On October 16, 2019, the Washington Attorney General’s Office (Washington AG) announced that it had reached a settlement with a Kirkland- and Portland-based real estate investment company that requires the company to dissolve and pay up to $85,000 in fines and enforcement costs. The Washington AG initiated this action in May 2018, alleging violations of the Washington Consumer Protection Act, RCW 19.86.020. …
On October 4, 2019, the U.S. House of Representatives moved the Supreme Court for leave to file an amicus curiae brief in opposition to Seila Law’s petition for writ of certiorari to review the Ninth Circuit’s decision in CFPB v. Seila Law LLC, No. 7-56324 (9th Cir. 2019), which upheld the…
On October 3, 2019, the New York Attorney General’s office (NY AG) announced that it had filed a lawsuit against a major student-loan servicer for failing to properly administer the federal Public Service Loan Forgiveness program. According to the complaint, the servicer allegedly employed deceptive, unfair, and abusive practices such…
As we previously reported, on September 17, 2019, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) reversed course by filing a Supreme Court brief agreeing with a petitioner that the agency’s single director structure is unconstitutional. On the same day, the CFPB’s director, Kathy Kraninger, sent letters to Congress informing it of…
On October 1, 2019, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) and the South Carolina Department of Consumer Affairs (SCDCA) announced that they had filed a lawsuit in the United States District Court for the District of South Carolina against two brokerage companies for alleged violations of the Consumer Financial Protection Act and South…
On September 30, 2019, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) announced a settlement with an Oregon-based bank over alleged violations of the Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act (RESPA) and Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA). According to the FDIC, the bank agreed to pay and accept fees for the referral of home mortgage…
On September 25, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) filed suit in the U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland against a Maryland-based debt collector, its subsidiaries, and its CEO. According to the CFPB, the companies operated the largest debt-collection company in the multi-unit housing industry, collecting debt on…
On September 23, the California Attorney General’s Office (AG) announced that it had filed a complaint against a network of auto dealerships and its chief executive, alleging that they targeted low-income consumers with subprime credit using false advertising promising fictitiously low interest rates; made false statements on credit applications to…
On September 12, 2019, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) that it had settled lawsuits against the operators of two alleged student loan debt relief schemes, and a financing company that assisted them, alleging that they had bilked millions of dollars from consumers. The FTC alleged that the defendants violated the…
On August 8, 2019, the Seventh Circuit, in Lavallee v. Med-1 Solutions, LLC, 932 F.3d 1049 (7th Cir. 2019), ruled that emails to consumers from debt collectors containing hyperlinks to information regarding debt, including validation notices, are not “communications” under the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA). Therefore, the court…
On September 6, 2019, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) announced that it had filed a lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California against a Texas-based foreclosure relief services company, as well as the company’s CEO and auditor. The CFPB alleges that the defendants violated…
On September 5, 2019, the New York Department of Financial Services (NYDFS) announced that it was launching a new investigation into the student loan debt relief industry. NYDFS stated that, as part of its “Step Up for Students” initiative, it was issuing subpoenas to eight student loan debt relief companies…
On August 19, 2019, the Colorado Attorney General (AG) announced that it had reached a settlement with two financial services firms, resolving allegations that the firms had violated Colorado consumer protection laws. Between 2017 and 2019, one of the firms – a lender operating in the state – made numerous…
On August 28, 2019, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) announced a settlement with an Illinois-based debt collection company, resolving allegations that the company engaged in deceptive practices in violation of the Consumer Financial Protection Act (CFPA), 12 U.S.C. §§ 5531 and 5536, and the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA), 15 U.S.C….
On August 27, 2019, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) announced it had reached a $30 million settlement with an Illinois-based operator of for-profit post-secondary schools and related subsidiaries resolving allegations that the company used lead generators who engaged in deceptive conduct to market its schools in violation of Section 5(a) of the Federal Trade…
On August 21, 2019, Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison (“Minnesota AG”) announced a settlement with a Minnesota based lender that finances sales of door-to-door products, such as vacuum cleaners and air purifiers. This settlement resolved allegations that the lender hid high interest rates from consumers, failed to provide complete financing agreements to consumers, and failed to give…
On August 14, 2019, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) and the Office of the Arkansas Attorney General (AG) entered into a proposed stipulated final judgment with three corporations that brokered extensions of credit to consumers, and the co-founder and owner of one of the corporations. The simultaneously filed complaint, filed…
On August 12, 2019, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) announced a proposed settlement with a for-profit higher-education institution. The CFPB filed a complaint against the institution in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Indiana on February 26, 2014, alleging that the institution had violated the Consumer…
On August 7, 2019, the Attorney General for the Commonwealth of Massachusetts (“Massachusetts AG”) announced that it filed a complaint and consent judgment in Suffolk County Superior Court. The consent judgment bans a purportedly unlicensed finance company from collecting on any active student loan debt relief accounts in Massachusetts, and requires the company to pay $340,000 to repair the…
On August 8, 2019, New York Attorney General Letitia James (“New York AG”) announced a settlement and consent order with a student loan debt relief company, resolving the complaint’s allegations that the company deceived borrowers into paying for debt relief services that are available to the public for free from the federal government…