At the Law Office of Mike Rothman, we are passionate about the Consumer Protection litigation we undertake on behalf of our clients. Our interest stems from the broad public and social good that comes from the law suits we bring. We have brought and settled cases worth millions of dollars on behalf of consumers. Our areas of interest include digital information privacy and digital advertising (which includes web and mobile applications), unsolicited commercial e-mail (or “spam”), first amendment violations, intellectual property violations, civil forfeiture of assets, and local ordinance violations (including predatory towing violations in Montgomery County, Maryland).
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The term “Consumer Protection Laws” refers broadly to the laws and organizations regulating the private relationships between individual consumers and the businesses that sell those goods and services. When the seller in a commercial transaction gains an advantage concerning the product and/or service to be purchased, the transaction can become unfair for an unwitting consumer.
Consumer Protection legislation aims to correct for that imbalance by establishing minimum rights for consumers, providing avenues for complaining about a product and/or service, promoting fair competition, and encouraging the free flow of truthful information in the marketplace for goods and services. Consumer protection is linked to the idea that consumers have.
In the United States, a variety of laws at both the federal, state (and the District of Columbia), and local levels regulate consumer affairs. At the federal level, laws such as the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, the Fair Credit Reporting Act, and the Odometer Tampering Act, protect consumers from false or misleading practices occurring nationwide. These federal consumer protection laws are mainly enforced by the Federal Trade Commission working in conjunction with the United States Department of Justice.
In the State of Maryland and its incorporated townships, there are a number of statutes and ordinances designed to protect its residents from unscrupulous practices from outside the State or inside the State. Legislation such as the Maryland Consumer Protection Act (“MD CPA”), the Maryland Consumer Electronic Mail Act (“MCEMA”), the Maryland Public Information Act (“MPIA”), and the Montgomery County Towing Ordinance provide consumers with statutory rights they would not have otherwise been entitled.
A sample of the Firm’s Clients include the following :
- Represented a Maryland interactive computer services provider in United States District Court in a lawsuit seeking statutory damages under Maryland’s Consumer Electronic Mail Act for sending tens of thousands of unsolicited commercial e-mail (“spam”) to his clients and his servers.
- Tried a case to a jury verdict in the District of Columbia, on behalf of a resident individual seeking statutory damages under the District of Columbia’s Electronic Mail Act for sending tens of thousands of false and misleading commercial e-mail.
- Represented a Maryland resident before the Maryland Court of Special Appeals successfully reversing the ruling of a Montgomery County Circuit Court Judge finding MCEMA unconstitutional.
- Represented a Maryland resident who successfully petitioned to have his DNA removed from Maryland’s Registry.
To learn more about my Internet law practice and how I can help you, please contact my Rockville law firm by phone or e-mail to arrange a free consultation. I represent clients throughout Montgomery County and the District of Columbia and elsewhere in Maryland including Germantown, Bethesda, Potomac, College Park and Columbia.
