Search Results: Litigation

CFPB Agrees To Eliminate $8 Cap on Credit Card Late Fees

On April 15, 2025, the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas vacated a Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) rule that capped credit card late fees at $8.  The decision granted a joint motion, brought by the CFPB and the coalition of trade associations that had sued it,…

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FTC Adds More Servicers to Student Loan Debt Relief Case

On March 28, the FTC announced that it had named five additional corporate defendants and two individuals to its ongoing case against student loan servicers, which alleges the servicers and their operators mislead consumers into thinking they were receiving student debt relief and forgiveness. The original complaint alleges a Nevada-based servicer and its operator falsely…

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Portions of New York’s FAPA Survive Constitutional Challenges

Over the last four months, New York’s Appellate Division has finally begun to address constitutional challenges to the state’s Foreclosure Abuse Prevention Act (FAPA), an act that became effective in December 2022 and promptly generated disparate trial court interpretations about whether the law was supposed to apply retroactively.  As noted…

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NY Attorney General Enters into $1 Billion Consent Order with Small-Business Lender

​The New York Attorney General entered into two related Consent Order and Judgments on January 16, 2025, the first with a financial company offering short-term loans to small businesses and the second with several of the company’s officers. The Consent Orders combine for an aggregate settlement amount in excess of $1 billion,…

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CFPB Files Suit Against Bank For Alleged Savings Account Interest Rate Freezing

On January 14, 2025, the CFPB announced ​that it had filed a complaint against a large national bank​​ for alleged ​violations of the Consumer Financial Protection Act (CFPA), the Truth in Savings Act (TISA) and TISA’s implementing regulation, Regulation DD,​ regarding the bank’s alleged improper interest rate practices. According to the CFPB’s complaint, the bank offered a…

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D.C. Attorney General Sues Online Lender Over Alleged Illegal High-Interest Loans

On November 19, 2024, the District of Columbia’s Attorney General (DC AG) announced ​that it had filed a complaint ​in the ​Superior Court of the District of Columbia ​against an online lender for alleged violations of the District of Columbia Consumer Protection Procedures Act (CPPA).  According to the DC AG’s complaint, the company, which operates both a website and…

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Constitutionality of Shortened Time Limits on New York Foreclosures Still Unresolved

On September 12, 2024, New York’s highest court dismissed an appeal challenging the constitutionality of the retroactive application of the Foreclosure Abuse Prevention Act (“FAPA”), a law that amended certain New York rules to strictly cabin the time limits for commencing mortgage foreclosures.  The Court of Appeals, on its own motion,…

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Seventh Circuit Revives CFPB’s ECOA Action Alleging Discrimination Against Prospective Applicants Against Nonbank Lender

On July 11, the Seventh Circuit held that the Equal Credit Opportunity Act, 15 U.S.C. § 1691 et seq. (ECOA) authorizes the imposition of liability for the discouragement of prospective applicants. See CFPB v. Townstone Financial, Inc., ___ F.4th ___ (7th Cir. 2024), 2024 WL 3370023. As anticipated in Goodwin’s…

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CFPB Files Proposed Judgment in Bank Suit Regarding the Opening of Unauthorized Accounts

​On July 9, 2024, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) announced that it filed a proposed stipulated final judgment and ​order in its suit against a national bank accused of allegedly opening unauthorized accounts on behalf of consumers​​. ​ The proposed judgment would resolve allegations that the bank opened unauthorized accounts in the names of its customers.  As…

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Chamber of Commerce Sues CFPB To Eliminate or Enjoin $8 Late Fee Cap

Last week, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce (Chamber) joined five other trade associations to sue the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) and its director Rohit Chopra in Texas Federal District Court, seeking a court order declaring a recent CFPB rule arbitrary and capricious, vacating the rule, and enjoining its enforcement. In…

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Awaiting Appellate Precedent on Whether Recent New York Foreclosure Limits Are Constitutional

Over a year after becoming law, New York’s Foreclosure Abuse Prevention Act, L. 2022, ch. 821 (eff. Dec. 30, 2022) (FAPA) continues to divide trial courts regarding the constitutionality of the law’s retroactive application.  Appellate level guidance remains wanting. FAPA amended certain New York rules related to the time limits…

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FTC and CFPB Announce $15 Million Settlement Against Credit Reporting Agency For Alleged Inaccuracies In Tenant Screening Reports

​On October 12, 2023, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) announced that they filed a joint complaint​ and obtained a $15 million settlement​ against a parent credit reporting agency and one of its subsidiaries for alleged violations of the Fair Credit Report Act (FCRA) with respect to tenant…

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Bureau Sues Lease-to-Own Company for its Financing Options to Asset Limited Consumers

On July 19, 2023, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (“CFPB”) sued Snap Finance LLC, Snap R TO LLC, Snap Second Look LLC, Snap U.S. Holdings LLC, and Snap Finance Holdings LLC (collectively, the Snap Defendants or Snap).  The complaint alleged that the Snap Defendants violated the: Consumer Financial Protection Act…

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CFPB Files Opening Brief in its Appeal of District Court Ruling that ECOA Applies Only to Applicants

On June 14, 2023, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) filed its opening brief in its appeal of a U.S. district court’s decision in the CFPB’s enforcement action against Townstone Mortgage (Townstone).  The CFPB’s brief argues that the Seventh Circuit should reverse the district court’s holding that the Equal Credit…

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New York Courts Split on the Constitutionality of the Foreclosure Abuse Prevention Act

In the six months since New York’s governor signed the Foreclosure Abuse Prevention Act, L. 2022, ch. 821 (eff. Dec. 30, 2022) (FAPA), a split has emerged about whether the law applies retroactively. FAPA strictly cabins the time limits for commencing mortgage foreclosures by amending five New York procedural rules…

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Pennsylvania Attorney General Settles $11 Million Dollar Lawsuit with Lender

​On May 15, 2023, the Pennsylvania Attorney General (PA AG) announced ​that it reached a $11.4 million settlement with a rent-to-own lender and its affiliates. This settlement resolves a lawsuit filed by the PA AG in Pennsylvania state court in which the PA AG alleged that the lender violated state law by misrepresenting the terms of its rental-purchase agreements…

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