EL SEGUNDO, Calif., July 21, 2010 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Kirtland & Packard announces that the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit today rejected the argument of Capital One Bank that the word "fixed" in front of the Annual Percentage Rate ("APR") in its solicitations for credit cards is not misleading when, in reality, Capital One Bank claims the right to change the APR at any time for any reason.
The Ninth Circuit, in the decision Rubio v. Capital One Bank, No. 08-56544, found that "it is not 'clear and conspicuous' to describe an APR as 'fixed' when the creditor has reserved the right to change the APR for any reason." The Court thus found that Capital One had failed to meet its burden "to show as a matter of law that it made its APR disclosure 'in a reasonably understandable form and readily noticeable to the consumer'" as required by the Federal Truth in Lending Act.
"This is a significant victory for credit card holders," said Michael Louis Kelly of Kirtland & Packard. "Credit card companies have claimed for years that 'fixed' doesn't really mean 'fixed' because of additional language in their fine print," Kelly said. "Now that the Ninth Circuit has clearly rejected that argument, it may be possible for credit card holders who, in these hard economic times, have had to accept the higher interest rates imposed by banks on credit cards they thought were at fixed lower rates to get back the extra interest that they have had to pay."
This is the third recent victory for consumers obtained by Kirtland & Packard. Late last year, the California Court of Appeals in Morgan v. AT&T Wireless Services, Inc., reversed the trial court, and resoundingly arrested the 5 year long erosion of consumer rights in California, by putting the decision as to whether a corporation has deceived the public back in the hands of a jury. Earlier this year, the Ninth Circuit in Shroyer v. New Cingular Wireless Services, rejected the argument of AT&T Wireless that the FCC has exclusive jurisdiction over claims by consumers that their wireless carrier breached their contract by failing to provide adequate service
MICHAEL LOUIS KELLY is recognized as one of the Leading 500 Plaintiff Lawyers in the United States. His numerous record-setting jury verdicts and appellate victories have dramatically expanded consumer protections and safeguards, and kept him at the top of the corporate wrongdoer's "most wanted" list. Mr. Kelly practices with the law firm of Kirtland & Packard LLP located in Los Angeles and San Francisco.