A&B ABstract: Putative class action plaintiffs recently prevailed on appeal in a case involving mortgage servicing fees charged to Maryland borrowers. In doing so, the opinion opens the door for FDCPA liability for all mortgage servicing activity and other collection activity in Maryland, even if such activity is otherwise exempt from FDCPA liability. The Maryland […]
Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA)
The Hunstein Case: Upending Servicing and Debt Collection?
A&B Abstract: The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit, covering Alabama, Florida, and Georgia, recently decided in Hunstein v. Preferred Collection and Management, Inc., that a debt collector’s communication with its third-party vendor violated section 1692c(b) of the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (“FDCPA”), which prohibits a debt collector for communicating, in connection […]
District Courts Split on Convenience Fees Under Debt Collection Laws
A&B ABstract: In a number of recent decisions, district courts have split on the issue of whether a mortgage servicer violates the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (“FDCPA”) and related state debt collection statutes by charging a borrower a convenience fee for making a mortgage payment over the phone, interactive voice recording system (“IVR”). FDCPA […]
CFPB Issues Winter 2020 Supervisory Highlights
A&B ABstract: The Winter 2020 Supervisory Highlights identifies the CFPB’s findings from recent examinations, noting violations that resulted in compliance management system weakness. CFPB Issues New Edition of Supervisory Highlights: The Winter 2020 edition of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (“CFPB”) Supervisory Highlights details recent examination findings relating to debt collection, mortgage servicing, and student […]
Seventh Circuit Declines to Adopt FDCPA “Benign Language” Exception
A&B ABstract: The Seventh Circuit’s ruling in Preston v. Midland Credit Mgmt. departs from other circuits that have considered whether there is a “benign language” exception under the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (“FDCPA”). The Seventh Circuit, ruled, as the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (“CFPB”) urged in an amicus brief, that the FDCPA does not […]