Search

Terms and Connectors

Essential Reading for FDCPA Practitioners

Almost every FDCPA (as well as TCPA, FCRA, and TILA) case these days faces a Spokeo challenge. All consumer litigant in federal court must understand the latest Spokeo rulings. This article provides a survey of all circuit court FDCPA Spokeo rulings, as well as setting out key strategic decisions in bringing federal court consumer claims.

Courts in 2019 Reshape the TCPA in 8 Ways—Mostly to the Good

As discussed in this article, a slew of 2019 court rulings are reshaping private litigation against robocallers. The federal student loan collectors’ exemption was declared unconstitutional; the Supreme Court issued smoke signals on the weight given FCC orders; the TCPA was ruled applicable to new types of robocalls; cases interpreted whether predictive dialers are covered; and Spokeo challenges generally lost.

How to Protect Wages and Benefits from Creditors

This article explains what every attorney needs to know about protecting clients from wage garnishment and seizure of public benefits, wages, and other funds in bank accounts. The article explains how to both evaluate and reduce a consumer’s exposure to these post-judgment remedies, considers the special case of federal student loans, and details important federal and state law protections in each of the 50 states.

Groundbreaking New Ninth Circuit TCPA Decision on Autodialers

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.

The Latest TCPA Decisions on Robocalls

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.

The TCPA Year in Review: New Precedent re Challenges to Unwanted Calls, Texts, & Faxes

2017 saw hundreds of new decisions and FCC actions interpreting the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA), which provides significant statutory damages for unwanted calls, texts, and faxes. This article outlines the areas where there has been the most significant case law and FCC activity in 2017. All links are to NCLC’s Federal Deception Law Chapter 6—a detailed analysis of all significant TCPA decisions and FCC actions, updated digitally in February 2018.

What Every FDCPA Practitioner Needs to Know About Spokeo

This article sets out seven essential steps for FDCPA consumer litigants to deal with Spokeo standing challenges, surveys all six circuit court FDCPA decisions on Spokeo challenges, and organizes by FDCPA violation with links to analysis of over 100 federal district court decisions.

Supreme Court Rules on Robocallers

A July 6, 2020 Supreme Court decision in Barr applies the same Telephone Consumer Protection Act restrictions on robocalls to collect government debt as apply to other robocalls. Otherwise the exemption for government debt would unconstitutionally favor one form of speech content over another. This article examines the ruling’s implications for litigation involving robocalls to collect government debt, other robocall litigation, and even First Amendment litigation regarding other consumer statutes.

Ten Tips on Winning Spokeo Challenges in FDCPA Litigation

Since the Supreme Court’s Spokeo decision, expect an Article III standing challenge in almost every FDCPA case. This article provides ten tips to overcoming Spokeo challenges and links to an up-to-the minute digital analysis, including almost 100 new court decisions since the March 2018 release of the print edition of NCLC’s Fair Debt Collection.

Ninth Circuit Limits National Banks’ Free Pass to Flout State Law

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.

Protecting Wages, Benefits, and Bank Accounts from Judgment Creditors

Financial distress exacerbated by the current epidemic will soon result in millions of judgments against consumers in collection lawsuits. This article details federal and particularly state law exemptions and other protections and strategies that limit these judgment creditors from garnishing consumer wages and freezing and seizing consumer bank accounts. Additional key resources are also listed.

Motor Vehicle Repossessions: Consumer Debt Advice from NCLC

Over six million consumers are in imminent danger of their car being repossessed. This article provides advice for consumers on preventing car repossessions, steps to take after a vehicle’s repossession, and responding to the creditor’s demand for additional payment after a repossession.
stack of NCLC treatises

Practice Implications of June 25 Supreme Court Ramirez Decision

The Supreme Court’s June 25 Ramirez decision reshapes constitutional standing for federal court FCRA, FDCPA, TILA, TCPA, RESPA and other individual and class cases based on consumer statutes. This article details Ramirez’s practice implications for varied types of consumer injury, provides pleading and proof tips, and explains how initiating a case in state court may alleviate standing problems.

Starting July 15: Protecting the Monthly Child Tax Credit Payments from Creditors

Starting July 15, families will receive each month an advance child tax credit up to $300 per child per month. This article examines existing consumer protections to safeguard payments from judgment creditors’ bank account garnishment and from the United States’ intercept to repay defaulted federal student loans. The article also considers tactics to protect paper check payments from garnishment.

A photo of a courthouse partially obscured by a tree

Protecting Federal Claims by Using State Courts

This article describes advantages and tactics in bringing federal consumer claims in state court, in response to Supreme Court decisions that narrow federal court standing requirements under Article III of the Constitution. Also detailed are a just-updated state-by-state analysis of state court standing rules, analysis why federal court standing requirements do not apply to federal claims in state courts, and a summary of advantages of litigating federal claims in state courts.

NCLC's Digital Library displayed on an iPad in a library

Our Five Favorite New Features on NCLC’s Revamped and Enhanced Digital Library

Here are our five favorite new features on the revamped NCLC Digital Library, giving you a faster, easier reading experience, letting you view extra content related to the page you are viewing, adding powerful new search options, offering at no charge over 1400 written submissions at NCLC conferences, and including free to the public 6000 chapter and appendix subsections.