As described in this article, two dramatic changes to consumer credit reporting become effective this summer, scaling back reporting of tax liens, civil judgments, and medical debt. The result will be improved accuracy and higher credit scores for millions of consumers.

The Supreme Court on June 12 in Henson held that debt buyers are not covered under the FDCPA’s second definition of debt collector because they do not collect debts owed to another. This article explains the ruling and details why the FDCPA still applies to debt buyers.

On July 10, the CFPB issued its long-awaited final rule allowing class actions to proceed in court despite arbitration requirements. This article examines the new rule’s practice implications, outlines other arbitration developments, and provides a thumbnail guide to arbitration issues.

In Sheriff v. Gillie, 578 U.S. __ (2016), a unanimous Supreme Court on May 16 held in a narrowly-crafted decision that attorneys hired as special counsel by the Ohio Attorney General’s Office for the collection of debts owed to state institutions do not violate the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA) when they use the Ohio Attorney General’s letterhead together with a disclosure that they...

A May 15 Supreme Court decision is just one of the recent developments concerning arbitration clauses in nursing home contracts. This article explains the decision and other challenges to arbitration requirements in nursing home agreements.

This article examines the FDCPA implications of the Supreme Court’s May 15 decision in Midland Funding LLC v. Johnson that a collector filing a bankruptcy proof of claim on a time-barred debt is not an FDCPA violation.

The Supreme Court’s May 1 ruling in Bank of America v. City of Miami allows that city to continue its housing discrimination claims for banks’ predatory lending. This article explains how discrimination law is a useful tool to attack unfair lending practices.

This article summarizes a number of recent amendments to state debt collection legislation. This legislation should always be considered in addition to the requirements of the FDCPA.

Eleventh edition of Consumer Bankruptcy Law and Practice (2 vol.) (1568 pp.) now released in print and online. Click here for highlights, including detailed guidance completing the new official forms and 170 sample pleadings in Word.

The IRS has begun hiring private collectors to collect on delinquent tax obligations, and this article explains why these collectors are subject to Fair Debt Collection Practices Act requirements and remedies.

The Supreme Court’s March 29 decision in Expressions Hair Design may spark increased First Amendment challenges to consumer protection regulations. This article explains why the Court’s decision and prior precedents weigh against such challenges.

Two Supreme Court oral arguments in FDCPA cases, five Circuit Court rulings on the FDCPA and foreclosures, and another on collection of time barred debt are some of the recent FDCPA highlights described in this article.

Increasingly, consumers forced into arbitration seek to avail themselves of that process, but are frustrated by the defendant’s refusal to pay or otherwise participate in the proceeding. This article describes a state supreme court’s solution—the consumer can then go to court.

On March 2, 2017, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) released a 23 page Supervisory Highlights Consumer Reporting Special Edition discussing numerous problems and deficiencies that it found during its examinations at the "Big Three" nationwide consumer reporting companies (CRCs), i.e. Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion. Of even greater significance, the report sets out reforms that the...

As detailed in this article, a March CFPB report sets out serious problems uncovered by exams at the Big Three consumer reporting companies and details significant new reforms that these companies must implement to protect consumers.

With the phasing out of HAMP, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac have created a new home loan modification program that is now in effect, as detailed in this article.

Subscribers can now, for their own future use, annotate text or highlight selected passages of their NCLC online treatises, and then rapidly return to those notes. This article explains these and other new NCLC online features.

2016 was an active year for changes concerning the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA). This article highlights the following changes, with more detail found in NCLC’s Federal Deception Law ch. 6, as most recently updated online on January 6, 2017 (The chapter has now been updated online again on February 6, 2017, including a new January 30, 2017 Ninth Circuit decision in Van Patten v...

As detailed in this article, a defendant may waive its right to compel arbitration by refusing to pay arbitration fees, by participating in class litigation pre-certification, or by participating too long in an individual or even a related court action.

On November 10, the FTC issued a final regulation amending its Used Car Rule. This article explains the rule changes and then lists 15 ways in which a consumer can bring an action for a defective used car despite an “as is” disclaimer.