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Posts published in June 2017

8th Cir. Upholds Dismissal of TCPA Class Action Based on Consent Shown in Heavily Redacted Records

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit recently affirmed the dismissal of a putative class action brought under the federal Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) for making unsolicited telemarketing calls. The Eighth Circuit held that the plaintiff had given prior express written consent to receive the calls, and the trial court properly considered redacted business records that showed the consumer had given his prior express written consent to be called. A copy of the opinion in Zean v. Fairview Health Services is available at:  Link to Opinion. A consumer who purchased a medical device filed a putative class…

U.S. Supreme Court Holds Debt Purchaser Collecting Its Own Debt Is Not Subject to FDCPA

A purchaser of a defaulted debt who then seeks to collect the debt for itself is not a “debt collector” subject to the federal Fair Debt Collection Practices Act under an opinion delivered today by the U.S. Supreme Court. The issue before the Court was whether a purchaser of defaulted debt meets the FDCPA’s definition of a “debt collector” as one who “regularly collects or attempts to collect . . . debts owed or due . . . another.” 15 U. S. C. §1692a(6). Here, Santander Consumer USA Inc. acquired defaulted loans from CitiFinancial Auto and then began to collect…

Fla. Court Holds Alleged ‘No Lawful Basis to Debit’ Enough to State Claim Under Reg J and UCC Art 4A

The Circuit Court of the Eleventh Judicial Circuit in Miami-Dade County, Florida recently dismissed equitable and tort claims for restitution, “money had and received,” negligence, indemnification, tortious interference and conversion brought by a company against its bank for reversing a wire transfer due to fraud.  However, the Court refused to dismiss the account holder’s claim for breach of the deposit agreement. The Court held that Regulation J (12 CFR § 210.25-210.32) and Article 4A of the Uniform Commercial Code (UCC) were incorporated into the deposit agreement at issue, and these provisions only allowed the bank to reverse the payment under…

10th Cir. Affirms Refusal to Compel Arbitration as to Non-Signatory Third Parties

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit recently affirmed a trial court’s denial of a motion to compel arbitration against non-signatory third-party beneficiaries who did not accept the benefits of the contract. A copy of the opinion in Jacks v. CMH Homes is available at:  Link to Opinion. In 2009, a buyer financed a mobile home purchase with a manufactured-home retail installment contract.  The contract contained an arbitration provision that purportedly extended to “all co-signors and guarantors … and any occupants of the manufactured home.” Five years later, the buyer and her family sued the home’s manufacturer and…

DC Cir. Holds FCC Exceeded Its Authority Under TCPA as to ‘Solicited Fax’ Rule

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit recently held that the Federal Communications Commission’s 2006 Solicited Fax Rule exceeded its authority under the federal Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) to the extent that it requires opt-out notices on fax advertisements sent with the permission of the recipient (“solicited” faxes) as well as on unsolicited fax advertisements. A copy of the opinion in Bais Yaakov of Spring Valley, et al v. FCC, et al is available at:  Link to Opinion. A company that sells generic drugs faxed advertisements to small pharmacies containing weekly pricing information and “specials.” Many…

11th Cir. Adopts ‘Claim Splitting’ Doctrine, Upholds Dismissal of Duplicative Litigation

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit recently affirmed the dismissal of a complaint alleging violations of the federal Telephone Consumer Protection Act, the federal Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA) and its analogue under Florida state law, because the plaintiff previously filed a separate lawsuit against the same defendant alleging violations of the TCPA based on the same conduct. Because the Eleventh Circuit concluded that the claims asserted in the second action were based on the same nucleus of operative facts, the plaintiff was barred from splitting her claims among the lawsuits. A copy of the opinion…

9th Cir. Holds City of LA’s FHA ‘Discriminatory Lending’ Claims Failed for Lack of ‘Robust’ Causal Link

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit recently affirmed a trial court’s summary judgment ruling in favor of a bank and against the City of Los Angeles on the City’s claims that the bank violated section 3605(a) of the federal Fair Housing Act (FHA) through alleged discriminatory lending practices, and that the bank was unjustly enriched. A copy of the opinion in City of Los Angeles v. Wells Fargo & Co. is available at:  Link to Opinion. As you may recall, section 3605(a) of the FHA makes it unlawful for financial institutions “to discriminate against any person in…

SCOTUS Holds Kentucky’s ‘Clear Statement Rule’ Violates Federal Arbitration Act

The Supreme Court of the United States recently concluded that Kentucky’s “clear-statement” rule violates the Federal Arbitration Act (FAA) by singling out arbitration agreements and treating them differently from other contracts. The Kentucky Supreme Court had held that the arbitration agreements at issue were invalid because the individuals who entered into the agreements did so under a power of attorney, and the powers of attorney at issue did not specifically entitle the representatives to enter into an arbitration agreement. The Kentucky Supreme Court reasoned that, because the Kentucky Constitution declares the rights of access to the courts and trial by jury…