Treinen Law Office, PC

Ms. Hernandez bought a used car from Outwest Auto Corral. The dealership didn’t provide the required paperwork about the car’s prior accident, minimizing the extent of the prior damage and repairs. The Court of Appeals determined this failure to fully disclose was a violation of New Mexico’s Unfair Practices Act (UPA), allowing Ms. Hernandez to […]

In a class action brought by Treinen Law Office and Humphreys Wallace Humphreys, the New Mexico Supreme Court unanimously ruled that credit union employees who are not licensed attorneys cannot pursue debt collection lawsuits against consumers, even in small claims court. This decision arose from a class action lawsuit by consumers who had taken loans […]

Did you answer a knock on your door to be greeted by someone from a solar company?  Did the salesperson promise to eliminate your electric bill if you agreed to have a solar system installed?  Were you told that the installation of the solar system was part of a government program?  Were you told there […]

An attorney who identified himself as working with the Chamber of Commerce offered an Arizona consumer protection attorney $2,000 to put his name on an op/ed defending forced arbitration and attacking the FAIR Act.  The draft op/ed was filled with false statements pretending that it’s a good thing for consumers to be forced into arbitration. […]

This past legislative session, New Mexico passed a bill that puts in place strong protections concerning medical debt.  This bill was much needed. All New Mexicans should be able to get the healthcare they need without risking financial disaster.  We all need access to healthcare, but medical debt is an enormous burden on our community. […]

On May 5, 2021, a federal judge struck down the national eviction moratorium.  This action leaves millions of Americans in jeopardy of losing housing just as COVID-19 restrictions are lifted and Americans begin looking for new jobs and navigating a return to school for their children. However, in New Mexico, all is not lost.  There […]

Smart home security and monitoring company Vivint Smart Homes has agreed to pay $20 million to settle Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”) allegations that it stole identities to help unqualified customers obtain financing for its products and services.  Under the settlement, Vivint will pay a $15 million civil penalty and an additional $5 million to compensate […]

A new Consumer Financial Protection (“CFPB”) Interim Final Rule increases information for tenants about COVID-related protection from eviction, and clarifies that consumers have federal remedies against debt collectors involved in the eviction that fail to provide or misrepresent that information. The interim final rule prohibits debt collectors from filing an eviction for non-payment of rent […]

Treinen Law Office provided a $157,000 cy pres award to the New Mexico Center on Law and Poverty in February 2021. Cy pres awards are given in class actions where, for whatever reason, the money awarded to class members cannot be delivered directly to them.  In many consumer class actions, such as those against predatory […]

As discussed in more detail in other blogs posted on the Treinen Law Office website, the federal government, the New Mexico state government and some creditors continue to offer consumers protections in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.  These protections include relief plans such as forbearance or loan modifications, as well as eviction and foreclosure moratoriums.  […]