Showing 3 posts from December 2019.

Second Circuit Re-Emphasizes that FDCPA Claims Must Allege a Material Representation

The Second Circuit Court of Appeals recently took the opportunity to apply its 2018 holding in Cohen v. Rosicki, which had held that a consumer pursuing a claim for violation of Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA) must allege facts sufficient to demonstrate a material misrepresentation. Materiality depends on "whether the false statement would frustrate a consumer's ability to intelligently choose his or her response," or if the representation "could mislead the debtor as to the negate and legal status of the underlying debt," or "could impede the consumer's ability to respond to or dispute collection." More ›

U.S. Supreme Court Resolves Circuit Split, Applies Occurrence Rule to FDCPA Statute of Limitations

Earlier this year, this blog reported on the Supreme Court's grant of certiorari in Rotkiske v. Klemm to resolve a split in circuits on the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act's (FDCPA) statute of limitations. This week, in an 8:1 opinion delivered by Justice Thomas, the Court concluded that the one-year statute of limitations in the FDCPA begins to run when the violation occurs, not when the violation is discovered. In doing so, they overturned rulings by the Fourth and Ninth Circuit, which had held the FDCPA's statute of limitations was subject to equitable tolling. More ›

Senate Hearing Panel Suggests a Bipartisan National Data Privacy Standard Could Include a Private Right of Action

A recent hearing at the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation explored the contours for a comprehensive and bipartisan federal data privacy law. Titled "Examining Legislative Proposals to Protect Consumer Data Privacy," the hearing featured an all-female panel of experts, including two former FTC leaders, and representatives from industry, academia, and consumer rights groups.

The panel discussion centered on current privacy legislation proposed by U.S. Senators Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.) and Roger Wicker (R-Miss.) which would provide consumers with greater security, transparency, choice and control over their personal information on- and off-line, and provide the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) with additional resources and authority to regulate. The hearing and written testimony are available on the Senate Committee's website. More ›