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Posts tagged as “Eighth Circuit”

8th Cir. Affirms Denial of Motion to Compel Arbitration in FLSA Case Against Lender

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit recently affirmed the denial of a lender’s motion to compel arbitration over a suit filed by a former employee alleging violations of the federal Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). In so doing, the Court held that the former employee’s mere review of the employee handbook, and the arbitration and delegation provisions therein, did not constitute acceptance of the relevant clauses, and without acceptance no valid contracts to arbitrate their disputes or delegate the decision to an arbitrator were formed. A copy of the opinion in Shockley v. PrimeLending is available at: …

8th Cir. Affirms Cancellation of Lis Pendens Due to Imprecise Property Description and Prayer for Relief

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit recently affirmed a trial court’s order canceling a lis pendens, finding that the description of the property at issue in the lis pendens was imprecise and did not connect to any particular request for equitable relief as required under Missouri law. A copy of the opinion in Enterprise Financial Group, Inc. v. Podhorn is available at:  Link to Opinion. The plaintiff lender extended a $1.9 million loan to an entity that then made alleged fraudulent transfers of the loan proceeds to the defendant company. The defendant used the fraudulently transferred loan proceeds to purchase…

8th Cir. Rejects Alleged Data Breach Victim’s UDAP, UDTPA, Common Law, and Other Claims

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…

8th Cir. Rejects FDCPA Claim for Unlicensed Collection Letter Signer

The U.S Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit recently affirmed dismissal of a consumer’s suit against a debt collector, alleging that its collection letter violated the federal Fair Debt Collection Practices Act. In so ruling, the Court concluded that the debt collector’s use of the term “PROFESSIONAL DEBT COLLECTORS” and the initials of its “doing business as” name would not mislead or deceive an “unsophisticated consumer,” and the letter’s inclusion of a signature of an individual not registered to collect debts in Minnesota was irrelevant and did not violate section 1692f, because the collection company and two other signatories…

8th Cir. Rejects Guarantor’s ‘Fraud in the Factum’ Defense

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit affirmed a trial court’s judgment against a guarantor holding that a guaranty signed upon the advice of his financial advisor was binding even if he did not know the amount of the debt because he understood that he was signing a guarantee and the guarantor’s fraud in the factum defense required him to be deceived as to the type of document signed. A copy of the opinion in Radiance Capital Receivables Eighteen, LLC v. Concannon is available at:  Link to Opinion. The plaintiff signed a general guaranty for the debts of a…

8th Cir. Holds Alleged Contract for Interest Rate Reduction May Not Be Barred by Statute of Frauds

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit recently held that a borrower’s claims concerning lender-placed insurance practices were barred by res judicata, because the alleged practices were the subject of a class action suit in which the borrower was a class member who was provided notice of the settlement and did not object to the settlement. However, the Eighth Circuit also concluded that the servicer failed to establish that the statute of frauds barred the borrower’s claims concerning an alleged contract for interest rate reduction. A copy of the opinion in Calon v. Bank of America, NA is…

8th Cir. Holds Repurchase Demand Did Not Need to Include Specific Time to Cure

In a mortgage loan repurchase action, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit recently reversed a trial court’s order granting summary judgment in favor of an originator and seller of loans, and held that the mortgage loan purchaser adequately and substantially complied with the contract in its demands that the originator repurchase several allegedly defective loans. In so ruling, the Eighth Circuit determined that the trial court erred in determining that the purchaser’s notice letters failed to satisfy a condition precedent to prescribe a time for the originator to correct the alleged defects, as the agreement governing the…

8th Cir. Holds State Court Judgment Did Not Preclude Bankruptcy Court from Enforcing Its Own Orders

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit recently affirmed a trial court judgment holding a bank and its principal in contempt and sanctioning them for violating a bankruptcy discharge injunction, based on the findings in a parallel state court proceeding. In so ruling, the Eighth Circuit held that the state court judgment did not preclude the bankruptcy court’s ability to enforce its own orders. A copy of the opinion in First State Bank of Roscoe v. Stabler is available at:  Link to Opinion. A bank issued a loan to husband and wife borrowers for their business. After the business failed,…

8th Cir. Vacates FCRA Class Settlement on Spokeo Grounds

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit recently vacated a trial court’s order approving a class action settlement agreement because the trial court did not first determine whether the FCRA class representative had standing. In so ruling, the Eighth Circuit held that a court’s approval of a settlement was a judgment, which is invalid unless the court has Article III standing and subject matter jurisdiction. A copy of the opinion in Schumacher v. SC Data Center, Inc. is available at:  Link to Opinion. The plaintiff filed a putative class action in Missouri state court alleging the defendant violated the…

8th Cir. Holds Property Damage Insurer Improperly Withheld ‘Labor Depreciation’ from Claim Payments

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit recently affirmed a trial court’s order certifying a class of Arkansas homeowners against an insurer that improperly withheld amounts for labor depreciation when paying covered property damage claims under their insurance policies. A copy of the opinion in Stuart v. State Farm Fire and Casualty Company is available at:  Link to Opinion. A putative class of Arkansas homeowners (“insureds”) sued their insurer alleging that between Nov. 21, 2008 and Dec. 6, 2013 the insurer improperly withheld labor depreciation costs when paying insureds for covered property damage under their insurance policies. The insureds…

8th Cir. Holds CAFA Amount in Controversy Includes Future Attorney’s Fees Incurred After Removal

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit held that a plaintiff could not defeat federal jurisdiction under the Class Action Fairness Act based on a pre-class certification damages stipulation limiting attorney’s fees to ensure that the amount in controversy remained under CAFA’s $5 million jurisdictional limit. In so ruling, the Eighth Circuit affirmed the trial court’s finding that the amount in controversy for jurisdiction under CAFA includes the amount of future attorney’s fees based on the expected length of the litigation, the risks and complexity involved, and the hourly rates charged. A copy of the opinion in Faltermeier v. FCA US…

8th Cir. Rules Terminating Bank Employees for Criminal Convictions Involving Dishonesty Not Unlawful Discrimination

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit recently affirmed summary judgment in favor of a bank that was sued by a putative class alleging discriminatory employment practices that supposedly violated Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Iowa Civil Rights Act. In so ruling, the Court held that the plaintiffs failed to establish a prima facie case of disparate impact because even if the bank’s policy of summarily terminating applicants or employees with a criminal conviction involving dishonesty or breach of trust had a disparate impact, the bank’s decision to comply with the applicable…