Showing 9 posts in Third Circuit Court of Appeals.

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 ›

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 ›

ACA International Continues Setting Precedent Regarding Autodialers: Second and Third Circuits Follow Suit in Adopting a Narrowed Definition

The Second Circuit, in King v. Time Warner Cable, Inc., and the Third Circuit, in Dominguez v. Yahoo!, Inc., relied upon the D.C. Circuit's decision in ACA International v. FCC in limiting the definition of an autodialer under the Telephone Consumer Protection Act. Dominguez found that Yahoo's text message system did not fit the definition of autodialer, while King emphasized that only a device that currently has the ability to perform autodialing functions can qualify as an autodialer system. More ›

Credit Card Holder has Remedies under the TILA and FCBA against Issuer due to unauthorized use of Credit Card according to Third Circuit

In Krieger v. Bank of America, the plaintiff unknowingly gave a scammer access to his personal computer, which was used to make a $657 Western Union charge on his Bank of America (BOA) credit card. Upon realizing the scam, the plaintiff immediately contacted BOA and was told that nothing could be done until he received his monthly billing statement. On receipt of the statement one month later, the plaintiff again contacted BOA, which credited his account while it investigated. In a confirmatory letter, BOA stated that, although Western Union could provide additional facts, BOA considered the dispute resolved. Although the plaintiff's next statement showed the credit, BOA followed up with a subsequent letter, which stated that, based upon additional information from Western Union, BOA believed the charge was in fact valid and would reinstate it to the plaintiff's account. The plaintiff then sent a letter detailing the events, declaring the charge invalid, and requested it be removed. BOA denied his request. The plaintiff paid the charge and filed suit. More ›

Third Circuit Disagrees with Fourth and Ninth Circuit, Rules that Limitations Period for FDCPA Claims Starts on Occurrence

In Rotkiske v. Klemm, the Third Circuit ruled that the statute of limitations for a Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA) claim begins to toll on the date of the alleged violation, not when the plaintiff discovers the violation. That's significant, because the Fourth and Ninth Circuits have ruled otherwise. More ›

Overshadowed and Contradicted: Third Circuit Rules Second Demand Letter Violated FDCPA's "Validation Notice" Requirement

The Third Circuit Court of Appeals recently reiterated how a debt collector may run afoul of the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act ("FDCPA") by sending a misleading follow-up, even if it served a compliant demand letter weeks earlier. More ›

Third Circuit Rules that a Single Voicemail on a Cell Phone is Sufficient to Confer Standing for a TCPA Claim

In another court's journey into the murky waters of constitutional standing post-Spokeo, the Third Circuit Court of Appeals concluded that one single voicemail on a consumer's cell phone is sufficient to confer standing under the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA). In Sussino v. Work Out World, Inc., the plaintiff alleged that she received an unsolicited call on her cell phone from Work Out World (WOW). When she did not answer, WOW left a prerecorded promotional offer lasting more than one minute on her voicemail. WOW moved to dismiss for lack of standing under Article III. The district court granted WOW's motion on the grounds that a single solicitation was not "the type of case that Congress was trying to protect people against," and in any event, the call and voicemail did not cause a concrete injury. Sussino appealed. More ›

A Cautionary Tale Regarding Case and Witness Preparation in Third Circuit TCPA and FDCPA Decision

In a cautionary tale for the defense bar, the Third Circuit recently upheld a consumer's TCPA claims and reversed summary judgment on the FDCPA claims in Daubert v. NRA, Nos. 16-3613 and 16-3629 (3d Cir. July 3, 2017). More ›

Second Circuit Says No to Unilateral Revocation of TCPA Consent to Contact, Citing Contract Principles

The Second Circuit Court of Appeals has split with the Third Circuit, the Eleventh Circuit, and the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), and utilized contract principles to hold that a consumer may not necessarily have the ability to unilaterally revoke consent to contact under the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA). The decision shifts the focus of a TCPA claim from simply deciding whether the consumer revoked consent to whether consent to contact could be revoked by contract standards. More ›