Consumer Protection Litigation
GRSM has provided state, regional and nationwide representation in consumer protection matters to companies in nearly all industries, both goods and services. We have tried to verdict or judgment cases in every substantive area of consumer law that covers consumer-business interactions, including fraud, debt collection, privacy, unfair business practices, deception, misrepresentation, advertising and product liability.
GRSM has extensive experience in debt collection related litigation, and frequently defends banks, debt collection firms, and related financial institutions in both state and federal court matters. The complaints in these actions assert a wide variety of claims, including class action claims for alleged violations of the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA), California’s Rosenthal Act (Rosenthal claims), the Fair Credit Reporting Act and the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA). Plaintiffs in these matters also generally assert underlying “Unfair Competition Law” claims pursuant to state law.
We have successfully defeated class certification in several cases, resulting in a quick resolution before extensive discovery has transpired. Recent examples include successfully blocking class certification in Telephone Consumer Protection Act cases, where corporate client representatives are accused of calling debtors’ cellular phones with autodialers and/or using pre-recorded voice messages.
In cases involving contractual arbitration provisions, the firm has also relied upon the United States Supreme Court’s recent decision in AT&T Mobility v. Concepcion as a basis to remove cases from a potential jury and enforce contractual provisions designed to prevent individual claims from being pursued as class claims.