CFPB, Federal Agencies, State Agencies, and Attorneys General
A unanimous panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit has ruled that a plaintiff who received only one ringless voicemail (RVM) had alleged a concrete injury sufficient to provide Article III standing to assert a claim under the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA).
In Dickson v. Direct Energy LP, the plaintiff alleged that the defendant delivered multiple RVMs to his cell phone voicemail box in which the defendant advertised its services. … Continue Reading
In its 2016 decision in Spokeo v. Robins, the U.S. Supreme Court held that a plaintiff alleging a Fair Credit Reporting Act violation does not have standing under Article III of the U.S. Constitution to sue for statutory damages in federal court unless the plaintiff can show that he or she suffered “concrete,” “real” harm as a result of the violation.… Continue Reading
Earlier this week, the U.S. Supreme Court agreed to hear a case in which the question presented is whether an Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) “tester” has Article III standing to challenge a place of public accommodation’s failure to provide disability accessibility information on its website, even if she lacked any intention of visiting that place of public accommodation. … Continue Reading
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit recently joined the Eleventh Circuit (and a growing majority of courts) in rejecting the “Hunstein theory” of liability under the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA). In Shields v. Professional Bureau of Collections of Maryland, Inc., the Tenth Circuit affirmed a lower court’s dismissal of FDCPA claims for lack of standing, confirming that a debt collector’s use of an outside mail vendor does not constitute an actionable, concrete injury.… Continue Reading
In an unpublished opinion, a New Jersey federal district court has ruled that a plaintiff did not have Article III standing to assert a claim under the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act based solely on her receipt of an allegedly misleading collection letter.
In Valentine v Unifund CCR, LLC; Distressed Asset Portfolio III, et al.… Continue Reading
After reviewing the facts and holding in Ramirez, we discuss how the decision clarifies the concrete harm requirement established by SCOTUS’s Spokeo decision, Ramirez’s implications for class action and individual lawsuits alleging violations of federal consumer financial protection laws, and the potential impact on state court litigation.
Chris Willis, Co-Chair of Ballard Spahr’s Consumer Financial Services Group, hosts the conversation, joined by Dan McKenna, Practice Group Leader of the firm’s Consumer Financial Services Litigation Group.… Continue Reading
In a 5-4 decision, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled last week in TransUnion, LLC. v. Ramirez that only class members who were concretely harmed by TransUnion’s FCRA violation had Article III standing to seek damages.
In the case, Sergio Ramirez, the named plaintiff, alleged that he suffered difficulty in obtaining credit and other harm after an automobile dealer received a credit report from TransUnion indicating that his name matched a name found on the list of terrorists and narcotics traffickers with whom U.S.… Continue Reading
In a thoughtful opinion that diverges from how other circuit courts have addressed the issue, the Second Circuit recently issued a ruling clarifying the circumstances when data breach plaintiffs can rely on fear of identity theft to establish Article III standing.
The case is McMorris v. Carlos Lopez & Associates, LLP (CLA). … Continue Reading
The U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York has dismissed for lack of Article III standing the lawsuit filed by a credit union challenging President Trump’s appointment of Mick Mulvaney as CFPB Acting Director. The dismissal has no impact on Leandra English’s appeal to the D.C. Circuit of the D.C.… Continue Reading
This past May, the U.S. Supreme Court, in Spokeo, Inc. v. Robins, ruled 6-2 that a plaintiff alleging a Fair Credit Reporting Act violation does not have standing under Article III of the U.S. Constitution to sue for statutory damages in federal court unless the plaintiff can show that he or she suffered “concrete,” “real” harm as a result of the violation. … Continue Reading
