There are many decisions addressing whether website interactions constitute a valid and binding contract–frequently, one to arbitrate. Under California law, “scrollwrap” or “clickwrap” offers, which require a user to affirmatively agree to terms and conditions after being presented with them, are are generally held to create enforceable contracts. On the other hand, “browsewrap” offers, where […]
Category Archives: Consumer Litigation
The Telephone Consumer Protection Act prohibits “mak[ing] any call . . . using . . . an artificial or prerecorded voice . . . to any telephone number assigned to a . . . cellular telephone service,” or “initiat[ing] any telephone call to any residential telephone line using an artificial or prerecorded voice to deliver […]
David Eliiot claims Humana called him numerous times despite not being a Humana customer, and after he informed Humana that it had the wrong number. He brought a class action alleging this violated the TCPA. Humana opposed class certification on the grounds that whether individuals had actually consented to repeated calls was not ascertainable on […]
The Seventh Circuit issued a decision in Milam v. Selene Finance today, an FDCPA case where the Court punted on the merits but addressed standing in a manner that may be notable for practitioners. Ramona Milam sued Selene Finance, the servicer of her home mortgage, after Selene sent her a letter threatening acceleration and foreclosure if […]
Just after Thanksgiving last week, the Eighth Circuit issued an opinion reversing a district court’s certification of a class in one of several actions brought by a consumer against Folgers and consolidated by the JPML. In the action on appeal, the consumer had alleged that representations on coffee containers featured misrepresentations about the number of […]
In the wake of the Supreme Court’s TransUnion decision, courts have grappled with the question of when, if ever, victims of a data breach have suffered a sufficient injury-in-fact to meet Article III standing requirements. In a decision last week, Holmes v. Elephant Insurance, the Fourth Circuit held that some, but not all, of the […]
A Pennsylvania citizen sued Pennsylvania legislator Matthew Bradford under the TCPA, alleging that Bradford’s en masse automated phone calls sent to constituents violated the statute. A district court denied Bradford’s motion for summary judgment on the basis of Eleventh Amendment and/or qualified immunity. Yesterday, the Third Circuit reversed— going beyond the question of immunity and […]
Several consumers filed California state law class actions against Kimberly-Clark in federal district court, alleging that they were misled into believing that Kleenex Germ Removal wet wipes contained germicides, not just soaps. The district court dismissed the non-California plaintiffs’ claims for lack of personal jurisdiction, and dismissed the remaining claims with prejudice on the grounds that […]
From the Third Circuit’s opinion today: J.P. Ward & Associates is a debt-defense law firm that handles many [FDCPA] §1692e(8) claims. To “scal[e]” up its practice and get more fees, named partner Joshua Ward and lawyer Travis Gordon hatched a scheme. If a client approached the firm to dispute a debt, the firm would get […]
Many commercial websites have adopted the use of “session-replay” technology, by which embedded code on a website records the visitor’s communications within that website, including their mouse movements, clicks, keystrokes, and pages visited. Businesses can then use this information in deciding how and whether to tweak their websites, and gain other consumer data. In Popa v. […]