Popular Video Conferencing Zoom App Hit with CCPA Class Actions

We recently reported on the California Attorney General's ongoing and active enforcement of the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) despite COVID-19 and the availability of private actions. In Robert Cullen v. Zoom Video Communications, Inc., N.D. Cal., No. 20-cv-02155, filed on March 30, 2020, plaintiff alleges that Zoom failed to properly safeguard the personal information of him and other users of its software application (Zoom App) and video conferencing platform. More ›

CCPA Litigation Has Arrived and COVID-19 Will Not Delay Enforcement

Despite concerns expressed by the business community, enforcement of the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) will not be delayed as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. California Attorney General Xavier Becerra recently clarified that his office "is committed to enforcing the law upon finalizing the rules or July 1, whichever comes first. … [W]e are all mindful of the new reality created by COVID-19 and the heightened value of protecting consumers' privacy online that comes with it. We encourage businesses to be particularly mindful of data security in this time of emergency." More ›

Uniformity Achieved: Third Circuit Rules There is No Written Requirement to Dispute Validity of a Debt Under FDCPA

The Third Circuit Court of Appeals issued an en banc decision in Riccio v. Sentry Credit, overturning Graziano v. Harrison, after finding that there is no written dispute requirement in Section 1692g(a)(3) of the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA). According to the court, this decision ends "a circuit split and restores national uniformity to the meaning of §1692g." Moreover, the decision applies retroactively to any claim still open on the issue, thus closing the chapter on a written requirement for Section 1692g. More ›

Interactive COVID-19 Regulatory Map for Consumer Financial Institutions

To assist consumer financial services lenders, servicers and investors, Hinshaw has developed an interactive tracker of state regulations related to the COVID-19 pandemic. The tracker documents actions by various state regulators, along with the limits imposed by states on foreclosures, evictions, and debt collections, and allows users to click on any state to view applicable provisions.  More ›

Congress is Nearing a $2 Trillion Stimulus Deal, Here's What it Means for Loan Servicers

The COVID-19 outbreak has resulted in unprecedented job loss for millions of Americans, creating economic uncertainty and challenges for loan servicers in 2020. Until the outbreak is controlled, missed payments on mortgages and student loans are likely to increase. Already, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) have issued 60 day moratoriums on foreclosures and evictions, which some states—and most banks and mortgage loan servicers—have adopted. Meanwhile, the Department of Education has announced that all borrowers with federal loans will have their interest rates automatically set at 0% for at least 60 days. Late Wednesday night, the Senate passed H.R. 748, the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (CARES Act) after senate leadership reached an agreement with the White House earlier in the week. The legislation now moves to the House of Representatives for what many hope is unanimous consent. While we are still waiting on the House of Representative's approval, we've explored measures within the bill that will immediately impact student and mortgage loan servicers and outlined them below. More ›

NYDFS Issues Order and Instructions to Regulated Entities in Response to COVID-19

In response to challenges facing the financial services industry as a result of coronavirus (COVID-19), New York's Department of Financial Services (DFS) has issued a COVID-19 compliance order, along with a series of industry guidance letters related to the organizational preparedness of regulated institutions to manage risks associated with the outbreak.

Below is a summary of these recent actions and requests for information. Institutions are encouraged to visit the DFS website for additional updates and information. Hinshaw is well-positioned to assist impacted institutions in their review of the DFS instructions and the preparation of responses. More ›

Legal Guidance Watch: Second Circuit Nostra Sponte Certifies a Series of Mortgage Lender Compliance Questions to New York Court of Appeals

The Second Circuit recently certified two questions to the New York Court of Appeals regarding the requisite proof needed for borrowers to dispute the lender's compliance with New York Real Property Procedures and Acts ("RPAPL") § 1304 and the required filings under RPAPL § 1306 for a multi-borrower mortgage loan. The New York Court of Appeals has not yet ruled on these statutes and the requisite proof needed to comply with them. A decision on these issues could greatly impact the mortgage industry, given the impact of these statutes on mortgage foreclosure proceedings. More ›

Circuit Split Created as Eleventh and Seventh Circuits Narrowly Interpret Definition of Auto-Dialer Under the TCPA

We now have a split among federal circuits regarding the definition of an automatic telephone dialing system (ATDS), under the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA), which limits automated calls and text messages. What constitutes an ATDS has been debated both by the FCC and courts for quite some time. In 2008 and 2015, the FCC found that all predictive dialers were automated telephone dialing systems under the TCPA. In Marks v. Crunch San Diego in 2018, the Ninth Circuit, held that the TCPA applies to devices with the capacity to automatically dial telephone numbers from a stored list or devices that dial telephone numbers produced from a random or sequential number generator. Now, in Glasser v. Hilton Grand Vacations and Gadelhak v. AT&T Services, Inc., the Eleventh and Seventh Circuits have taken the opposite approach and found that an ATDS only includes equipment that dials randomly or sequentially. More ›

An Emerging Trend in Favor of Student Loan Discharges in Bankruptcy

We recently reported on a Fifth Circuit decision that ruled some private, for-profit student loans are dischargeable in bankruptcy without a showing of undue hardship—something unusual and inconsistent with the widely-held belief that student loans are rarely discharged. It turns out that the Fifth Circuit's decision may have initiated a trend, for both private and federal loans. More ›

First Circuit Bankruptcy Panel Affirms "Gavel Rule" as Determinative of When a Bankruptcy Debtor's Right of Redemption Terminates

The Bankruptcy Appellate Panel for the First Circuit has affirmed an earlier decision that concluded a borrower's right to redeem terminates when the gavel falls at a foreclosure auction, and not when a deed is recorded. More ›