Category Archives: Uncategorized

FTC settlement bans company from debt collection business

The Federal Trade Commission announced today: A debt collector and his companies will be banned from the debt collection business under a settlement with the Federal Trade Commission and the Attorney General of the State of New York, which charged them with seeking money from consumers for debts they did not owe. The action was […]

CFPB issues report on community-based efforts to combat financial exploitation of the elderly

Yesterday, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau released a report on coordinated community-based efforts to prevent, detect, and respond to elder financial exploitation. According to the CFPB's press release, the "report also found that a strong collaboration among community stakeholders – like financial institutions, adult protective services, and law enforcement – can be very effective in […]

Georgia Dentist Mitul Patel Acknowledges That “Consent Order” Was a Fraud, but Claims He is the Real Victim

A few days ago I wrote here about a lawsuit and consent order that were filed in Baltimore, Maryland, determining that a series of criticisms posted against Georgia dentist Mitul Patel by Matthew Chan, one of his patients in Georgia, were false and defamatory, and commanding their removal from the web and from search engine […]

CFPB finds consumers complain of needless hurdles in applying for lower student loan payments

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau Student Loan Ombudsman released a report last week on consumers complaints of servicing problems that make it difficult to get lower student loan payments tied to their income. Student loan borrowers seeking to take advantage of income-driven repayment plans with their federal student loans complain to the CFPB about prolonged […]

CFPB Acts Against Wells Fargo for Illegal Student Loan Servicing Practices

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau yesterday took action against Wells Fargo Bank for illegal private student loan servicing practices that increased costs and unfairly penalized certain student loan borrowers. The CFPB identified breakdowns throughout Wells Fargo’s servicing process including failing to provide important payment information to consumers, charging consumers illegal fees, and failing to update […]

Georgia Dentist Mitul Patel Takes Phony Litigation Scheme to New Extremes Trying to Suppress Criticism

by Paul Alan Levy At a time when the California Supreme Court is deciding whether to grant discretionary review of the decision of the California Court of Appeal in Hassell v. Bird, which held that Yelp could be required to comply with a default judgment holding that a posted review of a California lawyer was […]

Can consumer claims that may not be litigated in a class action nonetheless be settled on a class basis without the consumer’s affirmative consent (and, if so, when)?

That's pretty much the topic of The Limits of Comprehensive Peace: The Example of the FLSA by Lonnie Hoffman and Christian Ward. Here is the abstract: Normally, cases can be settled on broad terms that release all related claims. Although there are added protections that must be satisfied when a settlement is proposed in the class action […]

Uber is about to start using self-driving cars. Really.

Read this article by Russ Mitchell and Tracey Lien. Here's an excerpt: The robot cars aren’t coming. The robot cars are here. A fleet of Fords and Volvos, capable of driving themselves, is fully equipped and ready to hit the streets of Pittsburgh within weeks. The cars will be deployed by Uber, the ride-hailing company. Experimental robot cars already […]