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…
On January 15, 2019, the Supreme Court issued an important decision regarding the enforceability of certain arbitration agreements under the Federal Arbitration Act (FAA). In New Prime Inc. v. Oliveira, No. 17-340, the Supreme Court unanimously held that courts should determine whether a contract falls within the “contracts of employment”…
On February 8, 2019, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) announced that the U.S. District Court for the Western District of North Carolina granted its motion for a temporary restraining order (TRO) against 10 debt collection companies and six individuals operating out of New York and North Carolina. The FTC alleged…
On January 16, 2019, the Southern District of California dismissed a Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) claim against Lyft because the plaintiff failed to support the automatic telephone dialing system (ATDS) element of his claim. Like many similar TCPA plaintiffs, the plaintiff in Bodie v. Lyft, No. 3:16-cv-02558-L-NLS (S.D. Cal.) sought…
On January 15, 2019, the Court heard arguments in Home Depot U.S.A., Inc. v. Jackson, No. 17-1471, and is now set to answer the question of whether the Class Action Fairness Act (CAFA)—which permits removal by “any defendant” in a state court class action—allows for removal by third-party counterclaim defendants. …
On January 25, 2019, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) announced that it had entered into a consent order with an online lender that extends unsecured payday and installment loans, as well as lines of credit, resolving allegations that the lender had engaged in unfair acts or practices in violation of the Consumer Financial Protection…
On January 23, 2019, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) announced that it had entered into a consent order with a loan broker, resolving allegations the broker’s offering of high-interest credit to veterans on behalf of several unnamed companies had thereby violated the Consumer Financial Protection Act (CFPA), 12 U.S.C. §§ 5531, 5536….
On January 22, 2019, the California Department of Business Oversight (DBO) announced that it had entered into a consent order with a payday lender to resolve allegations that the company violated the California Financing Law, Fin. Code Section 22000 et seq. Per the consent order, the payday lender allegedly steered borrowers into loans…
On January 16, the New York Department of Financial Services (DFS) announced that it fined a New York state-registered mortgage loan servicer $100,000 for failing to maintain two properties in New York under New York’s Abandoned Property Relief Act, which requires banks and mortgage services to fulfill certain maintenance obligations at…
On January 16, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) and the State of New York announced that they had filed a consent order in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York.to settle allegations that a jewelry retailer enrolled customers in credit cards and related products without their consent….
The issue of whether the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA) applies to non-judicial foreclosure proceedings is now squarely before the U.S. Supreme Court. Following oral arguments last week in the case Obduskey v. Wells Fargo, et al., No. 17-1307, the Justices will be tasked with deciding whether non-judicial foreclosures qualify…
On January 3, 2018, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) announced that it had entered into a $15.5 million consent order with a federally-chartered savings association bank. The consent order resolves allegations that the bank violated the Electronic Fund Transfer Act (EFTA) and Consumer Financial Protection Act (CFPA) between 2011 and 2016. Specifically, the CFPB…
On January 2, 2019, 49 state attorneys general reached a settlement with an Illinois-based for-profit education company, securing approximately $493.7 million in debt relief for over 179,000 students nationwide. The settlement is the result of a five-year investigation, which began in 2014 after states received complaints from students and the U.S. Senate’s Health, Education, Labor and Pensions…