Debt

Puerto Rico Hit With Lawsuits After Litigation Freeze Ends

Bondholders filed to sue Puerto Rico on Tuesday in the first legal challenges to hit the U.S. territory after a freeze on litigation that protected it from lawsuits expired amid a deep economic crisis. A group representing those who bought a portion of the $16 billion worth of bonds backed by Puerto Rico’s sales tax said in its lawsuit that a government plan to cut …


Consumer Brings Class-Action Suit Against EGS Financial for Phone Harassment

A Ridgecrest man has filed a class-action lawsuit against EGS Financial Care Inc., a debt collector, and a number of its employees, citing alleged violation of telephone harassment statutes. Laurence Clayton, individually and on behalf of all others similarly situated, filed a complaint on April 3 in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana alleging that the …


This Class-Action Lawsuit May Offer Hope for Student Loan Borrowers in Bankruptcy

A student loan giant has agreed to suspend collection activities on the debt of certain borrowers who filed for bankruptcy, providing at least temporary relief for potentially thousands of people and signaling that there may be a viable path to discharging some student debts in bankruptcy. As part of an ongoing class-action lawsuit filed against student loan servicer Navient, the company has …


Ninth Circuit Torpedoes FDCPA Class Settlement as ‘Worthless’

The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals rejected a class action settlement as “worthless” for absent class members in a recent federal Fair Debt Collection Practices Act case. The decision represents another addition to the growing list of FDCPA and other consumer-related class action settlements facing tough scrutiny where absent class members receive minimal or no monetary relief in proportion to …


Florida Woman’s Lawsuit Against Debt Collector Outside the Norm

A debt collection agency headquartered in Houston has been named in a lawsuit for alleged violations of the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) and the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA) after it allegedly called a woman while trying to collect a debt from someone else. According to the complaint filed by Cristina Labreau in the U.S. District Court of the Southern District …


Obama’s Parting Gift to the Company Formerly Known as Sallie Mae: A Big Fat Lawsuit

On the last day of the Obama administration, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau wanted to give millions of Americans with student loan debt a little gift: filing a lawsuit against Navient (formerly known as Sallie Mae) for grimy, misleading practices. BuzzFeed reports : Among the most serious allegations is the claim that Navient systematically pushed struggling borrowers away from …


DeVry Will Refund $100 Million to Students to Settle FTC Lawsuit

DeVry University will pay $100 million to settle a lawsuit that alleged its ads misled prospective students, the Federal Trade Commission said Thursday. The money will go back to tens of thousands of students that attended DeVry between 2008 and 2015. Some will be reimbursed with cash and others will receive debt relief.


Class Action Lawsuit Says Debt Collector Attempted to Collect Debts That Weren’t in Collections

A woman says a Chicago-based debt collection firm improperly attempted to collect a medical debt she owed, under a payment plan she maintained she never agreed to, and even though she was never placed into collections. And the woman has now filed a potential class action suit, believing the debt collector has behaved similarly toward others like her. On Sept. 16, plaintiff Angelica Griffin, …



Puerto Rico Hit With Lawsuit as Key Debt Negotiations Stall

A group of bondholders on Tuesday sued Puerto Rico’s government as debt negotiations fell apart less than two weeks ahead of what would be the largest default in the island’s history. The suit filed in New York by holders of general obligation bonds seeks to invalidate a debt moratorium and fiscal emergency law passed in early April as the island struggles to restructure $70 billion in public …