In the first court decision addressing National Bank Act preemption since the Supreme Court clarified the standard in Cantero v. Bank of America, N.A., 144 S. Ct. 1290 (2024), the Ninth Circuit reaffirmed that the Act does not preempt a California state law requiring banks to pay interest on funds held in their customers’ escrow accounts. See Kivett v. Flagstar Bank, FSB, 2024 WL 3901188 (9th Cir. Aug. 22, 2024).Continue Reading Ninth Circuit Addresses National Bank Act Preemption after Supreme Court Decision
Financial Services
Post-Class Period Statistics Alone Cannot Demonstrate Parallel Conduct in Antitrust Action, SDNY Holds
By Brandon Gould & Kyle W. Chow on
In Ohio Carpenters’ Pension Fund v. Deutsche Bank AG, no. 22-cv-10462-ER (S.D.N.Y. Aug. 26, 2024), the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York dismissed an antitrust class action alleging a conspiracy between Deutsche Bank and Rabobank to manipulate prices of European government bonds. Plaintiffs, certain U.S.-based pension funds, alleged that the defendants manipulated the prices they offered to investors to buy or sell EGBs in order to widen the resulting “bid-ask spread” between those prices and increase their profits. Continue Reading Post-Class Period Statistics Alone Cannot Demonstrate Parallel Conduct in Antitrust Action, SDNY Holds
Court Dismisses Class Action Seeking to Hold Cryptocurrency Exchange Coinbase Liable for Sale of Unregistered Securities
By Sam Greeley, Andrew Soukup & Ashley Simonsen on
A federal district court recently dismissed with prejudice a putative class action against the cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase, where the plaintiffs sought to hold the exchange liable for the sale of unregistered securities on behalf a nationwide class. The court held that Coinbase neither directly sold the accused tokens to plaintiffs nor actively solicited their sale, and thus plaintiffs’ federal claims must be dismissed. This decision has important implications for digital asset exchanges, which have faced a significant increase in class actions alleging the exchanges are themselves liable for the sale of unregistered securities.Continue Reading Court Dismisses Class Action Seeking to Hold Cryptocurrency Exchange Coinbase Liable for Sale of Unregistered Securities
Eleventh Circuit, Sitting En Banc, Reverses Panel Decision And Holds FDCPA Plaintiff Lacks Standing
The Eleventh Circuit, sitting en banc, recently applied TransUnion to hold that a plaintiff lacked Article III standing to bring claims under the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act. Hunstein v. Preferred Collection & Mgmt. Servs., Inc., No. 19-14434, 2022 WL 4102824 (11th Cir. Sept. 8, 2022)(en banc). The en banc decision reversed a controversial panel decision allowing a plaintiff to sue a collection agency for disclosing information about his debt to the agency’s mail vendor.Continue Reading Eleventh Circuit, Sitting En Banc, Reverses Panel Decision And Holds FDCPA Plaintiff Lacks Standing
Third Circuit Adopts “Reasonable Reader” Standard to Evaluate FCRA Claims.
By Marianne Spencer on
Banks, lenders, and other financial institutions who submit information to credit reporting agencies should take note of a recent Third Circuit decision adopting a “reasonable reader” standard for evaluating whether a credit report was inaccurate or misleading under Fair Credit Reporting Act (“FCRA”).Continue Reading Third Circuit Adopts “Reasonable Reader” Standard to Evaluate FCRA Claims.
Fifth Circuit Applies TransUnion To Conclude Plaintiff Lacked Standing To Assert FDCPA Claims.
By Sam Greeley on
The Fifth Circuit reversed a class certification order for claims under the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (“FDCPA”) because the plaintiff lacked Article III standing. Perez v. McCreary, Veselka, Bragg & Allen, P.C., No. 21-50958, 2022 WL 3355249 (5th Cir. Aug. 15, 2022). The Court held that merely sending a letter to collect a time-barred debt, although a violation of the FDCPA, does not satisfy Article III’s injury-in-fact requirement.Continue Reading Fifth Circuit Applies TransUnion To Conclude Plaintiff Lacked Standing To Assert FDCPA Claims.
A Closer Look: Arbitration Clauses Added to Account Agreements Face Risks After Supreme Court Declines Review of Sixth Circuit’s BB&T Decision
By Amy Heath & Andrew Soukup on
The Supreme Court recently declined to review the Sixth Circuit’s decision in Sevier County Schools Federal Credit Union v. Branch Banking & Trust Co., 990 F.3d 470 (6th Cir. 2021), which presents a potential challenge to enforcing arbitration clauses added to standard account agreements. The cert denial serves as a reminder that companies introducing arbitration agreements should take care to follow all contractual change-of-term requirements and create a record of affirmative customer assent whenever possible.Continue Reading A Closer Look: Arbitration Clauses Added to Account Agreements Face Risks After Supreme Court Declines Review of Sixth Circuit’s BB&T Decision