On Jan. 19, a federal court in Pennsylvania dismissed a complaint against a debt buyer which alleged violations of the federal Fair Debt Collection Practices Act stemming from an alleged failure to be licensed under the Pennsylvania Consumer Discount Company Act.
Posts published by “Donald Maurice”
Donald Maurice provides counsel to the financial services industry, successfully litigating matters in the state and federal courts in individual and class actions. He has successfully argued before the Third, Fourth and Eighth Circuit U.S. Courts of Appeals, and has represented the financial services industry before several courts including as counsel for amicus curiae before the United States Supreme Court. He counsels clients in regulatory actions before the CFPB, and other federal and state regulators and in the development and testing of debt collection compliance systems. Don is peer-rated AV by Martindale-Hubbell, the worldwide guide to lawyers. In addition to being a frequent speaker and author on consumer financial services law, he serves as outside counsel to RMA International, on the governing Board of Regents of the American College of Consumer Financial Services Lawyers, and on the New York City Bar Association's Consumer Affairs Committee. From 2014 to 2017, he chaired the ABA's Bankruptcy and Debt Collection Subcommittee. For more information, see https://mauricewutscher.com/attorneys/donald-maurice/
Managing against unforeseen risks can be a difficult task. But sometimes you can get a hint of potential trouble ahead. In the past few months there have been at least four cases that could cause substantial disruption to debt buyers, creditors and their service providers alike. Here they are:
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has prevailed against a challenge to its authority in the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals in the wake of last summer’s U.S. Supreme Court decision in Seila Law LLC v. Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.
During what was an extraordinary and difficult year, there was an abundance of activity at the state and federal levels and a good deal of it was driven by the present COVID-19 pandemic. Here is my take on some of the most significant regulatory activities from the past year in consumer debt collection that will continue to impact both consumers and creditors in the years to come.
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has released its final rule for the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act. The release of the rule promises to bring substantial changes in consumer debt collection practices.
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau released its Advance Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (ANPR) on Oct. 22, seeking comment on 46 questions in nine categories surrounding consumer access to financial information under section 1033 of the 2010 Dodd-Frank Act (12 U.S.C. § 5533).
The FTC will soon propose changes it says are designed to align several existing rules under the federal Fair Credit Reporting Act with the Dodd-Frank Act. The impacted rules cover only “motor vehicle dealers” being persons “predominantly engaged in the sale and servicing of motor vehicles, the leasing and servicing of motor vehicles, or both.”
The U.S. Supreme Court recently decided that a fix was needed to the federal Telephone Consumer Protection Act. But its decision in Barr v. American Assn. of Political Consultants, Inc. provides no TCPA relief for legitimate businesses that use technology to communicate with their customers.
On June 27, the City of New York’s new rules aimed at language access in debt collection become effective. I am often asked whether they apply to creditors as well. It appears that particular provisions of the new rules do cover creditors collecting their own debt.
Yesterday ARM industry trade associations ACA, New York State Collectors Association and the Receivables Management Association International (RMAI), along with the National Creditors Bar Association and the New York State Bar Association submitted a joint letter to the New York City Department of Consumer and Worker Protection (formerly the Department of Consumer Affairs) requesting a 60-day extension to the effective date of its new language preference rules.
The New York City Department of Consumer and Worker Protection has adopted new rules requiring debt collectors to provide consumers with language preference disclosures and an affirmative obligation to request and record the consumer’s language preference.
The federal Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has extended the deadline for public comments on its Supplemental Notice of Proposed Rulemaking on time-barred debt disclosures to Aug. 4. The Bureau stated its reason for the extension as “the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.”