• Defended a merchant processing company in a putative consumer class action filed in the San Diego Superior Court alleging client’s marketing and sale of merchant credit card processing services violated California’s Unfair Competition Law, among others.

• Defended merchant processing company in a putative consumer class action filed in the San Diego Superior Court alleging client’s marketing and sale of merchant credit card processing services violated California’s Unfair Competition Law, among others.

• Defended a national automotive parts retailer in putative class action alleging that client’s return procedures violated California’s Song-Beverly Credit Card Act of 1971.

• Defended a merchant processing company in a putative consumer class action filed in the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York alleging that client’s marketing and sale of merchant credit card processing services violated the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO), various consumer protection statutes and other common law claims. Plaintiff voluntarily dismissed the case after his deposition was taken.

• Obtained voluntary dismissal of a putative class action against news organization alleging unlawful recording of phone calls under California Penal Code section 632.7.

• Responded to a threatened class action by a consumer who alleged that his cellular phone call to the company's customer service line was recorded without his consent in violation of section 632.7 of the California Penal Code. We convinced plaintiff’s counsel to resolve the case individually for a small payment and a statement by the plaintiff’s attorneys confirming their view, based on their investigation, that individual issues likely predominate over class issues.

 

Representative FTC Civil Enforcement Actions

 

• Defended former owner of a credit card processing company in successfully defeating the FTC's attempt to secure a temporary restraining order, impose a court-appointed receiver and an asset freeze that would have restricted the defendants from selling their services to businesses and prevented the company and individual defendants from having access to their assets. The FTC alleged that the defendants used deceptive advertising to convince small businesses to purchase their services, while hiding actual fees and falsely promising discounted rates. The court denied the FTC’s claims, noting that the agency brought insufficient and outdated evidence that failed to demonstrate widespread injury, or the likelihood that the violations they alleged would recur if the injunction was denied.

• Defended a lighting manufacturing company and its principals prior to trial in an FTC enforcement action filed in the United States District Court for the Central District of California alleging that the company’s LED light technology packaging contained representations that violated Section 5 of the FTC Act. The case is significant in that the court ruled for the first time that the pleading requirements of Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 9(b), which require allegations of alleged fraud or misrepresentation to be pled with specificity, to be applicable to FTC Section 5 deception cases.

• Represented an Internet marketing company and one of its principals in an FTC enforcement action filed in the United States District Court for the District of Oregon alleging that the clients’ general offer of credit in online shopping club violated Section 5 of the FTC Act.

• Defended an Internet marketing company and one of its principals in an FTC enforcement action filed in the United States District Court for the Northern District of California alleging that the company’s marketing of short-term, small-dollar (“payday”) lenders violated Section 5 of the FTC Act.

• Negotiated resolution of claims against owner and debt settlement company charged with assisting bogus overseas computer repair operation and making misleading marketing claims in federal court civil enforcement action.

• Represented an Internet marketer in an FTC enforcement action filed in the United States District Court for the District of Columbia alleging that the client’s advertisements violated Section 5 of the FTC Act.

• Represented an Internet appliance retailer in resolving an FTC administrative action filed against the company related to the company’s alleged failure to display Federal Energy Guides for certain appliance products offered for sale on the company’s website. 

• Assisted a marketer to resolve an FTC civil enforcement action filed in the United States District Court for the Central District of California involving alleged violations of the CAN-SPAM Act and Section 5 of the FTC Act for allegedly transmitting over a 40-day period more than 5.5 million text message advertisements leading consumers to a private website that appeared to be a government web address.

 

Representative State and Federal Regulatory Investigations and Projects

 

• Helped resolve a CFPB investigation of a debt collection company before a response was required.

• Advised a law firm that provides debt relief services in responding to an investigation by the Connecticut Attorney General’s Office.

• Assisted a student loan consolidation company in responding to civil investigative demand from the New York Department of Financial Services.

• Aided a debt negotiation company respond to a civil investigative demand from the FTC - no further action was taken after the investigation was completed.

• Advised a student loan consolidation company in responding to a CFPB civil investigative demand.

• Facilitated debt negotiation companies responses to separate civil investigative demands from the Oregon Attorney General’s Office.

• Helped a debt negotiation law firm respond to a FTC civil investigative demand; no further action was taken at the conclusion of the investigation.

• Assisted a credit card payment processing company respond to civil investigative demand from the Vermont Attorney General’s Office.

• Advised a marketing company in responding to a civil investigative demand from the Florida Attorney General’s Office.

• Performed a compliance audit for a short-term, small-dollar lender focusing on compliance with CFPB examination issues, including review and development of procedures governing federal lending disclosure requirements, marketing, collections, customer complaint tracking and management, and service provider agreements and management procedures.

• Assisted a debt settlement company in responding to an investigation by the Colorado Attorney General's office of possible violations of the state's Debt Management Practices Act.