The West Virginia Senate Judiciary Committee and the West Virginia Senate recently approved amendments to the West Virginia Consumer Credit and Protection Act ("WVCCPA"), West Virginia Code §§ 46A-1-101 et seq, which was last amended in 2015. While the original versions of the senate bills sought to make the WVCCPA more similar to the federal Fair Debt Collection Practices Act ("FDCPA"), 15 U.S.C. §§ 1692 et seq., the committee substitute of S.B. 563 includes only minor amendments. Among other things, the proposed amendments:
- Clarify how notice of attorney representation must ...
In McFarland v. Wells Fargo Bank, N.A., 14-2126 (4th Cir. Jan. 15, 2016), the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals examined the argument that a loan was substantively unconscionable because it vastly exceeded the worth of the residential property by which it was secured. The case drew the attention of numerous amici for both the lender and the borrower. In short, during the height of the housing bubble, the borrower received a call from a mortgage broker that the value of his home had doubled in two years. The borrower refinanced his home to pay down other debt, but could not manage the larger ...
The Northern District of West Virginia, applying the FCC's May 9, 2013 Declaratory Ruling in Dish Network, LLC, 28 F.C.C.Rcd. 6574, recently held that "on behalf of" liability found in §227(c) (5) of the TCPA does not require a formal agency relationship, but can instead rely on principals of apparent authority and ratification to establish vicarious liability under the TCPA. In Mey v. Monitronics Int'l., ---F.Supp.2d---, 2013 WL 4105430 (N.D.W.Va. 2013), the plaintiff sued three defendants for violation of the Telephone Consumer Protection Act's prohibition against calls to ...