On May 6, 2019, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals upheld the constitutionality of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) in CFPB v. Seila Law LLC, No. 7-56324. Seila Law LLC is a law firm that provides debt-relief services to consumers. The CFPB filed a petition to force Seila Law to…
On April 28, 2019, the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California denied certification of a putative Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) class. Revitch v. Citibank, NA., No. 14-06907 WHA (N.D. Cal. Apr. 28, 2019). The court reasoned that the case would involve “individualized inquires [of prior express…
On May 1, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) announced a $3.9 million settlement with a student loan servicer, resolving allegations that the servicer engaged in unfair acts or practices in violation of the Consumer Financial Protection Act (CFPA). The parties’ consent order resolves allegations that the servicer failed to timely…
On May 2, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) filed suit in the District of Utah against defendants operating two of the largest credit repair companies in the country, alleging that the companies engaged in deceptive acts and practices in violation of the Consumer Financial Protection Act (CFPA) and Telemarketing Sales Rule (TSR)….
On April 5, 2019, the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals issued a decision holding that a plaintiff asserted a plausible claim under a provision of the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA) that forbids debt collectors from using “false, deceptive, or misleading representation[s] or means in connection with the collection…
On April 16, 2019, the Maryland Attorney General (“Maryland AG”), in cooperation with Maryland’s Office of the Commissioner of Financial Regulation, announced it had reached a settlement with a Michigan reverse mortgage servicer resolving allegations that the company charged homeowners for home inspection fees in violation of the Maryland Consumer Protection Act, Md. Code…
On April 15, 2019, the FTC announced that it had reached a settlement with an online lending company for $3.85 million, resolving allegations that the company had engaged in unfair and deceptive loan servicing practices in violation of Section 5 of the Federal Trade Commission Act (FTC Act), 15 U.S.C. § 45, the Telemarketing Sales…
On April 11, 2019, the Maryland Attorney General’s Office (AG) announced that the AG’s Consumer Protection Division had filed charges against affiliated businesses and their owner (defendants) alleging that they had made unlicensed and usurious consumer loans in the form of “title loans” or “title pawns” secured by Maryland consumers’…
On April 8, the Delaware and Massachusetts Attorney Generals’ Offices (AGs) announced that they had entered into settlements with an auto loan finance company. The AGs alleged that the auto lender facilitated the origination of subprime auto loans that violated state consumer protection laws by funding and securitizing loans that consumers could not…
On March 22, 2019, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals reversed summary judgment in Henderson v. United Student Aid Funds, Inc., 2017 WL 766548 (S.D. Cal. Feb. 28, 2017), and remanded the matter back to the Southern District of California to determine if a student loan lender could be vicariously liable for…
On March 27, 2019, the Alabama Attorney General (“Alabama AG”), Alabama State Banking Department, and the Director of the Alabama Securities Commission announced that they filed a complaint against a Nevada-based lender and its CEO (“Defendants”) for allegedly making loans at unlawful interest rates to desperate consumers in exchange for their pension benefits in violation…
On March 12, 2019, the issue of whether the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s (CFPB) leadership structure violates Article II and the separation of powers established by the United States Constitution was argued before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit in CFPB v. All American Check Cashing, Inc, et…
On March 19, 2019, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) announced that it had entered into a Consent Order with a major mortgage lender over allegations that the lender did not adequately ensure that its relationship loan pricing program was offered to all eligible customers, resulting in adverse…
On March 19, 2019, the California Department of Business Oversight (“DBO”) announced that it filed an action to void the loans and revoke the licenses of a Southern California auto title lender for repeated breaches of the state’s California Financing Law, Fin. Cod. section 22000 et seq. DBO alleges that…
On March 12, 2019, the Southern District of Florida dismissed a putative Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) case for a second time because of repeated pleading defects. In Settle v. State Farm Fire and Casualty Co., Judge Ursula Ungaro granted State Farm’s dismissal request because plaintiff’s efforts to fix defects…
On February 25, 2019, the United States Supreme Court accepted appeal from the Third Circuit’s decision in Rotkiske v. Klemm et al., No. 16-1668 (3d Cir. May 15, 2018). The Court is now primed to answer whether the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA) encompasses the “discovery rule”—which tolls the…
On March 5, 2019, the Arizona Attorney General’s Office (Arizona AG) announced that it had filed a complaint against a California-based online payday lender, its owner, and its wholly owned subsidiary for alleged violations of the Arizona Consumer Fraud Act, A.R.S. § 44-1521 et seq. According to the complaint, the defendants marketed and…
On February 25, 2019, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) announced that, after a public comment period, it approved a final consent order that had been negotiated in October of 2018 with an online student loan refinancer. The FTC had charged the company with misrepresenting how much student loan borrowers could save if they refinanced their loans through the company’s television, print,…
On February 6, 2019, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB or Bureau) released a proposed rescission of the 2017 “Payday, Vehicle Title, and Certain High-Cost Installment Loans” final rule (Payday Rule), along with a “Payday, Vehicle Title, and Certain High-Cost Installment Loans; Delay of Compliance Date” (Delay of Compliance) notice. The Payday…
On February 13, 2019, the U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of California announced an agreement with a California-based mortgage company to resolve alleged violations of the False Claims Act (FCA). The U.S. Attorney’s Office alleges that between April 2007 and June 2009, the mortgage company underwrote and originated 16 loans…