The Supreme Court of Illinois recently held that an effective tender made prior to a class certification motion, which satisfies the named plaintiff’s individual claim, moots her interest in the litigation and ends the matter.
Posts published in “Class Actions”
Class Actions
In a case of first impression, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit recently held that the protections against default judgment under the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act (SCRA) do not apply to the seizure and sale of real property in in rem proceedings under Louisiana law where the debtors have agreed to a confession of judgment in the mortgage or security agreement.
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit recently reversed certification of a consumer class alleging that a debt collection letter violated the federal Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA).
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit recently affirmed a trial court’s order reducing the amount of attorneys’ fees requested by class counsel by cutting the number of hours expended by class counsel by 25%.
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit recently affirmed judgment in favor of a debt buyer and debt collector against a consumer debtor alleging that the collector’s debt collection letter violated the federal Fair Debt Collection Practices Act.
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit recently held that putative class members were not entitled to tolling under Florida’s statute of limitations because the federal rule of tolling for putative class members did not override the Florida statute.
It has been an extraordinary 365 days for consumer financial services law. I cannot recall a year where so many states introduced legislation or proposed regulations or rules impacting the credit industry. At the federal level, proposed rules for the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act were (finally) released and California also proposed regulations under the California Consumer Privacy Act.
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit recently reversed certification of a nationwide class involving allegedly deceptive advertising practices, holding that certification of a national class was inappropriate because the consumer protection laws of each class member’s home state governed their claims. The Eighth Circuit further held that class treatment was inappropriate due to the trial court’s failure to conduct separate choice of law analyses for the consumer class’s breach of warranty and unjust enrichment claims. A copy of the opinion in Hale v. Emerson Electric Company is available at: Link to Opinion. A group of consumers brought…
In a putative class action of borrowers who received mortgage statements after a bankruptcy discharge, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit recently reversed a trial court order denying certification for failure to establish predominance. In so ruling, the Eleventh Circuit held that a mortgage servicer’s affirmative defense that it is not liable under the federal Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA), 15 U.S.C. § 1692 et seq., and the Florida Consumer Collection Practices Act (FCCPA), Fla. Stat. § 559.55 et seq., because the only remedy for violating a discharge injunction is under the Bankruptcy Code requires no…
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit recently vacated an order sua sponte remanding to state court a putative class action removed under the federal Class Action Fairness Act. In so ruling, the Ninth Circuit held: When a notice of removal plausibly alleges a basis for federal court jurisdiction, a federal trial court may not remand the case back to state court without giving the defendants an opportunity to demonstrate that the jurisdictional requirements were satisfied; The amount in controversy may be based on reasonable assumptions tied to the allegations in the complaint; When a statute or contract…
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit recently reversed a trial court’s certification of an injunction class, holding that the injunctive relief sought by the class was improper because the true relief sought was really damages. A copy of the opinion in AA Suncoast Chiropractic Clinic, P.A. v. Progressive American Insurance Co. is available at: Link to Opinion. In 2012, Florida’s law requiring automobile insurance policies to provide personal injury protection (“PIP”) benefits up to $10,000 was amended so that “not every injured motorist will be eligible to access all $10,000 in benefits.” Coverage is capped at $2,500…
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit recently affirmed a trial court’s order denying a motion to remand a putative class action to Arkansas state court based on the federal Class Action Fairness Act’s (CAFA) “local controversy” exception to jurisdiction because the consumer plaintiffs failed to meet their burden to demonstrate that they sought significant relief from a defendant that was a citizen of the state. In so ruling, the Eighth Circuit held that the trial court did not err when it considered extrinsic evidence in the form of affidavits from the defendant company because a court “may…