Where the executive director of the Norfolk housing authority sent a letter to residents that attacked the plaintiffs’ motivations in filing a Fair Housing Act suit, a claim for unlawful coercion, intimidation, threat or interference under § 3617 of the ...

Tagged with: Consumer Protection Judge Roderick C. Young U.S. District Court - Eastern District

Where a consumer brought a challenge against CMS officials in their individual capacities, alleging they violated the Telephone Consumer Protection Act by authorizing robocalls, his lawsuit was in reality aimed against the federal government, to which sovereign immunity applied. Background ...

Tagged with: 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals Consumer Protection Judge J. Harvie Wilkinson III

Although the plaintiffs alleged the start/stop system is defective in all nonhybrid Audi models made between 2017-2020, their fraud claims against Volkswagen were dismissed because they failed to identify any information about the system that was suppressed or concealed. Instead, ...

Tagged with: Consumer Protection Judge Leonie M. Brinkema U.S. District Court - Eastern District

Although a former tenant asserting a wrongful eviction claim repeatedly referenced the landlord’s participation in the Low Income Housing Tax Credit, or LIHTC, program, his state-law claims did not turn on any embedded federal question, the complaint did not appear ...

Tagged with: Consumer Protection Judge Joel Hoppe U.S. District Court - Western District

Although the Fourth Circuit has not addressed whether a website can constitute a place of public accommodation under the Americans with Disabilities Act, and other circuits have reached differing conclusions, the court agreed that places of “public accommodation” are not ...

Tagged with: Consumer Protection Judge Glen E. Conrad U.S. District Court - Western District

Where a debt collection letter included a settlement offer that expired during the 30-day dispute window, but did not demand immediate payment or payment-in-full before 30 days, the claim under the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act was dismissed. The settlement ...

Tagged with: Consumer Protection Judge Elizabeth K. Dillon U.S. District Court - Western District

After protracted payday lending litigation with uncertain outcomes and extended settlement negotiations, the settlements were found to be fair and adequate and the attorneys’ fees award of $2,871,000 was approved. However, an award of $5,000 to each plaintiff was refused; ...

Tagged with: Consumer Protection Judge Robert E. Payne U.S. District Court - Eastern District

Allegations that a health care provider concealed certain “surcharges” until after emergency room services were rendered were insufficient to state a fraud claim because there was no allegation or assertion that the provider knew the plaintiff was acting on the ...

Tagged with: Consumer Protection Judge Robert E. Payne U.S. District Court - Eastern District

Where a 2018 amendment to the North Carolina Rental Agreements Act, or RRAA, allowed landlords to start charging certain fees that were previously prohibited, it substantively altered the rights of tenants and landlords, so it could only be applied prospectively, ...

Tagged with: 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals Consumer Protection Judge A. Marvin Quattlebaum Jr.

Where the parties in a dispute over whether a fax was an unsolicited advertisement never briefed what level of deference should be afforded a 2006 FCC rule interpreting what constitutes an “advertisement” under the Telephone Consumer Protection Act, the case ...

Tagged with: 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals Consumer Protection Judge Albert Diaz