A Virginia consumer lawyer says a judge’s hefty fee award in an otherwise small-value used car case will encourage lawyers to stand up for consumers even when the stakes are small. Loudoun County Circuit Judge Thomas D. Horne awarded $8,000 ...

Tagged with: Attorneys Fees Consumer Protection Judge Thomas D. Horne Loudoun County Circuit Court

A consumer who bought a car from a local Maryland dealer on a retail installment contract that included debt cancellation protection that did not comply with a Maryland statute did not lose that protection when the contract was assigned to ...

Tagged with: 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals Consumer Protection Judge Andre M. Davis

Some debt collection lawyers soon may be coming under the scrutiny of aggressive federal regulators, and few seem to be aware of the potential new layer of oversight. That’s the word from a Virginia lawyer who is tracking the regulatory ...

Tagged with: Consumer Protection

A district court erred in applying Maryland law, instead of the Federal Arbitration Act, to deny a financing company’s motion to compel arbitration of a car buyer’s lawsuit; the 4th Circuit says the financing company did not waive arbitration by ...

Tagged with: 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals Consumer Protection Judge Allyson K. Duncan

A major credit reporting agency will not face a class action suit by Virginia residents with potentially inaccurate Virginia court judgments on their credit reports. The 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals reversed an order certifying a class in a ...

Tagged with: Consumer Protection Federal Courts Judge Dennis W. Shedd Judge Robert E. Payne Judge Roger L. Gregory Virginia Trial Lawyers Association

Stricter requirements for collections lawsuits by so-called “debt buyers” are spreading in Virginia. A set of “best practices” adopted by Fairfax County general district judges three years ago to ensure the integrity of the court’s judgments have inspired guidelines imposed ...

Tagged with: Consumer Protection Creditor's Rights General District Court

The Charlottesville U.S. District Court will hold a bench trial to determine whether plaintiff is bound by a Client Agreement to arbitrate her claims against defendant InCharge Debt Solutions, a credit counseling agency that allegedly falsely represented that it provided ...

Tagged with: Consumer Protection Judge Norman K. Moon U.S. District Court - Western District

A plaintiff who won $2,106.44 in damages in a default judgment in a Truth in Lending Act suit related to the sale of a vehicle, and attorney’s fees of $9,786, wins an additional $500 in fees, from the Lynchburg U.S. ...

Tagged with: Consumer Protection Judge Norman K. Moon U.S. District Court - Western District

A debtor wins $9,385.50 in damages and attorney’s fees in a default judgment against a Georgia debt collection agency in her suit alleging the agency violated the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act when it threatened legal action it could not ...

Tagged with: Consumer Protection Judge F. Bradford Stillman Judge Rebecca Beach Smith U.S. District Court - Eastern District

A collections lawyer is not liable for false representations that violate the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act just because she made “immaterial technical errors” when responding to a debtor’s counterclaim. Alexandria Senior U.S. District Judge T.S. Ellis III rejected the ...

Tagged with: Consumer Protection Federal Courts Judge T.S. Ellis III Loudoun County Circuit Court