Seyfarth Synopsis: On November 6, 2018, the United States Supreme Court signalled that the Article III standing preconditions to federal court litigation, as described in Spokeo, Inc. v. Robins, 136 S .Ct. 1540 (2016), are not likely to be diminished any time soon. The Court did so by requesting supplemental briefing on the application of

Seyfarth Synopsis: As part of an evolving trend of narrowly interpreting the FCRA’s “standalone” disclosure and “clear and conspicuous” disclosure requirements, the Ninth Circuit has held that users of consumer reports may violate the FCRA and ICRAA by including “extraneous” state law notices and potentially “confusing” language in background disclosure forms.

Both the Fair Credit

Seyfarth Synopsis: The Illinois Supreme Court has held that a plaintiff may sue for mere violation of BIPA, regardless of injury. The ruling will likely greatly increase the potential exposure of companies in actions alleging violations of the Act and makes strict compliance with the Act significantly importantAccordingly, businesses using or licensing biometric technology in Illinois or collecting or receiving biometric data on individuals in Illinois must take immediate compliance measures or else face the potential of significant liability and damages in class action litigation.

The Illinois Biometric Information Privacy Act

Continue Reading Illinois Supreme Court Opens Floodgates For Damages In Class Actions Alleging Violations of the Illinois Biometric Information Privacy Act (“BIPA”)

In light of the recent uptick in litigation involving the decade-old Illinois Biometric Information Privacy Act (BIPA), the Illinois state legislature is now considering amending the Act to allow for business efficiency and to bring the Act back to what some believe to be its original intent.
Continue Reading BIPA: Exemptions May Be On The Horizon For The Decade-Old Statute

On July 6, 2018, Leandra English, through her attorney via Twitter, announced she would be resigning from the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (“CFPB”). In so doing, Ms. English is also dropping her lawsuit against the CFPB in which she challenged Mick Mulvaney’s status as the acting director and claimed that she was the true

On June 21, 2018, in deciding a motion to dismiss a complaint brought the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (“CFPB”)and the State of New York, Judge Loretta Preska of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York held that the CFPB’s structure is unconstitutional.

Previously the D.C. Circuit, sitting en banc in PHH Corp. v. CFPB, 881 F.3d 75 (D.C. Cir. 2018), had held that Title X of the Dodd-Frank Act, which “established the CFPB as an ‘independent bureau’ within the Federal Reserve System,” was validly enacted. Judge Preska disagreed with the panel and adopted the minority view proposed by the dissent in that case. First, she accepted Judge Brett Kavanaugh’s conclusion that the CFPB was unconstitutionally structured because it is an “independent agency that exercises substantial executive power and is headed by a single Director.” Namely, Judge Kavanaugh took issue with the CFPB’s unchecked authority vested in a single director, where history, liberty, and presidential authority dictate otherwise.
Continue Reading An SDNY Dilemma: CFPB Held Unconstitutional Over Director Removal Provision

In China Agritech, Inc. v. Resh, the Supreme Court recently held that pending class actions do not toll the limitations period for successive class actions. The ruling limits plaintiffs’ ability to bring successive class actions and will increase certainty for defendants sued in class actions.
Continue Reading Supreme Court Rules that Class Actions Do Not Toll the Limitations Period for Successive Class Actions

The battle for control of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (“CFPB”) raged on this Thursday during oral argument before the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit in English v. Trump. All three panel judges seemed skeptical of English’s claim that she should be acting director of the CFPB, but two judges questioned whether President Trump could appoint Mulvaney as acting director when a provision in the Dodd-Frank Act states that a subsection on budgeting and financial management “may not be construed as implying … any jurisdiction or oversight over the affairs or operations of the [CFPB]” by the Office of Management and Budget (“OMB”). 
Continue Reading D.C. Circuit Questions English’s Standing to Challenge CFPB Control