Hon. Maria-Elena James
United States Magistrate Judge (Ret.)

Available for Mediations

Consumer Cases

​REPRESENTATIVE CASES

  • Plaintiff sued debt collection firms for harassment and engaging in unlawful debt collection practices, which resulted in physical and psychological harm to plaintiff, action brought under 15 U.S.C. §§ 1692, et seq., and Cal. Civ. Code §§ 1788, et seq. (Unlawful Debt Collection Practices). Settled.
  • A software programming error resulted in the accidental release of Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) credit requirement information onto the wrong group of users’ accounts, and though the error was corrected upon discovery and no negative impact befell the users (actual injury is required in this kind of case), the users nevertheless filed a class action lawsuit under Cal. Civ. Code §§ 1785.1, et seq. (California Consumer Credit Reporting Agencies Act), alleging continuing reckless treatment of sensitive OFAC information and disregard of the applicable law by the defendants. (Credit Reporting)
  • Suits brought under 15 U.S.C. §§ 1681, et seq. (Fair Credit Reporting Act), against credit unions and consumer reporting agencies for the unlimited and impermissible release of consumer credit data to data collection groups not permitted to have such data. (Consumer Credit). Settled.
  • Action against credit reporting agencies for failure to investigate identity theft and contested credit information, and for use of unlawful debt collection practices, brought under 15 U.S.C. §§ 1681, et seq. (Fair Credit Reporting Act) and 1692, et seq. (Fair Debt Collection Practices Act) and various state laws, including Cal. Civ. Code § 1798.92. (Credit Reporting/Unlawful Debt Collection Practices). Settled.
  • After being constantly barraged by “abusive and intrusive” phone calls, plaintiff sued a national consumer debt buyer for abuses under both the Federal Debt Collection Practices Act (15 U.S.C. § 1692, et seq.) and California Rosenthal Fair Debt Collection Practices Acts (Cal. Civ. Code § 1788.17). Settled.
  • Action brought, under 15 U.S.C. §§ 1601 (Truth in Lending Act) and 1681 (Fair Credit Reporting Act) and CCP § 425.10 (seeking an accounting), against bank and lending service for failure to properly provide and report loans and engaging in harassing debt collection practices. Settled.