Over the last decade, financial institutions have seen an avalanche of claims regarding overdraft fees, especially in connection with debit card transactions. These claims are almost always brought as class actions. The early cases concerned the practice of posting “high
Southeast Financial Litigation Monitor
Legal Developments Affecting the Financial Services Industry in Alabama, Florida, Georgia & Mississippi
Latest from Southeast Financial Litigation Monitor - Page 3
First Alabama lawsuits filed over COVID-19 insurance denial
Earlier this week, two Alabama businesses sued their insurers for refusing to pay losses related to COVID-19. The first lawsuit, Wagner Shoes v. Auto-Owners Insurance Co., No. 7:20-cv-465 (N.D. Ala. Apr. 6, 2020), was brought by a shoe store in Tuscaloosa.…
Credit Reporting and COVID-19: CFPB Provides Flexibility to Financial Institutions
On April 1st, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (“CFPB”) released a policy statement setting forth financial institutions’ obligations during the COVID-19 pandemic. In addition to providing clarity regarding the recently-enacted Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (the “CARES Act”),…
MERS Procedure Not Violation of Alabama Law – Alabama Supreme Court Looks Beyond Punctuation in Interpreting Recording Statute
In its recent opinion in Deutsche Bank National Trust Company v. Walker County, the Alabama Supreme Court held Alabama Code § 35-4-50 does not impose a mandatory duty to record assignments of beneficial interests in residential mortgages. In the…
Eleventh Circuit: Motion to Reschedule a Foreclosure Sale Not Barred by Regulation X
In an important victory for mortgage servicers, the Eleventh Circuit rejected a RESPA claim based on a motion to reschedule a foreclosure sale in Landau v. Roundpoint Mortgage Servicing Corp.…
Eleventh Circuit affirms dismissal of attempted FCRA class action against furnisher of consumer information
Last month, the Eleventh Circuit affirmed the dismissal of a putative class action suit alleging violations of the Fair Credit Reporting Act thereby delivering an important victory to lenders and other entities that provide consumer information to credit reporting agencies.…
Eleventh Circuit allows Miami’s predatory lending suit for lost tax revenues to proceed
According to the Eleventh Circuit, a municipalities’ lawsuit alleging lost tax revenue and increased costs for services case proceed against several large lenders. In City of Miami v. Wells Fargo & Co., 2019 WL 1966943 (11th Cir. 2019), Miami…
Eleventh Circuit sua sponte vacates prior Spokeo opinion
Eleventh Circuit: No Express Threat Required
When attempting to collect time-barred debts, law firms often send standard letters which merely omit an express threat to sue. Earlier this month, the Eleventh Circuit held a least sophisticated consumer might view such a letter as an implicit threat…
Supreme Court: FDCPA (sometimes) does not apply to nonjudicial foreclosures
In Obduskey v. McCarthy & Holthus, LLP, the United States Supreme Court unanimously held the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act does not apply to a law firm conducting a nonjudicial foreclosure.
While the law firm prevailed in Obduskey, the Court’s…