Repossession Stories: Man Bites Repo Agent
A couple of vehicle repossession stories have made their respective local news lately. The first is about a consumer biting a repo man attempting to take his vehicle: A 50-year-old Lopatcong Township man bit and pulled a weapon on a tow truck driver repossessing the man’s vehicle, township police report. Joe Lopez Jr., of the 100 block of Powderhorn Drive,...Read More
Even Small Debt Errors Can Have Big Consequences
The Houston Chronicle ran a story on Christmas about how a paid $40 debt showing up as delinquent can have big consequences: Three years ago, James Rohn discovered that he owed a $40 gas bill to CenterPoint Energy, and promptly paid it. The Houston resident thought that was that — until he applied for job...Read More
Repossessions in the News
A couple of interesting repossession stories came out of Ohio recently. The first one was about a glitch in the creditor’s system that resulted in automatic payments failing to be made: On Thanksgiving Day, people showed up to repossess my car! They said I hadn’t made payments since August. I had guests over for Thanksgiving and...Read More
House Report states Equifax Breach was Preventable
A recent report from the House of Representatives shed light on the Equifax data breach: A House Oversight Committee report out Monday has concluded that Equifax’s security practices and policies were sub-par and its systems were old and out-of-date, and bothering with basic security measures — like patching vulnerable systems — could’ve prevented its massive data breach...Read More
Alabama Attorney General Settles with Midland Funding
Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall announced a settlement with Encore Capital Group and subsidiaries Midland Credit Management and Midland Funding yesterday. The settlement stemmed from allegations that Midland: Midland used affidavits to get judgments in court against those accounts between 2003 and 2009. The agreement settles claims that Midland signed and filed affidavits in state courts in...Read More
Okereke v. Experian Information Solutions, Inc.
The Middle District of Florida recently explained what information plaintiffs must provide in their complaint when alledging violations of the Fair Credit Reporting Act. In Okereke v. Experian Info. Sols., Inc., No. 8:18-cv-1347-T-24 AAS, 2018 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 186055 (M.D. Fla. Oct. 31, 2018), the furnisher of the information, Wells Fargo, argued: Wells Fargo argues that...Read More
Leones v. Rushmore Loan Mgmt. Servs. LLC
The Eleventh Circuit ruled in Leones v. Rushmore Loan Mgmt. Servs. LLC that information reported to the credit reporting agencies like Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion must be inaccurate in order to trigger a consumer’s rights under the FCRA for an improper reinvestigation: Plaintiff Silvia Leones filed a lawsuit against Defendant Rushmore Loan Management Services LLC for...Read More
Clements v. TRANS UNION, LLC – S.D. of Texas
A Court in the Southern District of Texas released an lengthy Fair Credit Reporting Act opinion recently in Clements v. TRANS UNION, LLC (Civil Action No. 3:17-CV-00237). The case involved: Plaintiffs … claim Trans Union and Experian (collectively, the “Credit Reporting Defendants”) reported old and obsolete information on credit reports about delinquent accounts Plaintiffs previously had...Read More
Court Explains Inaccurate or Incomplete under the FCRA
The Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals recently explained inaccurate or incomplete information in FCRA claims arising out of a home loan modification situation. As a threshold matter, consumers must show the information in his or her credit file is inaccurate or incomplete. In Pittman v. Experian Info. Sols., Inc., No. 17-1677, 2018 U.S. App. LEXIS 23775...Read More
Eleventh Circuit Upholds $3,506,000 Verdict
The Eleventh Circuit recently upheld a $3,506,000 jury verdict in a wrongful foreclosure case out of the Middle District of Georgia. The jury awarded $6,000 for economic injury, $500,000 for emotional distress, and $3,000,000 in punitive damages. In the decision, McGinnis v. Am. Home Mortg. Servicing, Inc., No. 17-11494, 2018 U.S. App. LEXIS 23596 (11th Cir. Aug....Read More