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Consumer Law: Fair Debt Collection Practices Act-Missouri Merchandising Practices Act-Attorneys’ Fee Award
Plaintiff sued defendants for violations of the FDCPA and Missouri Merchandising Practices Act. The district court granted summary judgment to defendant and awarded him statutory damages and attorneys’ fees calculated under the lodestar approach. Defendants filed a late appeal, alleging that a computer error prevented timely filing of their appeal. Where defendants failed to explain […]
Consumer Law: Missouri Merchandising Practices Act-Award of Rescission
Defendant appealed from the judgment in favor of the attorney general for defendants’ violations of the Missouri Merchandising Practices Act and from the award of “rescission” to the attorney general. The attorney general’s complaint alleged that defendants had sold a pasteurization machine it represented was PMO-compliant when defendants knew it was not and concealed that […]
Consumer Law: MMPA-Punitive Damages-Attorneys’ Fees
Where appellants, who brought an action against their landlord alleging damages from a bedbug infestation, challenged the denial of their motion to amend the judgment to award them attorneys’ fees on their claims under the Missouri Merchandising Practices Act, the trial court abused its discretion in denying the motion, so the motion is reversed and […]
Consumer Law: Fee for Legal Document Preparation-Unauthorized Law Business-Fee-Shifting
Plaintiffs filed a class-action suit alleging defendant’s practice of charging a fee for preparation of legal documents when selling boats and trailers constituted unauthorized law business. The district court granted summary judgment and awarded attorneys’ fees and costs from the common fund. The court reversed and remanded to enforce a contractual fee-shifting provision. On remand, […[...]
Consumer Law: Dismissal of Action-Denial of Discovery Request
Where appellant challenged the denial of her action against the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, the bureau preserved consumers’ ability to pursue a private cause of action, so the district court did not err, and the court did not abuse its discretion in dismissing the action without allowing her to conduct the requested discovery. Judgment is […]
Consumer Law: MMPA-Removal of Class Action-Amount in Controversy
Where class-action plaintiffs brought an action in Missouri state court against a massage business that advertised one-hour massage sessions but failed to disclose that the sessions included 10 minutes to undress, consult and dress, the district court erred in remanding the case to state court based on the amount in controversy because the defendant plausibly […]
Consumer Law: Store Rewards Program-Price Discrimination-Federal Jurisdiction
Plaintiff filed a class-action complaint in Arkansas state court, alleging that Walgreens’ rewards program violated Arkansas’ statutory prohibition on price discrimination in the sale of manufactured products. Defendants removed the case to federal court, alleging jurisdiction under the Class Action Fairness Act. The district court denied plaintiff’s motion to remand pursuant to the local-co[...]
Consumer Law: Money Lender-Revocation of License-Procedural Due Process
Plaintiff was licensed as a money lender by the South Dakota Division of Banking. Defendant sent plaintiff a cease-and-desist and license-revocation order, ordering plaintiff to surrender its money-lending licenses. Plaintiff filed the present §1983 complaint, alleging its license revocation without a hearing violated procedural due process. The district court denied defendant’s motion for summ[...]
Consumer Law: FDCPA-Class Action-Least-Sophisticated Consumer
Plaintiffs appealed the dismissal of their purported class action under the FDCPA. Where the least-sophisticated-consumer standard contained an objective element of reasonableness to avoid peculiar interpretations of debt-collector communications, the district court properly denied plaintiffs’ complaint. Judgment is affirmed. Carroll v. Rodenburg LLP (MLW No. 73781/Case No. 18-3667 – 2 pages) [...]
Consumer Law: Mutual Savings and Loan Association-Inequitable Merger-Failure to Distribute Surplus Assets
Plaintiffs appealed the dismissal of their putative class-action lawsuit against defendants, challenging defendant First Federal Bank of Kansas City’s absorption of Inter-State Federal Savings and Loan Association of Kansas City. Plaintiffs were members of Inter-State and alleged that the merger of the banks was inequitable because Inter-State had a $25 million surplus that should have […[...]
Consumer Law: MMPA-Nunc Pro Tunc-Notice
Where a car buyer claimed that the seller violated the Missouri Merchandising Practices Act by selling her a defective car without clear title, and the trial court first entered judgment in favor of the plaintiff and then replaced it with a judgment in favor of the defendant, the judgment is vacated and remanded because the […]
Consumer Law:Telephone Consumer Protection Act-Standing-Personal Liability
Defendant James Leininger financed a firm; the marketing company for the film hired defendant ccAdvertising to conduct a telephone marketing campaign. The company made 3.2 million phone calls in one week; plaintiffs received two of the messages and sued the parties involved with the film and its marketing campaign for violating the Telephone Consumer Protection […]
Latest Opinion Digests
- Immigration: Asylum-Withholding of Removal-Appellate Jurisdiction
- Criminal Law: Child Pornography-Bottom-of-Guidelines Sentence-Substantive Reasonableness of Sentence
- Criminal Law: Child Abuse-Sufficiency Of Evidence-Closing Argument
- Civil Rights: Religious Freedom-RLUIPA-Res Judicata
- Civil Practice: Res Judicata-Stop Work Order
- Immigration: Drug Conviction-Removability-Overbreadth of State Offense
- Civil Practice: Asset Forfeiture-Sanctions
- Civil Rights: Due Process-Failure to State Claim
- Probate : Revocable Trust – Amendment – Reformation
- Employer – Employee : Unpaid Commissions – At-Will Status
- Criminal Law : Post-Conviction Relief – Effectiveness Of Counsel – Conflict Of Interest
- Appellate Practice : Jurisdiction – Final Judgment
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