On February 2, 2021, the United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit issued a significant decision holding that a putative class representative does not need to establish an administratively feasible method to identify absent class members as a pre-requisite for class certification under Federal Rules of Civil Procedure…
On February 3, 2021, California’s Department of Financial Protection and Innovation (DFPI) announced that it has commenced its first formal enforcement action and launched a separate investigation into student loan debt relief companies. Goodwin previously provided an overview of three new California consumer finance laws that became effective in January 2021,…
To help our clients stay on the cutting edge in this developing legal landscape, we are pleased to present our 2020 Year in Review: Consumer Finance. Here, we use our detailed industry and regulatory knowledge to offer predictions on what the industry might expect in 2021 in the mortgage, fintech,…
In January 2021, the new California Department of Financial Protection and Innovation (DFPI) entered into memorandums of understanding (MOUs) with five earned wage access fintech companies so that these companies can continue to operate in California while providing consumers with protection against abusive practices. The DFPI, often referred to as…
On Monday, January 18, 2021, President Joe Biden announced that he will nominate Rohit Chopra, one of two Democratic commissioners at the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), as the next Director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB, or the Bureau). This announcement came just days before Kathleen Kraninger, the current…
On January 19, 2021, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) issued a new final rule implementing the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA). According the CFPB’s press release, the purpose of the new final rule is to “clarif[y] the differences between regulations and supervisory guidance.” Specifically, “supervisory guidance does not…
LenderLaw Watch and Goodwin’s Consumer Financial Services Litigation Team are excited to announce the arrival of Alli Schoenthal to our team! Alli will reside in our New York office. Alli represents banks, trusts, lenders, government-sponsored enterprises, private equity firms, and loan servicers in consumer finance litigation and enforcement matters. Her…
On January 5, 2021, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) Taskforce on Federal Consumer Financial Law (Taskforce) issued a final report (Report) with recommendations on how to improve consumer protection in the financial marketplace. In proposing changes to the existing legal and regulatory framework, the Report is centered around five…
As LenderLaw Watch previously reported, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) issued its final rule on the True Lender doctrine in October 2020, addressing ambiguity in federal law and establishing that a national bank is the “true lender” of a loan when, as of the date of…
On December 8, 2020, the United States Supreme Court held oral argument in the case of Facebook, Inc. v. Duguid, No. 19-511, concerning the circuit split over what type of equipment qualifies as an “automatic telephone dialing system” (ATDS) within the statutory definition of that term set forth in Telephone…
On November 20, 2020, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) issued a proposed rule with the objective of ensuring banks offer fair access to financial services. Certain banks have received significant political pressure from various for-profit and not-for-profit organizations to deny financial services to customers in certain…
On November 5, 2020, the Federal Register published five federal financial regulatory agencies’ invitation for comment on a notice of proposed rulemaking (NPR) that would codify the agencies’ Interagency Statement Clarifying the Role of Supervisory Guidance, as amended, which was issued on September 11, 2018 (2018 Statement). The 2018 Statement…
On November 10, 2020, the U.S. Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs held a virtual hearing entitled “Oversight of Financial Regulators.” The presenting witnesses were: Randal Quarles, Vice Chair for Supervision of the Federal Reserve System; Brian Brooks, Acting Comptroller of the Currency; Jelena McWilliams, Chairman of the…
On October 30, 2020, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) issued a new final rule implementing the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA). According the CFPB’s press release, the new final rule is designed “to restate and clarify prohibitions on harassment and abuse, false or misleading representations, and unfair practices…
As Lender Law Watch previously reported, in July 2020, to resolve the legal uncertainty discouraging many banks and companies from entering into partnerships to offer loans to consumers, the OCC issued its proposed true lender rule to address the question of which entity makes a loan when the “loan is…
On October 1, 2020, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) released its rule assessment for a final Rule relating to mortgage disclosures. Known as the TRID Rule, the Bureau’s final Rule implemented requirements under the Consumer Financial Protection Act (CFPA) to integrate various mortgage loan disclosures under the Truth in…
On September 28, 2020, Judge Martin C. Feldman of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana issued an important decision that could impact Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) litigation involving alleged robocalls across the United States. See Creasy v. Charter Commc’ns, Inc., No. 20-cv-1199, 2020 WL…
On August 31, 2020, the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA), an arm of the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) within the Executive Branch, issued a memorandum (M-20-31 memorandum) directing the heads of federal executive departments and agencies to revise their procedures and practices in light of “the…
On September 29, 2020, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) and the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), along with more than 50 federal and state law enforcement partners, announced a nationwide law enforcement and outreach initiative designed to protect consumers from phantom debt collection, and abusive and threatening debt collection practices….
On September 17, 2020, the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals (Eleventh Circuit) issued an important decision regarding incentive payments in class-action settlements in Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) cases. In Johnson v. NPAS Solutions, LLC, Case No. 9:17-cv-80393 (11th Cir. 2020) (Johnson), a TCPA case, the Eleventh Circuit held that…