The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit recently held that a businessowners insurance policy did not cover a class action judgment that arose out of unsolicited advertisement communications in violation of the federal Telephone Consumer Protection Act. A copy of the opinion in Auto-Owners Insurance Company v. Stevens & Ricci Inc. is available at: Link to Opinion. A business was solicited by an advertiser who claimed to have a fax advertising program that complied with the TCPA, 47 U.S.C. § 227. The business allowed the advertiser to fax thousands of advertisements to potential customers on its behalf. Six years later, a…
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit recently affirmed a denial of class certification, holding that the plaintiffs’ theory was insufficiently supported by class-wide evidence to demonstrate the fact of damages whether on the issues of “ascertainable loss” or “causal relationship,” and failed to establish that common questions would predominate over individual questions. A copy of the opinion in Harnish v. Widener Univ. Sch. of Law is available at: Link to Opinion. A group of former law students filed a class action against their law school, alleging that the school violated the New Jersey Consumer Fraud Act (NJCFA) and…
A Massachusetts Superior Court recently held that reaching a debtor’s voicemail, but choosing to not leave a message, is a “communication” under the Massachusetts Debt Collection Regulations, 940 Code Mass. Regs. § 704(1)(f). A copy of the opinion in Watkins v. Glenn Associates, Inc. is available at: Link to Opinion. The plaintiff sued for injunctive relief and to recover damages from a creditor for alleged violations of the Massachusetts Debt Collection Regulations, 940 Code Mass. Regs. § 704 et seq., which states that it is an “unfair and deceptive act or practice for a creditor to…[i]nitiat[e] a communication with any debtor…
The Appellate Court of Illinois, Third District, recently held that a mortgagee could foreclose on a husband and wife’s property held as tenants by the entirety despite that only the husband signed the note. In reaching its decision, the Court relied on the fact that the wife signed the mortgage with her husband, and was aware of the existence and the substance of the note. A copy of the opinion in OneWest Bank FSB v. Cielak is available at: Link to Opinion. The borrowers, husband and wife, purchased a home in Illinois. The borrowers acquired the real estate as tenants by…
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit recently held that the Bankruptcy Code does not preempt state law claims brought by non-debtors for damages related to the filing of an involuntary bankruptcy proceeding. A copy of the opinion in Rosenberg v. DVI Receivables XVII, LLC is available at: Link to Opinion. The creditors in this action initiated state court litigation against limited partnerships controlled by the debtor, alleging money owed under various leases. During the state court proceedings, the creditors filed an involuntary bankruptcy proceeding against the debtor and the debtor’s affiliated medical imaging companies, none of which were defendants in the…
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit recently held that plaintiff’s class counsel is allowed to submit proposals to the court regarding the method for calculation of reasonable attorney’s fees, but the court has the discretion to accept or reject such proposals and is not required to accept the plaintiff’s proposed method. In so ruling, the Court also held that the Class Action Fairness Act’s “coupon settlement” provisions at 28 U.S.C. § 1712 permit a district court to use a combination of percentage-of-coupons-used and lodestar methods to calculate reasonable attorney’s fees, but CAFA does not require that any portion…
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit recently held that HUD reverse mortgage regulations and guidelines do not give the borrower a private cause of action unless the regulations are expressly incorporated into the loan agreement. A copy of the opinion in Johnson v. World Alliance Financial Corp. et al is available at: Link to Opinion. A male borrower entered into a Home Equity Conversion Mortgage (HECM) with the defendant, lender. The loan was secured by the male borrower’s home, which already had two liens on it. One of the liens was held by the male borrower’s ex-wife. Later, the…
The District Court of Appeal of Florida, Fourth District, recently held that real property liens arising after a final judgment of foreclosure are not discharged by Florida’s lis pendens statute. A copy of the opinion in Ober v. Town of Lauderdale-by-the-Sea is available at: Link to Opinion. A mortgagee recorded a lis pendens on real property as part of a foreclosure proceeding against a homeowner. Subsequently, the mortgagee obtained a final judgment of foreclosure. However, the foreclosure sale was not conducted for some four years following entry of the judgment of foreclosure. After the foreclosure, and before the foreclosure sale occurred, the…
The District Court of Appeal of Florida, Fourth District, recently held that in order to recover fees for prevailing on a Florida Deceptive and Unfair Trade Practices Act claim, a party must prevail not only on the FDUTPA claim but also on all pleaded legal theories such that it obtains a judgment in its favor on the entire case. A copy of the opinion in Banner v. Law Office of David J. Stern, P.A. is available at: Link to Opinion. A borrower filed a lawsuit against a lender’s counsel, alleging that the lender’s counsel’s conduct violated FDUTPA and the Florida Consumer Collection…
In a split decision, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit recently held that “filing a proof of claim in a Chapter 13 bankruptcy based on a debt that is time-barred does not violate the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act when the statute of limitations does not extinguish the debt.” A copy of the opinion in Dubois v. Atlas Acquisitions LLC is available at: Link to Opinion. The defendant was represented by Donald Maurice of Maurice Wutscher LLP. This action involved two consolidated adversary proceedings. In both underlying bankruptcies, a debt buyer filed proofs of claim on loans that…
The U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California recently held that a mobile phone app designed to send messages to a phone user’s contacts did not violate the federal Telephone Consumer Protection Act because the phone user selected the message recipients and had to take several affirmative steps for the app to send the unwanted messages. In so ruling, the Court also held that the plaintiff had Article III standing because his TCPA claim did not simply allege a procedural violation, and instead alleged that he suffered concrete harm because the mobile app provider supposedly invaded his privacy…
The U.S. Court of Appeal for the Sixth Circuit recently confirmed that a mortgagee’s alleged failure to notify borrowers of an assignment of the loan does not give rise to a right to cancel under the federal Truth In Lending Act (TILA). A copy of the opinion in Robertson v. US Bank, NA is available at: Link to Opinion. A mortgagee initiated a foreclosure action, and the borrowers responded with a “notice of rescission” to the mortgagee and the mortgagee’s counsel, alleging that the mortgagee had violated the federal Truth in Lending Act and that the mortgagee lacked standing to foreclose.…