CFPB, Federal Agencies, State Agencies, and Attorneys General
In a recent decision, a California federal district court ruled that a debt collector’s use of email to send the initial communication containing the validation notice without first obtaining the plaintiff’s consent to receive the notice electronically under the E-SIGN Act did not violate the FDCPA.
The FDCPA requires a debt collector to provide the…
We look at the impact of federal and state law including relevant CARES Act provisions, state garnishment directives, and federal preemption, identify issues banks should consider in handling garnishments or exercising setoff rights, and offer suggestions for mitigation measures banks can take as they decide how to address the challenges in this area.
A Massachusetts federal district court has entered a temporary restraining order that blocks the state’s attorney general from enforcing the prohibitions on initiating lawsuits and making collection calls in the AG’s emergency debt collection regulation promulgated on March 26. The TRO was sought by ACA International, the Association of Credit and Collection Professionals, in its…
ACA International, the Association of Credit and Collection Professionals, has filed a lawsuit in Massachusetts seeking to have the federal district court declare the emergency debt collection regulation promulgated on March 26 by the MA Attorney General invalid and enjoining the AG from enforcing the regulation against debt collectors and creditors. In addition to filing…
On April 7, the District of Columbia passed the COVID-19 Response Supplemental Emergency and Temporary Amendment Act of 2020 which goes into effect immediately and lasts until 60 days after the emergency ends. The law prohibits debt collectors from initiating any communication with a debtor through any written or electronic communication, including email or text…
Our webinar yesterday, “Consumer Financial Regulatory and Litigation Fallout from the COVID-19 Crisis,” in which we were joined by special guest speakers Richard Cordray, former CFPB Director, and John Roddy, Partner at Bailey & Glasser and prominent plaintiffs’ class action lawyer, highlighted the regulatory and litigation risks the crisis is expected to create for members…
Last week, in Ricco v. Sentry Credit, Inc., the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit ruled that the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act does not require a written dispute to avoid an assumption by the debt collector that the debt is valid. Declining the opportunity to be “the ‘legal last-man-standing’ among the…
On March 27, 2020, the Massachusetts Attorney General filed an emergency regulation interpreting the Massachusetts Consumer Protection Act, M.G.L. Chapter 93A, to address certain practices by creditors and debt collectors that it has determined to be unfair and deceptive under present circumstances. The regulation, entitled “Unfair and Deceptive Debt Collection Practices During the State…
The CFPB has issued its annual Fair Debt Collection Practices Act report covering the CFPB’s and FTC’s activities in 2019.
With regard to the CFPB’s debt collection rulemaking, in her opening message, Director Kraninger only references the Bureau’s May 2019 proposal. She does not mention the Bureau’s supplemental proposal issued last month that would require…
On March 13, following the declaration of a state of emergency by Nevada Governor Sisolak due to the COVID-19 outbreak, the state’s Department of Business and Industry (DBI) issued guidance that allowed collection agency employees to work from their residences even if a residence was not a location licensed with the DBI. However, on March…
