The U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland recently denied a motion for summary judgment in a whistleblower retaliation claim under the Consumer Financial Protection Act of 2010 (CFPA), Section 1057 of Dodd-Frank, which was brought by an ex-foreclosure attorney, finding there were issues of material fact as to, among other things, the basis for the termination of the Plaintiff’s employment and whether he engaged in protected activity. Yoder v. The O’Neil Group, LLC, No. 16-cv-0900 (D. Md. Dec. 8, 2017).

Background.  Plaintiff was hired to lead the foreclosure practice at an entity that handled foreclosure referrals from a mortgage loan servicer. He alleged that the Company was overbilling clients for title reports and title updates in violation of the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA). After he had a confrontation with the founders of the Company regarding these alleged billing practices and other issues, the founders allegedly told Plaintiff he could either sign a resignation letter or “[i]f you do not want to resign, then I will accommodate your insistence that you be fired.” Plaintiff refused to sign the letter, prompting the Company to conclude that he quit.  Plaintiff then filed suit in the District of Maryland, alleging that his employment was terminated in violation of the whistleblower protection provisions of the CFPA.

Rulings.  The Company moved for summary judgment, arguing that Plaintiff could not prove that he engaged in protected activity, suffered an adverse employment action, or that his alleged protected activity contributed to an adverse employment action. The court rejected the Company’s argument that summary judgment as warranted on the issue of protected activity, concluding that there was a dispute of fact as to whether it was objectionably reasonable for Plaintiff to believe that the alleged overbilling violated the FDCPA. The court also determined that there were genuine disputes of material fact as to whether Plaintiff voluntarily quit and whether the Company asking Plaintiff to resign or be fired was based on economic circumstances.

Implications.  This is one of a fairly limited number of cases filed under the CFPA and it illustrates the degree to which some courts will scrutinize factual submissions on issues of protected activity and causation in the summary judgment context.

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Photo of Steven J. Pearlman Steven J. Pearlman

Steven J. Pearlman is a partner in the Labor & Employment Law Department and Co-Head of the Whistleblowing & Retaliation Group and the Restrictive Covenants, Trade Secrets & Unfair Competition Group.

Steven’s practice covers the full spectrum of employment law, with a particular…

Steven J. Pearlman is a partner in the Labor & Employment Law Department and Co-Head of the Whistleblowing & Retaliation Group and the Restrictive Covenants, Trade Secrets & Unfair Competition Group.

Steven’s practice covers the full spectrum of employment law, with a particular focus on defending companies against claims of employment discrimination, retaliation and harassment; whistleblower retaliation; restrictive covenant violations; theft of trade secrets; and wage-and-hour violations. He has successfully tried cases in multiple jurisdictions, and defended one of the largest Illinois-only class actions in the history of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois. He also secured one of only a few ex parte seizures orders that have been issued under the Defend Trade Secrets Act, and obtained a world-wide injunction in federal litigation against a high-level executive who jumped ship to a competitor.

Reporting to boards of directors, their audit committees, CEOs and in-house counsel, Steven conducts sensitive investigations and has testified in federal court. His investigations have involved complaints of sexual harassment involving C-suite officers; systemic violations of employment laws and company policies; and fraud, compliance failures and unethical conduct.

Steven was recognized as Lawyer of the Year for Chicago Labor & Employment Litigation in the 2023 edition of The Best Lawyers in America. He is a Fellow of the College of Labor and Employment Lawyers.  Chambers describes Steven as an “outstanding lawyer” who is “very sharp and very responsive,” a “strong advocate,” and an “expert in his field.” Steven was 1 of 12 individuals selected by Compliance Week as a “Top Mind.” Earlier in his career, he was 1 of 5 U.S. lawyers selected by Law360 as a “Rising Star Under 40” in the area of employment law and 1 of “40 Illinois Attorneys Under Forty to Watch” selected by Law Bulletin Publishing Company. Steven is a Burton Award Winner (U.S. Library of Congress) for “Distinguished Legal Writing.”

Steven has served on Law360’s Employment Editorial Advisory Board and is a Contributor to Forbes.com. He has appeared on Bloomberg News (television and radio) and Yahoo! Finance, and is regularly quoted in leading publications such as The Wall Street Journal.

The U.S. Chamber of Commerce has engaged Steven to serve as lead counsel on amicus briefs to the U.S. Supreme Court and federal circuit courts of appeal. He was appointed to serve as a Special Assistant Attorney General for the State of Illinois in employment litigation matters. He has presented with the Solicitor of the DOL, the Acting Chair of the EEOC, an EEOC Commissioner, Legal Counsel to the EEOC and heads of the SEC, CFTC and OSHA whistleblower programs. He is also a member of the Sedona Conference, focusing on trade secret matters.