TCPA 3X Damages of $298,500
On September 25 I received a TCPA judgment for $298,500 for one of my clients in California. The debt collector made 199 illegal calls. The Court awarded triple damages for a total of $298,500. →
Appointed as National Co-Lead Counsel
Just last week I was appointed as national Co-Lead Counsel representing MDL individual plaintiffs in the cases against Portfolio Recovery for violations of the TCPA in debt collection cases. The case is pending in the United States District Court for the Southern District of California. It is a Multi District Litigation case involving plaintiffs from around the company. We will →
Robo-Calls
Americans received an estimated 29.3 billion in unwanted telemarketing calls in 2016, according to a YouMail Robocall Index released this week. Contact me to find out how to prevent them and recover up to $1,500 for each call. →
2.4B Robo-Calls
More than 2.4 billion robocalls are placed every month, according to the Federal Communications Commission, which has also taken action to stem the practice. Some are legitimate calls by businesses trying to serve their customers. But many other robocalls are illegal. Unsolicited automated messages account for the largest source of consumer complaints to the FCC. →
Spokeo – Article III Standing
Yesterday, in a case that has already spanned five years, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in favor of data broker Spokeo, overturning a lower court’s ruling by a 6-2 vote. The case has generated attention because of its potential to shift the balance one way or another in privacy cases, specifically those in which plaintiffs allege they’ve been “harmed” by a →
Federal Trade Secrets Act
On April 27, 2016 the U.S. House of Representatives passed long-proposed legislation that would federalize trade secrets law, sending the bill to the White House for President Barack Obama’s promised signature. The House voted 410-2 to pass the Defend Trade Secrets Act, which would allow companies for the first time to file civil lawsuits for trade secrets theft under the →
Employee v Independent Contractor
Misclassification of employees as independent contractors is found in an increasing number of workplaces in the United States, in part reflecting larger restructuring of business organizations. When employers improperly classify employees as independent contractors, the employees may not receive important workplace protections such as the minimum wage, overtime compensation, unemployment insurance, and workers’ compensation. Misclassification also results in lower tax →
Robo Calls by Debt Collectors
The FDCPA regulates what debt collectors can and cannot do in their attempts to collect a debt. Among other no-no’s, debt collectors cannot call you at work once they know it’s inconvenient, debt collectors cannot reveal your debt to third parties, and cannot mislead you about debts past the statute of limitations. The FDCPA also prohibits excessive phone calls. And →
Debt Collectors and Robo-Calls
If you are currently behind on payments for your credit cards, car, medical bills or mortgage, you still have rights under the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA), which protects you against the abusive, harassing and unfair collection practices of some debt collectors. Additionally, you may be dually protected under the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA), which makes it illegal →
Wage Theft
How do companies cheat workers out of pay? Sometimes they don’t pay workers for legally mandated breaks. Sometimes they require workers to be on call without pay. Sometimes they refuse to pay overtime. Sometimes they pay less than the minimum wage, or refuse to pay tips that were earned. Sometimes they won’t pay separated workers their last paycheck. Sometimes companies →