Joel E. Tasca

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California frequently is in the vanguard of consumer financial issues and legislation, foreshadowing trends that may spread to other states. Today’s episode, during which we explore important hot topics and recent developments in California consumer finance law, is hosted by Ballard Spahr partner Melanie Vartabedian, and features Partners Michael Guerrero and Joel Tasca, and Of Counsel John Kimble.… Continue Reading

Rhode Island, Minnesota, and Nevada have joined the list of jurisdictions considering proposals to legislatively opt out of federal interest rate preemption established under the federal Depository Institutions Deregulation and Monetary Control Act of 1980 (DIDMCA). Although the legal effect remains unclear, the apparent objective of these proposed laws is to prevent interest rate “exportation” by state-chartered financial institutions.… Continue Reading

The CFPB recently filed two amicus briefs, one in a First Circuit case involving the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA) and the other, which was filed jointly with the Federal Trade Commission, in a Fourth Circuit case involving the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA).

FDCPA.  The FDCPA case is Carrasquillo v.… Continue Reading

A unanimous panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit has ruled that text messages are not “prerecorded voice messages” for purposes of the Telephone Consumer Protection Act’s (TCPA) prohibition on using “an artificial or prerecorded voice” to make non-emergency calls to cell phone numbers without the called party’s consent.… Continue Reading

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit has ruled that because “there is no bright-line rule that only purely factual or transcription errors are actionable under the [Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA)],” the FCRA does not contemplate a threshold inquiry by the court as to whether an alleged inaccuracy is “legal” for purposes of determining whether the plaintiff has stated a cognizable claim under the FCRA. … Continue Reading

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, in a 2-1 decision, recently affirmed the district court’s decision denying the plaintiffs’ motion for a temporary restraining order and preliminary injunction to block enforcement of Nevada Senate Bill 248 (S.B. 248).  S.B. 248, which took effect on July 1, 2021, was enacted in response to the COVID-19 pandemic and requires debt collectors to provide written notification to debtors 60 days “before taking any action to collect a medical debt.”… Continue Reading

A Ninth Circuit panel affirmed the district court’s dismissal with prejudice of a class action complaint in which the plaintiff alleged that Meta Platforms, Inc. (Meta) violated the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) by sending unsolicited “Birthday Announcement” text messages to consumers’ cell phones.  Among other restrictions, the TCPA prohibits calls to cell phone numbers using an Automatic Telephone Dialing System (ATDS) without prior express consent. … Continue Reading

The Federal Communications Commission ruled this month that “ringless voicemail” to wireless phones is a “call” made using an artificial or prerecorded voice and therefore subject to the Telephone Consumer Protection Act robocall prohibition.  The TCPA prohibits making any non-emergency call using an automatic telephone dialing system or an artificial or prerecorded voice to a wireless telephone number without the prior express consent of the called party. … Continue Reading

In Wakefield v. ViSalus, Inc., the Ninth Circuit considered whether a jury verdict of $925,200,000 for cumulative statutory damages under the Telephone Consumer Protection Act, 47 U.S.C. § 227 (“TCPA”) was constitutional in light of its harsh severity.  After a three-day trial, the jury delivered a verdict against ViSalus, finding that it sent over 1.8 million prerecorded calls to class members without prior express consent, in violation of the TCPA. … Continue Reading

The FTC has declined requests to extend the comment period for its proposed rule that would impose a number of new substantive and disclosure requirements on motor vehicle dealers in connection with the car buying or leasing process. 

The FTC’s notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM) was published in the Federal Register on July 13, 2022 with a 60-day comment period that ends on September 12, 2022. … Continue Reading