On November 28, the Federal Reserve announced that it had entered into a consent order with a Kansas state bank, resolving allegations that the bank engaged in deceptive residential mortgage lending practices in violation of Section 5 the Federal Trade Commission Act. According to the consent order, the bank’s loan officers often gave borrowers…
Goodwin announced today that Anthony Alexis, the former Head of the Office of Enforcement at the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, has joined the firm in the Washington, D.C. office as a partner in the Financial Industry Practice and as the head of the firm’s Consumer Financial Services Enforcement Practice. “Tony’s extensive enforcement and compliance…
Goodwin announced today that Anthony Alexis, the former Head of the Office of Enforcement at the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, has joined the firm in the Washington, D.C. office as a partner in the Financial Industry Practice and as the head of the firm’s Consumer Financial Services Enforcement Practice. “Tony’s…
On November 16, 2017, the Southern District of California dismissed TCPA claims on standing grounds, finding that the plaintiff had not alleged a concrete injury. In Selby v. Ocwen Loan Servicing, no. 3:17-cv-00973 (S.D. Cal), Judge Bencivengo concluded that the telephone calls the plaintiff allegedly received were not “telemarketing” calls…
On November 15, 2017, the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York (“USAO”) announced that a jury has convicted the owner of an alleged fraudulent lending scheme (the “Defendant”) for one count of conspiracy to collect unlawful debts in violation of the Racketeer Influenced Corrupt Organizations Act (“RICO”); one…
On November 21, 2017, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) announced that it had entered into a consent order with a national bank, resolving allegations over the bank’s allegedly harmful student loan servicing practices and requiring it to pay millions in consumer relief and civil penalties. According to the CFPB, the bank engaged…
Three months after the U.S. House of Representatives voted on July 25, 2017 to block the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s (CFPB) Arbitration Rule, the U.S. Senate followed suit. On October 24, 2017, the Senate passed a joint resolution previously passed by the House disapproving of the Arbitration Rule with a 51-to-50…
On November 9, the Department of Justice (“DOJ”) announced its lawsuit against a foreclosure trustee for wrongfully foreclosing on at least twenty-eight servicemembers in violation of the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act (“SCRA”), 50 U.S.C. § 3953. The SCRA prohibits foreclosure on the home of a servicemember during active military service…
On November 8, a federal court in Georgia issued a temporary restraining order against a Georgia-based debt collector, freezing its assets and granting the Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”) immediate access to its business premises. The court granted this relief in response to a complaint filed by the FTC alleging that the…
On November 8, 2017, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (“CFPB”) announced it filed suit in federal court in California against a national debt-settlement services provider and its CEO based on alleged violations of the Consumer Financial Protection Act, 12 U.S.C. §§ 5531, 5536(a), 5564, 5565, the Telemarketing Consumer Fraud and Abuse…
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) released its quarterly report on credit trends for the third quarter of 2017 last week, focusing on trends in the auto lending industry. Auto loans are a key sector in the lending market—approximately100 million auto loans are outstanding, valued at more than $1 trillion….
On November 6, the Ohio Attorney General’s Office (Ohio AG) announced that it had filed a complaint in Ohio state court against a California man and two companies he owned (the California Companies) for making deceptive promises in connection with loan modification assistance to consumers. The California Companies contacted consumers and offered them loan modification services for purchase,…
On October 18, 2017, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) published guidelines for financial institutions to use when authorizing third-party access to consumers’ financial information. These guidelines are targeted at protecting consumers who give their consent to allow other companies to access their account information. Companies—including fintech firms, banks, and…
On October 30, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) announced that it had obtained a stipulated order for a permanent injunction and monetary judgment against two individuals for allegedly using fake rental property ads to lure consumers to visit websites promising “free” credit reports. When consumers visited those websites, the individuals allegedly deceived them…
On October 20, 2017, the Ninth Circuit reversed the Southern District of California’s remand of a putative class action alleging that defendant Monterey Financial Services improperly recorded calls to individuals in California and Washington. In Brinkley v. Monterey Financial Services, Inc., the Ninth Circuit held that the plaintiff had not…
On October 12, 2017, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) announced that it filed suit against two debt-relief companies and their owners, and a third company that processed payments for and provided other services in connection the debt-relief providers. The complaint alleges violations under the Consumer Financial Protection Act of…
On October 17, 2017, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) announced that it obtained a $4.1 million default judgment from the U.S. District Court for the District of Kansas against a phony debt collection operation that sold lists of fake payday loan debts to debt collectors. According to the FTC, the operation harassed consumers for debts…
On October 3, 2017, the U.S. House of Representatives’ Financial Services Committee conducted a hearing on possible housing finance reform measures titled “Sustainable Housing Finance: An Update from the Director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency.” The hearing specifically addressed housing finance reform as it pertains to government-sponsored entities (GSEs)…
On October 5, 2017 the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) revealed its final rule regulating payday lending. For the past five years, the CFPB had been doing research and seeking comments from the industry on how to address its concerns with what it calls “lending traps” associated with small-dollar lending….
On September 29, 2017, the United States Chamber of Commerce and various business and financial services groups (collectively, Plaintiffs) filed a complaint for declaratory and injunctive relief in the United States District Court for the Northern District of Texas, alleging that—for four independent reasons—the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s (CFPB) recently-issued…