Today the Senate struck down a new Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (“CFPB”) rule which would have prohibited providers of financial products and services from including class action waivers in their arbitration agreements with consumers. The action is a win for the financial services industry. Background Way back in March 2015 we blogged about the CFPB’s study of pre-dispute arbitration contracts in connection with the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act (“Dodd-Frank”). The CFPB’s…

On Monday, the U.S. Supreme Court issued its highly-anticipated opinion in  DirecTV, Inc. v. Imburgia et al., 577 U.S. ___ (2015), which reaffirmed its ruling in AT&T Mobility LLC v. Concepcion, 56 U.S. 333 (2011), dealing yet another blow to California Courts’ attempts to invalidate class action waivers. Background The plaintiffs in Imburgia filed their lawsuit in 2008, arguing that class action arbitration waivers were per se unenforceable in California under Discover Bank v.…

The Association of Credit and Collection Professionals (ACA) swiftly-filed a petition for review of the FCC’s July 10, 2015 Declaratory Ruling and Order (FCC 15-72) in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit.  The petition challenges the FCC’s treatment of automatic dialing systems, predictive dialers and its definition of prior express consent.  Similar petitions were also filed by Sirius XM Radio and the Professional Association for Customer Engagement (PACE), which filed in the…

On Friday, July 10, 2015, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) issued an omnibus, Declaratory Ruling and Order (FCC Ruling) seeking to clarify certain ambiguities in the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA).  The TCPA was enacted in 1991 with the purpose of protecting consumers’ privacy rights against unwanted robocalls. Background Briefly, an individual is liable under the TCPA if they use an autodialer or prerecorded message to make a non-emergency call to a wireless phone without…

On Tuesday, May 26, 2015 at 12:00 p.m. Central, Jason P. Stiehl, Giovanna A. Ferrari and Jordan P. Vick will present the first installment of the 2015 Class Action Webinar series. They will provide a summary of key decisions from 2014, identify key trends for companies to watch for in 2015, as well as practical “best practices” and risk management for the future. In 2014, companies saw a major change in the focus and risk…

By Eddy Salcedo The Seventh Circuit recently weighed in on the circuit split over whether a federal court, after preliminarily approving a class action settlement but before final approval, may enjoin class members from pursuing litigation related to the underlying class claims.  In Adkins v. Nestle Purina PetCare,the court ruled that such injunctions were improper.  — F.3d — (7th Cir. Mar. 2, 2015). Background Plaintiffs argued that their dogs became ill and were injured after…