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Posts published in February 2017

Ninth Circuit Torpedoes FDCPA Class Settlement as ‘Worthless’

The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals rejected a class action settlement as “worthless” for absent class members in a recent federal Fair Debt Collection Practices Act case. The decision represents another addition to the growing list of FDCPA and other consumer-related class action settlements facing tough scrutiny where absent class members receive minimal or no monetary relief in proportion to their release of future claims, while class representatives and their counsel receive handsome rewards. A copy of the opinion in Koby v. ARS National Services, Inc. is available at:  Link to Opinion. The case arose from a voicemail message seeking…

Fla. App. Court (3rd DCA) Holds Non-English Speakers Could Not Avoid English Language Contract Terms

The Third District Court of Appeal of the State of Florida recently reversed a trial court’s denial of a car dealership’s motion to compel arbitration, holding that because there was no evidence that the buyers, who did not read or speak English, attempted to learn or have explained to them what they were signing, or that the dealer’s representatives prevented them from doing so or misrepresented the terms, the trial court erred by finding there was no valid agreement to arbitrate. A copy of the opinion in Kendall Imports, LLC v. Diaz, et al. is available at:  Link to Opinion.…

2nd Cir. Reverses Judgment in Favor of Bank Employer on ‘Remote Work’ Pregnancy Discrimination Claims

In a case involving allegations that a bank employer violated state and federal laws by not allowing an employee to work remotely from home when she became pregnant, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit recently vacated in part the trial court’s judgment adopting the jury’s verdict in the bank’s favor and the trial court’s disqualification order in the bank’s favor, and dismissed the appeal in part as to the employee’s claim under the New York State Human Rights Law (NYSHRL), remanding for further proceedings. A copy of the opinion in Sheng v. M&TBank Corporation is available at:…

Fla. App. Court (3rd DCA) Holds Guarantors Not Joined in Prior Foreclosure Not Estopped, Equitable Defense Available in Guaranty Action

The Third District Court of Appeal of the State of Florida recently reversed a summary judgment award in favor of two noteholders seeking a deficiency judgment against the note guarantors who were not joined in a prior foreclosure action as to the collateral, holding that: (a) the guarantors were not estopped from challenging the amounts of the deficiency judgments in a later action at law on their guaranties; and (b) equitable defenses that could have been raised in a mortgage foreclosure action seeking a deficiency can also be raised in a later action against the guarantors to collect the deficiency.…

Should ‘Possible’ Changes in a Debtor’s Financial Condition Allow Modification of a Confirmed Chapter 13 Plan?

The United States Bankruptcy Court for the Eastern District of Michigan recently allowed a debtor to modify his confirmed Chapter 13 plan based upon a mistake by the debtor’s counsel. The result of the modification was to reduce the plan to 36 months from 60 and reduce the repayment to unsecured creditors by 80 percent. A copy of In re Luman is available at: Link to Opinion. The debtor identified having total unsecured debt of $84,543.08 and mistakenly proposed a plan to pay these unsecured creditors $5,000 over 60 months. However, the Bankruptcy Code would have required a 36-month plan…

9th Cir. Holds TCPA Revocation of Consent Must Be Clearly Expressed

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit recently held that under Spokeo, Inc. v. Robins, 136 S. Ct. 1540, 194 L. Ed. 2d 635 (2016), a consumer alleged a concrete injury sufficient to confer Article III standing to pursue a Telephone Consumer Protection Act claim for alleged nonconsensual text messages. In so ruling, the Court held that a consumer may revoke his or her consent, but must clearly express that he or she does not want to receive the messages or calls. The Court concluded that, in this case, the consumer gave prior express consent to receive the…

Fla. App. Court (2nd DCA) Rules Florida’s Notice of Assignment of Debt Does Not Apply to Deficiency Actions

The District Court of Appeal of Florida, Second District, recently held that section 559.715 of the Florida Consumer Collection Practices Act (FCCPA) does not create a condition precedent that an assignee of a mortgage loan debt must give notice to the consumer 30 days before filing an action seeking a deficiency judgment. A copy of the opinion in Dyck O’Neal, Inc. v. Kami Ward is available at:  Link to Opinion. A borrower defaulted on her mortgage loan and the property was foreclosed upon and sold at a foreclosure sale. The judgment was then assigned to a debt collector, who filed…

8th Cir. Holds Trial Court Did Not Err in Using ‘Percentage of the Benefit’ Over ‘Lodestar’ in TCPA Class Fee Award Dispute

In an appeal involving the settlement of four separate class actions under the federal Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA), the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit recently held that the trial court did not abuse its discretion by electing to use the “percentage-of-the-benefit” method to calculate class counsel’s fee award, as opposed to the “lodestar” method. The Eighth Circuit also held that the trial court did not abuse its discretion by allowing the respective class counsel to distribute the award amongst themselves without judicial oversight or approval. A copy of the opinion in Lindsey Thut  v.  Life Time…

8th Cir. Upholds Class Settlement in ‘Excessive Property Inspection’ Case, Rejects Attempt to Add Trespass Claims

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit recently affirmed a district court’s approval of a proposed class settlement in an action arising from a mortgage loan servicer’s practice of automatically ordering and charging for drive-by property inspections on delinquent borrowers, holding that the district court did not abuse its discretion. In so ruling, the Court also affirmed the trial court’s denial of a borrower’s motion to join a trespass claim to the putative class action. A copy of the opinion in Kenneth Njema v. Wells Fargo Bank, N.A. is available at:  Link to Opinion. In 2008, four borrowers…

7th Cir. Upholds Dismissal of Unlawful Data Retention Claim Under Spokeo

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit recently held that although a consumer’s suit against a cable service provider for failing to destroy his personal information was a substantive violation of the federal Cable Communications Policy Act, it failed to allege a concrete injury sufficient to confer standing.

4th Cir. Holds Escrow, Other Principal Residence Mortgage Loan Items Not Subject to Chapter 13 Bifurcation

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit recently held that “escrow funds, insurance proceeds, or miscellaneous proceeds” are protected by the anti-modification provisions for Chapter 13 bankruptcies as “incidental property” under the definition of “debtor’s principal residence” in the federal Bankruptcy Code. A copy of the opinion in In re Birmingham is available at:  Link to Opinion. A debtor filed a voluntary petition for Chapter 13 bankruptcy. One of the claims against the debtor was a mortgage loan secured by a deed of trust on the debtor’s primary residence.  When the debtor filed his original Chapter 13 bankruptcy…

Calif. App. Court Rejects Borrower’s HBOR ‘Dual Tracking,’ SPOC Allegations

The Court of Appeals of California, Second Appellate District, recently held that a borrower failed to state a cause of action for alleged violations of the “dual tracking” and “single point of contact” provisions of California’s Homeowners Bill of Rights (HBOR), Calif. Civ. Code, §§ 2923.6, 2923.7, because: (1) the borrower did not allege acceptance of a loan modification agreement within 14 days after receiving it; and (2) the borrower’s allegations demonstrated that the servicer assigned a customer service representative to process the loan modification application. The Court also dismissed the borrower’s allegations of lack of standing to foreclose, illegal…