The U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of Florida recently denied a mortgagee’s motion to reopen a Chapter 7 case to compel the surrender of real property, due to a five-year delay in filing the motion. In so ruling, the court agreed with an earlier ruling from the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Middle District of Florida (In re Plummer, 513 B.R. 135 (Bankr. M.D. Fla. 2014)), distinguishing “surrender” from “foreclosure,” and holding that a creditor cannot use the Bankruptcy Code to circumvent the obligations imposed by state law. A copy of the opinion in In Re Kourogenis is available…
In an unreported ruling, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit recently affirmed summary judgment for the defendant in a putative class action for alleged violation of the federal Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA). The Court held that the named plaintiff expressly consented to the text message in question when she provided her cell phone number to a third party contracting with the defendant while using the third party’s services. A link to the opinion in Baird v. Sabre, Inc. can be found here: Link to Opinion. The named plaintiff booked flights online for herself and her family…
On Jan. 7, the Expired Debt Act (EDA) was introduced in the Rhode Island House of Representatives and referred to the House Committee on Judiciary. The bill was introduced by State Representatives Shekarchi, Solomon, Regunberg, McEntee, and Craven. Since 2007, Rhode Island has had its own Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (RIFDCPA) that is, for the most part, identical to its federal counterpart. The EDA, however, introduces new definitions and restrictions related to debt collection. The EDA defines a “collector” as “a person collecting or attempting to collect an alleged debt arising out of a consumer transaction.” The definition is…
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit recently held that a finance company properly cured a contractual interest rate provision in excess of the statutory cap, and was not liable under the Maryland Credit Grantor Closed End Credit Provisions (MCLEC). However, the Court also held that the defendant could be liable under the Maryland Consumer Debt Collections Act (MCDCA) if it falsely claimed to have taken legal actions against the debtor. A copy of the opinion in Askew v. HRFC, LLC is available at: Link to Opinion. In 2008, a customer entered into a retail installment sales contract…
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit recently held that a lender that is on inquiry notice that its security interest in the collateral had been fraudulently conveyed may lose its secured status. However, the Court also held that the lender’s negligence here did not amount to “purposeful avoidance of the truth” sufficient to justify application of the doctrine of equitable subordination, which allows a bankruptcy court to reduce the priority of a claim in bankruptcy. A copy of the opinion in In Re Sentinel Management Group, Inc. is available at: Link to Opinion. The bankrupt debtor was a…
In a case that attracted a number of amici for both the borrower and the mortgagee, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit recently affirmed a trial court’s summary judgment ruling against a borrower holding that “the amount of a mortgage loan, by itself, cannot show substantive unconscionability under West Virginia law.” However, the Fourth Circuit allowed the borrower’s claim of “unconscionable inducement,” holding that the applicable West Virginia statute authorized such a claim “even when the substantive terms of a contract are not themselves unfair.” A copy of opinion in McFarland v. Wells Fargo Bank, N.A. is available at: Link…
On Jan. 29, 2016, Illinois Governor Bruce Rauner signed into law SB 1369 that provides welcomed corrections to the Illinois Collection Agency Act that was amended in 2015 by HB 3332. In a previous CFS blog, we described the proposed changes in SB 1369 that would rewind some of the unintended consequences wrought by HB 3332. The Illinois Legislature should be commended for its quick turnaround in implementing this fix, which became effective upon the Governor’s signature.
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit recently affirmed a district court’s order denying class certification in a lawsuit alleging violation of the federal Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA), holding that the “district court did not abuse its discretion by finding the requirements of Rule 23(b)(3) unsatisfied,” and that the “district court appropriately determined that it would be extremely difficult to ascertain the identities of the individuals who had not consented to receive the messages.” A copy of the Ninth Circuit’s opinion in Gannon v. Network Telephone Services, Inc. is available at: Link to Opinion. A copy of the…
The District Court of Appeal of Florida, Second District, recently reversed a trial court’s order vacating a voluntary dismissal based on mistaken advice from counsel regarding the statute of limitations, holding that the voluntary dismissal was the result of a deliberate judgment by counsel, and not the type of non-judgmental, clerical mistake that Florida law recognizes as a basis to undo a voluntary dismissal. A copy of the opinion in Cottrell v. Taylor, Bean & Whitaker Mortgage Corp. is available at: Link to Opinion. In March 2013, borrowers created a land trust, naming their attorney as trustee. They then transferred to the…
A recent decision from a United States Bankruptcy Court in the Northern District of Illinois provides a detailed analysis of why proofs of claim on “time-barred” debt do not violate the federal Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA) or the Bankruptcy Code. The decision, Glenn v. Cavalry Investments, LLC, is among the growing number of decisions rejecting Crawford v. LVNV from the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals. A copy of the opinion is available at: Link to Opinion. The debtor, Darryl Glenn, voluntarily commenced a chapter 13 bankruptcy in August 2014. The creditor, Cavalry Investments, filed a timely proof of…
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau issued a bulletin on Nov. 23, 2015 “intended to remind entities of their obligations under the Electronic Fund Transfer Act (EFTA) and Regulation E.” A careful read is needed, as Bulletin 2015-06 can be easily misinterpreted. A copy is available at: Link to Bulletin 2015-06. Electronic transfers become subject to the EFTA and Regulation E when they are made from a consumer’s “account.” Credit cards will typically not cause a transfer from a consumer’s account, but debit cards would cause a transfer from a consumer’s account. Much of the bulletin’s focus is directed at the…
The U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Florida recently dismissed allegations that a debt buyer violated the federal Fair Debt Collection Practices Act by filing a proof of claim on time-barred debt, holding that such claims are precluded by the Bankruptcy Code, and that the FDCPA does not provide a private right of action against debt collectors who file time-barred proofs of claim in bankruptcy court. A copy of the opinion in Castellanos v. Midland Funding LLC is available at: Link to Opinion. The plaintiff individual owed a credit card debt and filed for bankruptcy protection under Chapter 13 of…