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This article describes important new legislation providing added protections for veterans, servicemembers, and their dependents in bankruptcy cases. It also analyzes new bankruptcy rules, effective December 1, 2019, and a must-read Fifth Circuit decision on the ability to discharge private student loans.

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.

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.

Creditors with court judgments against consumers may seek to garnish stimulus payments from consumers’ bank accounts. This article explains the threat, lists tips to determine accounts at risk, explains how Americans will receive stimulus payments, and provides advice on preventing garnishment, depending on whether payment is by direct deposit or by paper check.

This article sets out practice implications of three recent Supreme Court cases, two FCC rulings, and other court decisions dramatically reshaping TCPA litigation: Article III standing; the autodialer definition; constitutionality of TCPA claims arising prior to an unconstitutional provision’s severance; general limits on prerecorded calls; new limits on debt collector-recorded calls to residential lines; and seller liability for “do-not-call” rule violations.

This article summarizes current Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) and robocall developments, including the status of three important FCC final rules, a proposed FCC rule, an enforcement action concerning spoofing of caller IDs, and a pending Supreme Court case concerning the precedential value of FCC interpretations—all of which could significantly affect TCPA litigation.