Roots Rx in downtown Aspen on Wednesday, April 28, 2021. (Kelsey Brunner/The Aspen Times)
A handful of Aspen businesses are learning that a misstep in communications with current customers and would-be patrons can expose them to potential liability under federal laws.
The downtown marijuana dispensary Roots RX is the latest local business facing a class-action lawsuit in Denver federal court. Plaintiff Kathryn Potter of Miami sued the cannabis company, which is based in Aspen and whose owner lives here, last week over unwanted promotional text messages she has received. Her suit was filed under the Telephone Consumer Protection Act and alleged Roots RX continues to send her text messages despite her asking the company to stop.
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The Eleventh Circuit released an Opinion on April 21, 2021, related to the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA), which is a must-read for all in the business of servicing loans or collecting debts. The Eleventh Circuit explains that “[i]t’s not lost on us that
our interpretation of [the FDCPA] runs the risk of upsetting the status quo in the debt-collection industry. . . . Our reading of [the FDCPA]
may well require debt collectors (at least in the short term) to in-source many of the services that they had previously outsourced, potentially at great cost.” At least one class action has already been filed in response to this Opinion, and we expect many more copycat lawsuits, will follow. Similar lawsuits are also expected to be filed against creditors in multiple states where there is an analog statute that tracks the FDCPA.
COVID-19 rental debt cannot be sold or assigned before July 1, 2021.
Starting July 1, 2021, COVID-19 rental debt cannot be sold or assigned if the debt pertains to a person “who would have qualified for rental assistance funding” under California’s emergency rental assistance program if “the person’s household income is at or below 80 percent of the area median income for the 2020 calendar year.”
Creditors cannot charge or attempt to collect late fees for COVID-19 rental debt if the renter has submitted a “declaration of COVID-19-related financial distress.”
With limited exceptions, those collecting COVID-19 rental debt in court must submit documentation showing that they have made “a good faith effort to investigate whether governmental rental assistance is available to the tenant, seek governmental rental assistance for the tenant, or cooperate with the tenant’s efforts to obtain rental assistance from any governmental entity, or other third party.”
Headlines
CFPB Issues Interim Final Rule to Support CDC Moratorium on Evictions
FEMA Announces Changes to National Flood Insurance Program Pricing
Proposed Rule Would Establish Mandatory Terms for Tax Allocation Agreements
Other Developments: Paycheck Protection Program and Qualified Mortgages
1. CFPB Takes Steps to Avoid a Possible Wave of Home Mortgage Loan Foreclosures
The CFPB has issued guidance to mortgage servicers, including banks that service mortgage loans for third-party noteholders, that the CFPB expects servicers to dedicate sufficient resources and staff to reduce avoidable foreclosures in coming months. According to the guidance issued on April 1, Compliance Bulletin 2021-02, the CFPB believes consumer home mortgage borrowers needing loss mitigation assistance as the COVID-19 foreclosure moratoriums and forbearances end will face heightened risks of foreclosure. The CFPB’s guidance urges mortgage servicers to dedicate resources and staff to ensure that they can
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To start with the headline, on April 21, 2021, the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals held that a debt collector sending personal identifying information to dunning letter vendors states a claim under the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA). To boot, an allegation that such activity occurred is sufficient to show a concrete injury conferring standing. Obviously, the decision will have far-reaching implications for the ARM industry and anyone in the debt collection space. A deeper dive on the decision
Hunstein v. Preferred Collection shows how.
Preferred Collection and Management Services, Inc. sent data to Compumail, a third-party commercial mail vendor, concerning a debt owed by Richard Huntstein, including Huntstein’s name, his outstanding balance, the name of the original creditor, the fact that his debt resulted from Hunstein’s son’s medical treatment, and his son’s name. Compumail used the data to c