Consumer Financial Services Law

MAY 12, 2017

A New York District Court recently tackled the intersection between bankruptcy and pre-petition FDCPA claims and the application of judicial estoppel to undisclosed claims. In December 2013, Jeziorowski filed a complaint alleging violations of the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA) and the Telephone Consumer Protection Act of 1991 (TCPA). Jeziorowski v.

Bankruptcy 40

Bankruptcy Debtor Fair Debt Collection Creditors 40

FDCPA Defense

MAY 11, 2017

Grappling with the meaning of the so-called “meaningful involvement” doctrine is one of the most elusive and frustrating compliance challenges for collection attorneys and their clients. What exactly must a collection attorney do to ensure they are “meaningfully involved” in a file before sending a collection letter to a consumer? When, if ever, should collection law firms include disclaimers on their collection letters, indicating that no attorney of the firm has reviewed the particular circums

Law Firms 40

Law Firms Debtor Creditors Collections 40

Consumer Financial Services Law

MAY 10, 2017

A recent decision from a Louisiana district court should provide some comfort to banks and other financial institutions who acquire other entities by merger – at least in the Fifth Circuit, they are not debt collectors. As most know, Bank of America (BoA) acquired Countrywide Bank FSB and its mortgage portfolio in 2008. In Jackson v. Bank of America, N.A., the consumer brought an FDCPA claim against BoA based upon its actions in a foreclosure suit and an underlying mortgage which originated with

Debt collector 40

Debt collector Acquisition Financial Institution Foreclosure 40

Consumer Financial Services Law

MAY 7, 2017

The CFPB’s most recent monthly report on consumer complaints spotlights student loans. The report is a high level snapshot of trends in consumer complaints. The Report provides a summary of the volume of complaints by product category, by company and by state. Complaint Volume by Product The three most complained of consumer products remain debt collection, credit reporting and mortgage.

Student loans 40

Student loans Student Loans Loans Collections 40

Speaker: Erika R. Bales, Esq.

When we talk about “compliance and security," most companies want to ensure that steps are being taken to protect what they value most – people, data, real or personal property, intellectual property, digital assets, or any other number of other things - and it’s more important than ever that safeguards are in place. Let’s step back and focus on the idea that no matter how complicated the compliance and security regime, it should be able to be distilled down to a checklist.