Industries: Consumer Financial Services Litigation

McGuireWoods’ extensive experience in consumer financial services litigation makes it a leader in this practice area. Our diverse team of lawyers regularly handles both single-plaintiff and class action litigation in state and federal courts across the country. We also defend consumer financial services clients against civil investigation and enforcement proceedings brought by the Federal Trade Commission, state attorneys general, and other regulatory authorities. Our clients include banks, insurance companies, mortgage servicers, auto finance companies, credit card issuers, credit card marketers and servicers, telecom providers, check authorization companies, consumer reporting agencies, debt buyers, collection professionals, and retailers.

Our capabilities also extend to related areas of privacy, data security breach, consumer bankruptcy, counterclaims in foreclosure actions, enforcement of arbitration agreements, and general commercial litigation. McGuireWoods’ consumer financial services lawyers work closely with transactional and regulatory lawyers to provide consumer credit compliance advice, handle regulatory and governmental relations matters, assist in the securitization of receivables, the development of secured and unsecured credit products, and all other consumer credit-related matters.

Our lawyers have defended consumer financial services industry clients in actions asserting claims for violations of both state and federal consumer credit laws, including:

Representative Matters

• Representation of a Fortune 20 financial institution including more than a dozen putative class actions across the country arising from the mortgage foreclosure crisis. The firm also represents the institution in related shareholder litigation and state and federal investigations.
• Representation of a leading credit card issuer in putative class action alleging violations of the payment allocation provisions of the Credit CARD Act of 2009.
• Obtained a writ of certiorari from the U.S. Supreme Court on behalf of a leading credit card marketer/servicer, on the issue of whether claims brought under the federal Credit Repair Organizations Act must be sent to arbitration pursuant to a contractual arbitration clause. Oral argument took place on October 12, 2011.
• Representation of a leading credit card marketer/servicer in a putative class action alleging that the company's credit card marketing programs violated the Telephone Consumer Protection Act.
• Representation of a bank in a putative class action alleging that bank’s credit card solicitations did not contain a “firm offer of credit” and therefore violated the Fair Credit Reporting Act.
• Representation of a leading credit card marketer/servicer in a putative class action alleging that the company’s “balance transfer” credit card offers violated the Credit Repair Organizations Act.
• Representation of a leading credit card issuer in putative class action alleging that the issuer’s denials of credit increase requests violated the Equal Credit Opportunity Act.
• Representation of a leading credit card issuer in putative class action alleging that issuer’s change in terms to customers’ annual percentage rates violated the implied duty of good faith and fair dealing and other common law and statutory causes of action.
• Representation of a leading bank in putative class action lawsuit alleging violations of the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act concerning notice of change in servicer following merger.
• Representation of an e-commerce retailer in putative class action alleging that the retailer’s online payment processes violated the Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act.