Attorneys who litigate in Federal Court need to be aware of the recent amendments to the FRCP, which went into effect on December 1, 2015, in particular changes to Rule 26, which governs the “duty to disclose” information in discovery.
Read More ›The federal Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (“FDCPA”) provides significant protections to debtors, and allows claims to be brought individually or on behalf of a class.
Read More ›Often in class actions brought against debt collectors under the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (“FDCPA”), some absent class members will be subject to state court judgments obtained (often wrongfully) by the debt collection defendant. The question often arises as to whether those individuals can still be part of the class, or whether their inclusion in an FDCPA action is barred by the Rooker-Feldman doctrine. In the Ninth Circuit, at least, Rooker-Feldman does not apply in such circumstances.
Read More ›Under most federal and state False Claims Act statutes, successful relators are entitled to a percentage “of the proceeds of the action or settlement of the claim.” Unfortunately, in some cases, the government tries to twist this language to prevent whistleblowers from receiving a share of all of the proceeds of their cases. Whistleblowers and their attorneys should fight such efforts.
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