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Consumer Financial Services

ThompsonMcMullan’s Consumer Financial Services practice group is devoted to helping banks, mortgage lenders, loan servicers, finance companies, collection agencies and others who conduct business with consumers in all of their compliance and litigation needs.

Dewey B. Morris directs ThompsonMcMullan’s Consumer Financial Services practice area and has advised clients for over thirty years regarding compliance with state and federal consumer protection laws. Mr. Morris and his colleagues have assisted consumer finance related clients with all aspects of conducting business in Virginia, from obtaining licenses, negotiating with state and federal regulators, and insuring that our clients are compliant with the myriad of state and federal laws.

ThompsonMcMullan’s Consumer Financial Services litigation team regularly defends our clients in state and federal courts throughout Virginia. Our litigators have extensive experience before the United States District Courts for the Eastern and Western Districts of Virginia as well as the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals and all state courts, including the Supreme Court of Virginia. Our litigators are well versed in defending suits alleging violations of the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, Fair Credit Reporting Act, Truth in Lending Act, Real Estate Settlement Protection Act, Equal Credit Opportunity Act and other federal and state laws affecting the consumer financial services industry.

• Bradford v. HSBC Mortgage Corporation, 2011 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 80950 (E.D.Va. 2011). Successfully defended a national mortgage lender for alleged violations of the Truth in Lending Act and the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act.

• Landes v. Cavalry Portfolio Services, LLC,  2011 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 35467 (E.D. Va. 2011). Obtained dismissal with prejudice of a class action complaint affecting 91,000 class members.  The plaintiff sought class certification for an alleged Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA) violation involving dunning letters offering “tax season savings.”  The plaintiff contended that the letters were deceptive, and thus violated the FDCPA, because the consumer would not actually have saved the stated amount due to potential income tax implications.  We successfully argued that had the collection agency dispensed tax advice as the plaintiff demanded, the collection agency would have been engaging in the unauthorized practice of law, a misdemeanor offense in Virginia. The Court further agreed that there is no requirement in the FDCPA that any such tax disclosure is required. This was a case of first impression within the Fourth Circuit.

• Katz v. Allied Interstate et al., 2010 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 25579 (E.D.Va. 2010). ACA International’s Mapbulletin newsletter lists this case as one of the top four Big Wins-Call Volume Cases in its 2010 Year in Review Litigation Trends. Mr. Colombell and Robert R. Musick successfully defended a national collection agency for alleged violations of state and federal laws.

• Schmidt v. Household Finance Corporation, 276 Va. 108, 661 S.E.2d 834 (2008). In a suit raising issues regarding the Virginia Consumer Protection Act, Truth in Lending Act, and the Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act, Mr. Musick successfully defended a national mortgage lender in a case that was appealled to the Supreme Court of Virginia.
• Ruiz v. E*Trade Bank et al., 2009 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 115455 (E.D.Va. 2009). Prevailed on summary judgment from claims alleging violations of the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act and the Equal Credit Opportunity Act.
• Barrigan v. Decision One, 2009 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 1105 (E.D.Va. 2009) aff’d 353 Fed. Appx. 813 (4^th Cir. 2009). Successfully defended national mortgage lender in District Court and on appeal to the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals.