The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit previously held that Section 13(b) of the Federal Trade Commission Act does not authorize restitution or disgorgement awards and overruled a $5 million restitution award entered in the trial court.
Posts published in “UDAP/UDAAP”
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit recently affirmed the dismissal of a consumer’s California consumer protection claims based on a consumer survey that purported to show that certain product labels were deceptive.
The Appellate Court of Illinois, First District, recently affirmed a trial court’s dismissal with prejudice of a complaint from two borrowers alleging claims for among other things “wrongful foreclosure,” wrongful eviction, fraud, consumer fraud, false imprisonment, and a due process violation under 42 U.S.C. § 1983.
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit recently affirmed a trial court's denial of class certification, concluding that (1) the plaintiffs' nationwide class action complaint alleged violations of the Minnesota Consumer Fraud Act, and thus rebuttal evidence was permitted; (2) the defendant company had evidence challenging the extent to which each plaintiff allegedly relied on the alleged omissions; and (3) individualized findings on reliance were therefore required, which would likely lead to multiple mini-trials within the class action.
Last year, the CFPB provided some answers to the question: What is abusive conduct? For 10 years, industry waited on a policy statement regarding the framework that the CFPB would use in enforcement related to the catch-all category of “abusiveness” only to have the CFPB rescind the policy statement citing that it intended to “exercise its supervisory and enforcement authority consistent with the full scope of its statutory authority under the Dodd-Frank Act.”
On March 26, the Texas attorney general acted swiftly, filing a lawsuit against Auctions Unlimited LLC over an online auction that ended on March 24. The auction sparked an article published by the Chicago Tribune entitled “more than 750,000 masks auctioned for huge markup in Texas while hospitals run out nationwide.”
Following its enaction, the Dodd-Frank Act left the financial services industry with uncertainty in many areas. For nearly 10 years, the industry has wondered and speculated about the inclusion of a prohibition against abusive acts and practices. What exactly is abusive conduct? Is abusive conduct different from false and misleading acts or unfairness? How will the CFPB handle enforcement?
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…
The U.S Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit recently held that charging too much for goods or services, standing alone, is insufficient to assert a claim under the Illinois Consumer Fraud and Deceptive Business Practices Act (“ICFA”). Accordingly, the Seventh Circuit affirmed the trial court’s dismissal of a putative class action filed by condominium owners related to fees charged by a property management company and its vendor to provide various documents required to be provided to prospective purchasers of condominium units. A copy of the opinion in Horist v. Sudler and Company is available at: Link to Opinion. The…
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit recently upheld the dismissal of an alleged data breach victim’s allegations under the Illinois Consumer Fraud and Deceptive Business Practices Act, the Illinois Personal Information Protection Act, and the Illinois Uniform Deceptive Trade Practices Act, as well as various common law claims. A copy of the opinion in Melissa Alleruzzo v. SuperValu, Inc. is available at: Link to Opinion. In June and July 2014, hundreds of retail grocery stores operated by three different entities (“grocers”) were hacked, resulting in the theft of customers’ card information, including their names, credit or debit card account…
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit affirmed a trial court judgment in favor of an online real estate marketplace company and against the sellers of real property, finding that an estimate on the website of their property’s value did not violate the Illinois Real Estate Appraiser Licensing Act because the licensing act does not provide a private right of action. The Seventh Circuit also affirmed the trial court’s judgment in favor of the company on the sellers’ Illinois Uniform Deceptive Trade Practices Act claim, holding that the estimate did not violate the act because an estimate is…
An online lender that extends payday and unsecured installment loans reached a settlement with the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau regarding “unfair, deceptive, or abusive acts or practices” allegations that the lender unlawfully debited consumers’ bank accounts without authorization and failed to honor loan extensions to its customers. Under the terms of the settlement and consent order, the lender is barred from making or initiating electronic fund transfers without valid authorization, and must pay a $3.2 million civil monetary penalty. A copy of the consent order is available at: Link to Consent Order. The respondent, an online lender, extends and services…