On September 10, Kentucky Attorney General (KY AG) Jack Conway announced a settlement with a for-profit college, resolving claims that the school violated the state Consumer Protection Act. The state alleged that the college violated the statute by denying students financial aid to purchase textbooks at bookstores other than its own; misrepresenting…
A U.S. District Judge in the Northern District of Illinois recently granted summary judgment in favor of defendant PNC Bank on a borrower’s promissory estoppel and Illinois Consumer Fraud Act (ICFA) claims in connection with PNC’s HAMP procedures. In its August 25, 2015 decision the court found that PNC’s actions…
On August 24, 2015, the Third Circuit affirmed the United States District Court for the District of New Jersey’s denial of a motion to dismiss in FTC v. Wyndham Worldwide Corp. In Wyndham, the Federal Trade Commission brought suit against Wyndham in the wake of three cybersecurity attacks that allegedly…
On September 9, the District of Columbia Attorney General announced that it filed a complaint in D.C. Superior Court against a debt-purchasing company, its wholly-owned subsidiary, and their principal, for violations of the District’s debt collection and usury laws. The complaint alleges that the company purchased loans from a company that has since gone out…
On September 8, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) settled with two national banks for alleged violations of Section 5 of the Federal Trade Commission Act. The banks are wholly-owned subsidiaries of the same parent company. The FDIC alleged that the banks engaged in unfair and deceptive practices in connection with…
On September 4, 2015, the Department of Justice (“DOJ”) announced that a company engaged in reverse mortgage servicing agreed to pay $29.63 million to settle allegations that it violated the False Claims Act (“FCA”) in connection with its participation in the Department of Housing and Urban Development’s (“HUD”) Home Equity Conversion Mortgage…
On September 3, 2015, the Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”) agreed to settle allegations with a mortgage relief services company that allegedly charged homeowners an illegal fee for assistance the company never provided. The FTC brought its claims under section 5(a) of the Federal Trade Commission Act (“FTCA”), 15 U.S.C. § 45(a), the Mortgage Assistance Relief Services Rule (“MARS…
On August 21, 2015, the Sixth Circuit issued its widely anticipated decision in Hill v. Homeward Residential, Inc., No. 14-4168 (6th Cir. August 21, 2015), which affirmed a jury verdict that found Homeward Residential, Inc. had plaintiff Hill’s prior express consent to call him using an auto-dialer. The case is significant because plaintiff Hill…
On September 3, a reverse mortgage servicing company settled alleged violations of Federal Housing Administration (FHA) regulations with the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). In July 2013, an individual brought a qui tam action in the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Florida pursuant to the False Claims…
Joe Yenouskas, a partner in Goodwin Procter’s Consumer Financial Services Litigation Group, will speak on October 7, 2015 at DRI’s 2015 Annual Meeting in Washington, DC about MERS Litigation. His presentation will focus on the nationwide claims asserted by county recorders against Mortgage Electronic Registration Systems (MERS) alleging that the…
On September 1, 2015, North Carolina Special Court Superior Judge Gregory P. McGuire issued a preliminary injunction barring a North Dakota-based online fast cash lender from advertising, lending, and collection activity in the state of North Carolina. The preliminary injunction bars the lender and its affiliated companies from advertising, offering or entering into contracts to…
The Federal Reserve Bank of New York recently did a study which found that, while mortgage loan originations increased through the second quarter of 2015, the increase is only for borrowers with credit scores above 660). See Liberty Street Economics, “Just Released: Releveraging the Consumer Credit Panel with Two New Charts,” August…
On August 28, 2015, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) announced the release of its July 2015 administrative enforcement actions against banks and individuals. Among these was an Order to Pay Civil Money Penalties assessed against a Louisiana bank for $123,000 for alleged violations of the Flood Disaster Protection Act of 1973 (FDPA), the National Flood Insurance…
On August 28, 2015, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) announced the release of its July 2015 administrative enforcement actions against banks and individuals. Among those actions was an Order to Pay assessed against an Ohio bank for $9,600 for alleged violations of the Flood Disaster Protection Act of 1973 (FDPA) and Part 339 of the FDIC Rules and Regulations. Specifically, the FDIC…
On August 28, 2015, the Maryland Attorney General announced that it reached a settlement with an Ohio-based mortgage field-services company to resolve allegations that the company wrongfully locked Maryland residents out of their homes and took or damaged personal property. The company contracts with lenders and mortgage servicers to provide services related to inspecting,…
On August 31, 2015, the owner of a now-defunct New Jersey title company pleaded guilty to charges of second-degree theft and second-degree misconduct by a corporate official for failing to make required disposition of settlement funds. The investigation was spearheaded by the New Jersey Division of Criminal Justice Financial & Computer Crimes…
Click here to check out the latest article from LenderLaw Watch – No Summer Vacation for Student Lending Companies as Enforcement Activity Continues. The article analyzes recent federal and state enforcement activity taken against student lending companies, and comments on what student lenders can expect from enforcers in the near future.
Student lending continues to remain in the crosshairs of federal and state consumer finance regulators during the summer months, with over five enforcement actions and investigations in recent weeks. As covered in both LenderLaw Watch (LLW) and Consumer Finance Enforcement Watch (CFEW), this is a small part of a larger…
On August 24, 2015, a large student loan company disclosed in a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission that it “received a letter from the CFPB notifying [it] that, in accordance with the CFPB’s discretionary Notice of Opportunity to Respond and Advise (“NORA”) process, the CFPB’s Office of Enforcement is considering recommending…
On August 21, 2015, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency announced that it had concluded its investigation into several related national banks regarding alleged violations of the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act. The Act prohibits certain debt collection activities against members of the armed forces. Before proceeding with judicial…