The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit held that the plaintiffs failed to prove a violation of the federal Equal Credit Opportunity Act (ECOA) under a disparate treatment theory where their only evidence was a vague statement from one of the defendant’s employees. Accordingly, the Seventh Circuit affirmed the ruling of the trial court granting summary judgment in favor of the defendant. A copy of the opinion in Mario Sims v. New Penn Financial LLC is available at: Link to Opinion. The plaintiffs, an African-American couple, purchased a home from the seller in October 2008 for $185,000. The plaintiffs…
Posts tagged as “Seventh Circuit”
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit held that the trial court erred when it reduced the plaintiff’s punitive damages award without giving him the option of a new trial on damages. Accordingly, the Seventh Circuit reversed the ruling of the trial court, and remanded the matter for the court to offer the plaintiff the option of a new trial on damages. A copy of the opinion in Beard v. Wexford Health Sources, Inc. is available at: Link to Opinion. An inmate plaintiff filed a complaint against members of a prison’s medical staff and administrative team alleging they…
7th Cir. Holds Plaintiff’s Settlement of Parallel Claim Against Another Defendant Mooted FDCPA Claim
7th Cir. Holds Plaintiff’s Settlement of Parallel Claim Against Another Defendant Mooted FDCPA Claim
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit recently reversed a judgment against a debt collector, finding that the plaintiff’s settlement with the creditor for the same indivisible injury mooted the plaintiff’s federal Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA) claims for statutory damages, attorneys’ fees, and costs against the debt collector. A copy of the decision in Portalatin v. Blatt, Hasenmiller, Leibsker & Moore, LLC is available at: Link to Opinion. As you may recall, the FDCPA requires a debt collector in the circumstances relevant to this appeal to file a complaint “only in the judicial district or similar legal…
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit recently held that service of a motion for default judgment directly upon a plaintiff consumer known to be represented by counsel did not violate the federal Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, where the plaintiff’s attorney had yet to file a formal appearance. In so ruling, the Seventh Circuit reversed the trial court’s judgment in favor of the consumer because the state procedural rule at issue required the motion to be served directly upon the consumer, thus triggering the safe harbor provision of subsection 1692c(a)(2) of the FDCPA, which prohibits direct contact with…
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit held that a mortgage field servicing company’s actions were too attenuated from its mortgage servicer client’s own debt collection efforts to be considered a debt collector under the federal Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA). Accordingly, the Seventh Circuit affirmed the ruling of the trial court granting the company’s motion for summary judgment. A copy of the opinion in Schlaf v. Safeguard Property, LLC is available at: Link to Opinion. The plaintiff homeowners owned property that was subject to an FHA-insured mortgage loan serviced by a mortgage loan servicer. The plaintiffs defaulted…
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit recently held that, unless the parties to a class action settlement agreement expressly agree otherwise, class settlement agreements should not be read to bar objectors from requesting fees for their efforts in adding value to a settlement. Because the Court determined that the objector did add value to the settlement, it reversed the ruling of the trial court denying the objector’s motion for fees and an incentive award. A copy of the opinion in Markow v. Southwest Airlines Co. is available at: Link to Opinion. Class action counsel settled a class action…
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit recently concluded that collection letters sent to consumers offering to settle their debt but warning them that the settlement “may have tax consequences” did not violate the federal Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA). The plaintiffs had argued that the letters were false and misleading because they were insolvent and, as such, would not have incurred any tax liability for any discharged debt. The Seventh Circuit rejected the argument, concluding that the term “may” only meant there could be tax consequences, and it was possible insolvent debtors would become solvent before settling…
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit recently held that a trial court abused its discretion in denying attorney’s fees to a prevailing plaintiff despite the plaintiff’s failure to recover an award which exceeded the pre-trial settlement offers. A copy of the opinion in Capps v. Drake is available at: Link to Opinion. The plaintiff filed suit against multiple law enforcement officers pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 1983 asserting a number of claims for unlawful search and use of excessive force. At various points during litigation, the parties engaged in settlement discussions with the plaintiff demanding $3.5 million…
In a data breach putative class action brought by financial institutions against a retail grocery store chain, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit recently held that the economic loss doctrine prevented recovery of economic losses in tort cases. Although the financial institutions had no direct contractual relationship with the retail grocery store chain, the Seventh Circuit noted that the banks and the merchant all participated in a network of contracts that tied together all the participants in the card payment system. In so ruling, the Seventh Circuit joined the Third and First Circuits in rejecting negligence theory…
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit recently held that a putative class action alleging violations of the federal Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act (FACTA) could not be removed to federal court because the plaintiffs lacked Article III standing, which deprived the federal trial court of subject matter jurisdiction. Accordingly, the Seventh Circuit remanded the case to the federal trial court with instructions to return the case to state court. A copy of the opinion in Kathryn Collier v. SP Plus Corporation is available at: Link to Opinion. The lead plaintiffs filed a class action complaint in Illinois…
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit recently affirmed a trial court’s finding that a servicer did not violate the federal Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act (RESPA) because the borrower could not prove that the servicer’s failure to respond to a “Qualified Written Request” (QWR) caused her actual damages, as required by 12 U.S.C. § 2605(f)(1)(A). A copy of the opinion in Linderman v. US Bank National Association is available at: Link to Opinion. In 2004 a borrower bought a home with the help of a mortgage loan. The borrower lived in the home with her ex-husband, their…
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit recently held that the minor child of a credit card account holder was not bound by the arbitration clause in the cardholder agreement because she did not become an authorized user of the account by using the credit card. The Seventh Circuit also held that the doctrine of estoppel did not bind the minor to the arbitration clause because the minor did not “directly benefit” from her parent’s use of the credit card. A copy of the opinion in AD v. Credit One Bank, NA is available at: Link to Opinion. In…