SCRA Fee Award Not ‘Retroactive’

‘Notice’ Works for TILA Rescission Right

By Deborah Elkins
Published: May 15, 2012
Tags: 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, Consumer Protection, Judge Henry F. Floyd

A homeowner may exercise a right to rescind a mortgage transaction under the Truth in Lending Act by notifying the creditor within the three-year period; the owner is not required to file a lawsuit within the three-year window to exercise the rescission right, and the 4th Circuit reverses a contrary district court decision on a [...]

Court Shifts Fee-Shifting Formula

By Deborah Elkins
Published: May 8, 2012
Tags: Consumer Protection, Judge T.S. Ellis III, U.S. District Court - Eastern District

An Alexandria U.S. District Court says a 2010 U.S. Supreme Court requires some changes in application of this circuit’s rules on making fee awards, and the district court awards a plaintiff, who had partial success in his Truth-in-Lending Act suit, $25,020 in attorney’s fees, $350 in costs and $4,001 in TILA damages in this “long-running [...]

Law Firm Forces Arbitration of FDCPA Claim

By Deborah Elkins
Published: May 1, 2012
Tags: Consumer Protection, Judge John A. Gibney Jr., U.S. District Court - Eastern District

A law firm attempting to collect credit-card debt can invoke the mandatory arbitration clause in debtors’ credit-card agreements, and a Richmond U.S. District Court orders arbitration of this class-action lawsuit against the law firm under the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act. The main controversy in this case is over the question of whether the parties [...]

No TILA Claim for Borrower

By Deborah Elkins
Published: April 18, 2012
Tags: Consumer Protection, Judge Michael F. Urbanski, U.S. District Court - Western District

A plaintiff who received a reduction in his home mortgage payment as part of the Home Affordable Modification Trial Period Plan (TPP) cannot pursue a claim under the Truth in Lending Act after the lender cancelled his participation for deficient payments and foreclosed on his home, says a Harrisonburg U.S. District Court. TILA disclosure requirements [...]

No Consumer Claims on Ford Truck

By Deborah Elkins
Published: April 17, 2012
Tags: Consumer Protection, Judge David J. Novak, U.S. District Court - Eastern District

A consumer’s Ford 650 Series truck that has suffered mechanical malfunctions is not a “consumer product” under the Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act or a “motor vehicle” under the Virginia Lemon Law, and a Richmond U.S. District Court magistrate judge awards summary judgment to defendant Ford Motor Company. Plaintiff Terry Eversole bought a new 2008 Ford F650 [...]

No Violation of Statute by Lawyer Solicitation

By Deborah Elkins
Published: April 10, 2012
Tags: 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, Consumer Protection, Judge Andre M. Davis

Lawyers who used FOIA requests to the South Carolina DMV to find plaintiff car buyers for a potential class action against car dealers for collection of unlawful fees did not violate a federal privacy statute that protects drivers’ personal information; the 4th Circuit upholds summary judgment for the lawyers who satisfied the “litigation” exception to [...]

Md. Repo Statute Not Preempted

By Deborah Elkins
Published: April 10, 2012
Tags: 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, Consumer Protection, Judge G. Steven Agee

Federal regulations under the National Banking Act do not preempt a Maryland statute that governs repossession of personal property; Maryland has the right to regulate the notices lenders sent to borrowers before they repossess goods bought on a retail installment contract, and the 4th Circuit vacates dismissal of plaintiff car buyer’s putative class action. The [...]

No Trigger from TILA Rescission Notice

By Deborah Elkins
Published: March 28, 2012
Tags: Consumer Protection, Judge T.S. Ellis III, U.S. District Court - Eastern District

An Alexandria U.S. District Court denies reconsideration of its earlier dismissal of plaintiff borrower’s suit under the Truth in Lending Act as time-barred because filed outside the TILA’s three-year statute of repose [VLW 011-3-463]; the court’s earlier decision correctly dismissed the TILA wrongful failure-to-rescind-claim because that claim, based on the erroneous premise that a borrower’s [...]

Claim Moot After Rule 68 Offer Spurned

By Deborah Elkins
Published: March 28, 2012
Tags: Consumer Protection, Judge T.S. Ellis III, U.S. District Court - Eastern District

A debtor suing on an alleged Truth-in-Lending Act disclosure violation lost his right to pursue his claim when he rejected defendant’s Rule 68 offer of judgment; an Alexandria U.S. District Court says because the Rule 68 offer provided for complete relief of statutory damages and “reasonable” attorney’s fees, debtor’s claim has been mooted and the [...]