| Volume 143 Number 37 |
Subscribe to the Newsletter
Forward this news alert to your family and friends
Helpful Links
Texas Consumer Complaint Center
Credit Reports and Identity Theft
Your Guide to Small Claims Court
Contact Us
1-713-743-2168
The People’s Lawyer’s Tip of the Day
If you need furniture or appliances but don’t have the cash to buy them outright, you might be thinking about other payment options. If you do, pay attention to terms written in fine print that might have you paying much more than you thought. Click here for more.
Honda and Nissan recalls 1.3 million vehicles with Takata airbag inflators
Honda and Nissan are recalling 1,318,212 vehicles manufactured with Takata PSDI-5D driver air bag inflators. Due to a manufacturing error, the inflator may not function properly or may explode in a crash that necessitates airbag deployment. Click here for more.
Your Money
A balance transfer card allows you to move credit card balances to the new account and pay no interest during a promotional period. It gives you a chance to pay off high-interest debt and could either help or hurt your credit score, depending on your credit history. Make sure you carefully weigh the pros and cons before you shift debt to a balance transfer card with an introductory annual percentage rate. Click here for more.
For the Lawyers
FCRA personal jurisdiction may be very broad. The doctrine of “personal jurisdiction” in federal courts generally asks whether the court is empowered with jurisdiction to issue rulings against a party and enforce those rulings against the party. Generally, personal jurisdiction is based on the state(s) in which the plaintiff and defendant reside, where the complained-of activity occurred, and where the harm was felt. The U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania added a new category for Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) cases—the residence of a third-party consumer reporting agency (CRA). Plaintiff alleged she visited the dealership to inquire about a car, but did not sign any agreement or otherwise agree to buy a car or submit an application for financing or consent to the dealership’s procurement of a consumer report. She alleges the dealer nonetheless directly accessed her credit report through Trans Union, LLC (a resident of Pennsylvania) and submitted loan applications to six lenders who each pulled her credit report. Rogers sued for violation of the FCRA. The dealership moved to dismiss for lack of personal jurisdiction, among other reasons, noting it was a Delaware resident and Rogers visited the dealership in Delaware. The Court denied the motion. First, the court dispatched Rogers’s argument that the court had general personal jurisdiction over the dealership—general jurisdiction only exists in the defendant’s “home” forum and, here, that was Delaware. But the court concluded it did have specific personal jurisdiction over the dealership for two reasons. First, the dealership knew Rogers was a Pennsylvania resident when it caused the credit reports to be pulled. The court also concluded specific jurisdiction existed for the independent reason that the dealership purposefully availed itself of Pennsylvania laws by purchasing credit reports from a Pennsylvania CRA—Trans Union. In other words, Trans Union’s residence became the dealership’s residence in the specific personal jurisdiction analysis. Rogers v. Smith Volkswagen, Ltd., No. 19-2567 (E.D. Pa. April 6, 2020). Click here for more.