Showing 4 posts from January 2019.

Illinois Supreme Court Issues Ruling On What "Aggrieved" Means Under The Biometric Information Privacy Act

The Illinois Supreme Court in Rosenbach v. Six Flags Entertainment Corporation, et al. just held that under the Illinois Biometric Information Privacy Act (BIPA) "an individual need not allege some actual injury or adverse effect, beyond violation of his or her rights under the Act, in order to qualify as an 'aggrieved' person and be entitled to seek liquidated damages and injunctive relief."

Rosenbach claimed Six Flags violated BIPA when it scanned her son's thumbprint for his season pass without written consent. The Illinois Appellate Court held that a plaintiff must demonstrate more than a technical violation of BIPA in order to state a claim. There have been conflicting decisions about whether actual harm is required since "person aggrieved" is not defined in the statute. More ›

New York Mandates New Consumer Protections for Relatives of Deceased Debtors

Effective March 28, 2019, § 601-a of New York's General Business Law ("GBL 601-a") will provide additional consumer protections to relatives of deceased borrowers. Typically, when a debtor passes away, the obligations on their uncollected debts pass to the debtor's estate. This can result in confusion about whom debt collectors should contact and what they can say regarding the decedent's unpaid debt. GBL 601-a will require, among other things, that no representations are made to relatives of deceased debtors to the effect that they are obligated to pay the decedent's unpaid debt. More ›

Florida Supreme Court Awards Appellate Attorney's Fees to Borrower After Mortgagee Voluntarily Drops Appeal

In a recent 4-3 decision, the Florida Supreme Court concluded that a borrower was entitled to her appellate attorneys' fees because she was the prevailing party in a judicial foreclosure action in which her mortgagee had voluntarily dropped the appeal. Marie Anne Glass' mortgage loan servicer filed a complaint for judicial foreclosure in December 2013. Glass moved to dismiss the case on grounds that did not challenge the default, but instead argued that her mortgagee failed to allege or demonstrate that it was the proper holder of the note. Ultimately, the trial court granted Glass' motion and dismissed the case with prejudice. More ›

SCOTUS to Decide Whether Non-Judicial Mortgage Foreclosures are Subject to the FDCPA

For mortgage servicers and foreclosure firms, yesterday's oral argument before the Supreme Court in Obduskey v. McCarthy & Holthus LLP, U.S. Supreme Court, 17-1307 and the upcoming decision, could be a game changer. At issue: a split in the federal circuits over whether the non-judicial foreclosure of a mortgage constitutes debt collection, as defined by the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act. More ›