Jason Tompkins Discusses Implications of Ramirez v. TransUnion with Bloomberg Law

Jason Tompkins, partner in the Birmingham office and chair of the Issues & Appeals Practice, recently spoke with Bloomberg to share insights into what impact the recent SCOTUS decision, TransUnion v. Ramirez will have on consumer finance litigation. 

The interview, featured in the publication’s weekly litigation newsletter, spoke to how the case is playing out in U.S. Federal Courts, specifically in relation to Hunstein v. Preferred Collection and Management Services, Inc. and took deeper look into the ripple effect this case may have in disrupting other pieces of litigation related to Consumer Finance. 

The plaintiff in Ramirez argued that TransUnion “published” the credit reports internally to its own employees. The Supreme Court disposed of this argument with a footnote explaining that American courts have not traditionally recognized intra-company disclosures or disclosures to print vendors as actionable publications supporting a defamation claim. Significantly, disclosures to print vendors is the basis of the plaintiff’s claim in Hunstein.  A petition for rehearing in Hunstein garnered 16 amicus briefs asking the Eleventh Circuit to reverse the panel’s decision.

In 2019, Jason Tompkins argued the case of Trichell v. Midland Credit Management to the Eleventh Circuit, resulting in a favorable decision. That decision not only is part of the basis for the rehearing petition in Hunstein, but also was cited several times by the majority in the June 25th Transunion v. Ramirez decision. 

Jason has extensive experience handling appeals in federal and state appellate courts, including serving as counsel in the United States Supreme Court. His appellate experience spans nearly every category, including consumer finance, energy, environmental, and administrative law. Much of Jason’s practice focuses on class action defense, particularly in the area of consumer finance litigation. Jason has been lead counsel on more than 60 class actions and hundreds of individual cases involving claims under the FDCPA, FCRA, and TCPA. He acts as regional and national counsel for several financial services clients who trust him to coordinate defense strategy across numerous jurisdictions—both at the trial and appellate levels. He currently chairs the ABA’s Consumer Litigation Committee and the Alabama State Bar’s Appellate Practice Section.