretty much split the difference between requests from a plaintiff and defendant in awarding attorney’s fees for a settled case involving allegations that a debt buyer and debt collector violated the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act. A copy of the ruling in Heroux v. …

A federal judge in Oklahoma has denied a motion to dismiss a case after a debt collector was accused of violating the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act by informing the plaintiff in a letter that the amount she owed would “significantly increase” if a garnishment was filed, after the defendant …

The Virginia Department of Taxation has released draft guidance to help debt buyers comply with a new law related to how they apportion their income to the state. The state’s legislature passed a new law last year that requires debt buyers, regardless of where they are based, to apportion their …

A state Appeals Court in California has ruled that the state is violating the civil rights of low-income defendants by attaching court fees to misdemeanor criminal convictions without determining the defendants’ ability to repay the debts. A homeless woman had been charged $220 after she was convicted of driving with …

A lack of written policies and procedures may have led to a plaintiff being partially granted summary judgment in a case in which a collection agency is alleged to have violated the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act because it used the phrase “your creditors” in a letter sent to the …

Rep. Blaine Luetkemeyer [R-Mo.] has proposed legislation aimed at finally putting an end to Operation Choke Point by establishing a clear set of guidelines under which a federal regulator can order a financial institution to close the accounts of a client. Rep. Luetkemeyer has been a vocal opponent of Operation …

The Supreme Court yesterday heard arguments in a case that seeks to define what constitutes a “debt collector” under the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, in relation to whether law firms engaging in non-judicial disclosures meet the definition under the statute. Published reports indicated that the eight justices who heard …