US Fidelis Purchased by Service Contract Financer, Faces Civil Suit
Chicago-based Mepco Finance Corp. has purchased the Wentzville, Mo.-based property of US Fidelis at a foreclosure auction held outside of St. Charles County’s courts administration building, reported the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.
Mepco, a subsidiary of the publicly traded, Michigan-based Independent Bank Corp., financed most of the extended auto-service contracts sold by US Fidelis, which once claimed to be the nation’s leading seller of extended warranties.
After a series of mass layoffs in November and December, the company announced on Dec. 29 that it would stop selling the service contracts. The company remains under investigation by 43 state attorneys general for business practices that consumer groups say are deceptive and unfair.
In related news, former US Fidelis employees this week filed a suit against the company, accusing it of violating federal law when it fired workers in mass layoffs late last year without giving two months’ notice to them and state employment officials.
In addition, the latest civil suit against US Fidelis invokes a federal racketeering law, reported the Post-Dispatch. The suit names a Michigan consumer as its sole plaintiff, but also seeks class-action status to include thousands of other Michigan residents who purchased extended warranties from the company.
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