The Third Circuit Court of Appeals this week reversed the dismissal of a class-action case alleging violations of the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act by Bank of America and a law firm. The plaintiff alleged that the bank and firm, when they initiated foreclosure proceedings, assessed fees that had not yet been incurred. The court […]
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Reuters explains: The ruling by the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals reverses more than $800,000 in damages from R.J. Reynolds and Altria Group Inc unit Philip Morris USA Inc awarded in 2013 to Earl Graham, whose wife Faye, a longtime smoker, died in 1993 of lung cancer. More broadly, the court said smokers who, […]
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau yesterday filed a lawsuit against the leaders of a robocall debt collection operation, their companies, and their service providers.The CFPB explained: The debt collectors, using various aliases, allegedly deployed automated calls to threaten, harass, and deceive consumers in attempts to collect debt the consumers did not owe to them, and […]
Reports the New York Times today: The Federal Communications Commission announced on Wednesday a $25 million fine against AT&T for failing to protect the personal information, including the Social Security numbers, of its customers. Employees at AT&T call centers were found to have stolen the names and Social Security numbers of about 300,000 of the […]
The Federal Trade Commission announced three settlements yesterday: • The FTC announced a settlement with Network Solutions LLC over charges that the company misled consumers who bought its web hosting services by promising a full refund if they canceled within 30 days. In reality, the company withheld substantial cancellation fees from most refunds. The FTC's […]
Predictably, after the Supreme Court expanded the preemptive effect of the Federal Arbitration Act in its 2011 Concepcion decision, employers took advantage, reports the Wall St. Journal: "Arbitration clauses with class-action waivers r[o]se sharply after 2011 court ruling." Apologies for the subscriber-only link, but if you have access, it's worth a read, here.
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau announced today that it is launching a nationwide effort to advance financial education in schools. The Bureau is publishing “Advancing K-12 Financial Education: A Guide for Policymakers,” a resource guide which contains strategies for furthering the development and implementation of financial education in states. The CFPB press release is here.
That’s the question posed by this Reuters story, which suggests that big banks will retaliate against the pro-regulatory proposals of Senators Elizabeth Warren and Sherrod Brown by withholding campaign contributions from Senate Democrats. Sen. Warren, for her part, does not plan to play along, she explained in a blog post (entitled "Wall Street isn't happy […]
Reports Law360 last week: "Facebook Unlawfully Tracking All Visitors, Report Says." The report in question was prepared by the Interdisciplinary Center for Law and ICT at the University of Leuven in Belgium, and it accuses the social networking behemoth of violating EU privacy law by tracking the activities of individuals who are not users of […]
The Washington Post concludes that industry claims that state laws requiring food labels to disclose a products contains genetically modified ingredients would cost families $500 more in groceries each year are wildly exaggerated. The article is here. As the article indicates, the costs claimed by industry are largely due to expected changes in consumer behavior. […]