Red-Flag Rule suit filed

The American Bar Association filed suit today asking the federal courts to bar the Federal Trade Commission from enforcing its “Red-Flag Rule” against practicing lawyers that is to take effect Nov. 1, 2009. The FTC established the Red-Flag Rule to require certain “creditors” to develop and implement written programs to identify, detect, and respond to the warning signs (“red flags”) of identity theft. The FTC plans to apply this Rule to lawyers and other service providers such as doctors, dentists, and accountants. The ABA and other associations do not believe that these groups engage in the kind of commercial activity that was intended to lump them in with creditors as intended by this Congress. The ABA complaint, filed in the District Court in the District of Columbia, may be viewed at this link: http://www.abanet.org/media/nosearch/1_1_Complaint.pdf