Joining with the Fourth and Ninth Circuits, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit recently affirmed a trial court’s summary judgment order in favor of a debt collector and against a debtor finding that the debt collector did not violate the federal Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA) by only verifying the information in its records instead of contacting the creditor to verify the debt. In so ruling, the Court also held that the debt collector did not violate the federal Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) because it conducted a reasonable investigation into the disputed information. A copy…
Posts tagged as “Seventh Circuit”
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit recently held that “debt collectors cannot immunize themselves from FDCPA liability by blindly copying and pasting the Miller safe harbor language” where that language is inaccurate under the circumstances. Accordingly, the Seventh Circuit reversed the trial court decision granting the debt collector’s motion to dismiss. A copy of the opinion in Boucher v. Finance System of Green Bay, Inc. is available at: Link to Opinion. The plaintiff debtors were Wisconsin residents who incurred and defaulted on debts for medical services. Their creditors sold those debts to the defendant collection agency, which in turn…
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit recently held that, following the confirmation of a foreclosure sale in Illinois, the only remedy available to a borrower under 15 U.S.C. § 1635 was damages, and therefore the one-year limitation period under 15 U.S.C. § 1640(e) applied and his claims were barred despite the fact that he provided rescission notices within three years of the loan closing, and despite the fact that the parties engaged in back-and-forth communications after the demands were first sent. Accordingly, the Seventh Circuit affirmed the dismissal of the borrower’s claims by the trial court. A…
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit recently held, over extensive objections by intervenors, that the trial court did not abuse its discretion in approving a class action settlement, despite alleged problems with the class notice and the fact that the attorneys’ fees award exceeded the total award to the class. In so ruling, the Court rejected the intervenors’ argument that the proponents of a class settlement must file briefs in support of settlement before the deadline to object. A copy of the opinion in J.G. Goodman, et al v. American Express Travel Related Services Co. is available…
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit recently held that federal laws exempting federal entities from state and local taxation do not apply when the transfer tax is charged to a private buyer who purchases real estate from Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, or the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA). A copy of the opinion in FNMA, et al. v. City of Chicago, et al. is available at: Link to Opinion. A group of buyers purchased real property in Chicago from Fannie Mae. The City of Chicago imposes a Real Property Transfer Tax on the transfer of real property located…
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit recently affirmed the dismissal of a bank’s lawsuit against its insurer for breach of contract and bad faith denial of coverage, holding that the insurance policy’s exclusion for any claim based upon or arising from fees or charges applied to the facts alleged. The bank argued that the primary sources of the claims against it concerned the bank’s policies and procedures, which were not the subject of a policy exclusion. However, the Court held the insurer was not required to defend or indemnify the bank for the underlying $24 million settlement…
In a deeply divided opinion, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit, in an en banc review, reversed its previous opinion, Oliva v. Blatt, Hasenmiller, Leibsker & Moore, LLC, 825 F.3d 788, 791 (7th Cir. 2016), holding this time that a debt collector that relied upon circuit precedent interpreting the federal Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA) venue provision was not protected by the bona fide error defense. In so ruling, the Court also held that for purposes of compliance with the FDCPA, reliance on court precedent is permitted, but only if there can be no doubt whatsoever as to the accuracy…
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit recently concluded that a putative class representative’s unaccepted deposit of payment with the trial court under Fed. R. Civ. P. 67 by the defendant does not moot the representative’s individual claim or disqualify him from serving as a class representative. The Seventh Circuit described the issue as a variation of the one presented in Campbell-Ewald Co. v. Gomez, 136 S. Ct. 663 (2016). As you may recall, in that case, the Supreme Court concluded that an unaccepted settlement offer or offer of judgment does not moot a plaintiff’s case. The specific…
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit recently concluded that a consumer’s consent to receive promotional information from a retailer is sufficient consent under the federal Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) to receive other mass marketing texts. The primary issue the Seventh Circuit addressed was the scope of the consent the consumer provided when she gave her cell phone number to the retailer. The consumer argued that she only provided her cell phone number to receive special discount offers, and did not consent to “mass marketing” text messages. The Seventh Circuit rejected the argument, and determined that the…
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit recently held that two debt collectors were entitled to demand payment for both principal amounts owed and interest under Wisconsin law. Therefore, the Court held, the debt collectors’ dunning letters demanding the principal sums owed and 5 percent per annum interest did not violate the federal Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, even where the demand was made prejudgment. A copy of the opinion in Aker v. Collection Associates, LTD. is available at: Link to Opinion. After the consumer plaintiffs failed to pay their bill for medical services received, their providers referred…
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit recently held that although a consumer’s suit against a cable service provider for failing to destroy his personal information was a substantive violation of the federal Cable Communications Policy Act, it failed to allege a concrete injury sufficient to confer standing.
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit recently held that a bank’s relationship with a software services company, under which the software services company required its customers to use the bank for the depositary services ancillary to the software, did not violate anti-tying provisions of the federal Bank Holding Company Act, at 12 U.S.C. § 1972. A copy of the opinion McGarry & McGarry, LLC v. Rabobank, N.A. is available at: Link to Opinion. A bankruptcy trustee hired an administrative services company to provide a variety of services in a bankruptcy proceeding. Among other things, the administrative services…