The Supreme Court in 2017 ruled debt buyers do not fall under the FDCPA’s second definition of a debt collector—one who regularly collects debts owed to another. As discussed here, the Third Circuit in Barbato has just found a debt buyer covered under the FDCPA’s principal purpose definition, concluding that FDCPA coverage does not require a debt buyer to engage in overt collections.

Overview On March 20, 2019, the Supreme Court’s unanimous decision in Obduskey v. McCarthy & Holthus L.L.P. examined liability for violations of the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA) that are committed in non-judicial foreclosures. This article considers which FDCPA claims arising from foreclosures are viable post- Obduskey. Obduskey holds that entities whose principal purpose is...

Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) litigation is one of today’s hottest areas and this article provides new practice tips in bringing suits involving robocalls and junk faxes, based on the very latest case rulings and expert advice.

Effective April 1, consumers filing bankruptcy will be able to exempt more of their equity in their homes, cars, household goods, and even retirement accounts. This article describes all the bankruptcy dollar amount changes going into effect April 1.

The Supreme Court has just imposed the Eighth Amendment’s Excessive Fines Clause on the states, recognizing that the clause is a shield against government’s using high fines for revenue-generating purposes. This article explains that the opinion will surely be used to challenge the rising fines imposed by state and local governments and their impact on low-income defendants.

This article provides tips on advising lower income consumers on the many changes this tax season—including increased refund delays, increased problems with RACs, RALs, and paid tax preparers, growing use of private collection of IRS debt, and new requirements to renew ITINs. Also included are pointers on dealing with unaffordable taxes.

This article summarizes all 34 FDCPA reported appellate decisions issued in 2018, reports on a pending Supreme Court FDCPA case, and describes NCLC’s digital tool to locate relevant FDCPA case summaries from summaries of over 14,000 FDCPA decisions.

This article lists federal and state consumer law changes scheduled to become effective in 2019. That is, the listing includes consumer law changes enacted in 2018 or earlier, but scheduled to go into effect in 2019.

This article examines Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 23 changes that, effective December 1, establish new standards for electronic class action notices, require more information before approval of a class notice, clarify standards for court approval of a class settlement, and seek to reduce abuses by those improperly objecting to class settlements.

On December 1, extensive amendments to the Bankruptcy Rules go into effect. As analyzed in this article, of special note are rules dealing with mortgage loan payments in chapter 13 cases, electronic filing of bankruptcy forms, and with appeals from bankruptcy court to the federal district court.

A recent appellate court ruling highlights the availability of attorney fees for the consumer when a creditor or debt buyer fails to prevail in a credit card or other collection action. This article sets out seven ways in which consumers can recover such attorney fees if the creditor fails in its collection lawsuit.

An important recent Ninth Circuit ruling rejects a federal regulation as to when a national bank can ignore state law. This article explains how the decision underscores that federal regulators and some courts have been overly expansive in protecting banks from liability for violating state consumer protection laws.

A court has ordered that long-delayed Dep’t of Ed. rules become effective October 16, 2018. This article explains how the rules now: prohibit schools from requiring mandatory arbitration or class waivers of certain student claims, even for preexisting agreements; increase the availability of closed school and false certification discharges; and improve the administrative process for students to raise school-related defenses on their loans.

Billions of pieces of information that creditors, debt collectors, and other “furnishers” of information send to credit reporting agencies are in a standard format called Metro 2. This article links to updated and expanded information on creditors’ liability when they report consumer data in a non-conforming manner that leads to inaccurate consumer reports.

The definition of an autodialer is key to providing effective TCPA remedies and to stopping the onslaught of unwanted calls to Americans’ cellphones. This article examines a new groundbreaking Ninth Circuit decision and other very recent case law defining auto dialer.

As explained in this article, an August federal court decision finds that Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are state actors, meaning their foreclosures must meet constitutional due process standards. This ruling thus has the potential to reshape most foreclosures in the majority of states that allow nonjudicial foreclosures.

This article helps families in financial distress decide whether to file bankruptcy: what bankruptcy can and cannot do, the best time to file for bankruptcy, when it is the wrong choice, whether to file under chapter 7 or 13, bankruptcy’s cost, and common misconceptions about bankruptcy.

Significant decisions on the TCPA—allowing $500 damages ($1500 if willful or knowing) for each unwanted robocall or robotext—pour in almost daily. This article summarizes the very latest developments on the definition of “autodialer” (the key TCPA issue today), the limited impact of arbitration requirements, revocation of consumer consent, and more.

A July 27, 2018 Arizona Supreme Court decision is the latest ruling to offer consumers new ways to argue for a shorter limitations period when defending a credit card collection action. This article examines which statute in a state applies, which state’s limitations period applies, when the period begins, and when it is tolled or revived.

This article details rights to cancel, reduce, and delay federal student loan payments, how to get out of default short of making back-due payments, as well as the methods the government has to enforce payment. Student options concerning private student loans are also examined.