On August 20, 2015, the CFPB and the New York Department of Financial Services (NYDFS) announced they had filed a lawsuit in federal court in California against two regional financial companies. According the complaint, the companies deceived consumers about the fees and interest rates associated with pension loans. The companies…
On August 19, 2015, the New York Attorney General’s Office announced an interim agreement with a subsidiary of a national banking organization over allegations that the bank charged improper fees on customer’s inactive accounts. The bank managed consumer investment accounts and charged a variety of fees for account management services….
On August 18, 2015, the Oregon Attorney General’s Office and the Oregon Department of Consumer and Business Services announced that they filed a lawsuit against a regional automobile loan company. The company advertised car title loans online. When consumers completed the online applications, the company allegedly deceived them into signing…
On August 18, 2015, the Washington State Attorney General’s Office announced the entry of summary judgment against a regional student loan processing company in a case involving alleged illegal fees charged to borrowers. The company offered student loan modification services, including income-based repayment plans, debt consolidation, and debt forgiveness. According…
On August 17, 2015, the North Dakota Attorney General’s Office announced it entered a cease and desist order against a regional consumer credit services company. According to the Attorney General, the company solicited business using illegal robocalls that promised interest rate reductions and other loan modification services. The company allegedly called…
On August 3, 2015, the 11th Circuit held in Ewing Industries Corp. v. Bob Wines Nursery, Inc., No. 14-13842, 2015 WL 4605234 (11th Cir. Aug. 3, 2015) that the pendency of a purported class action does not toll the limitations period for a later class action seeking to represent the same…
Last week, the Seventh Circuit reversed its prior circuit precedent regarding whether a Rule 68 offer of judgment moots a case. In Chapman v. First Index, Inc., the Seventh Circuit considered the question of mootness as well as whether the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois erred…
On August 10, 2015, HUD announced that it had reached settlement agreements with two regional mortgage companies over allegations that the companies failed to comply with HUD’s Fair Housing Act regulations. Both companies obtained approval from HUD to originate FHA-insured mortgage loans. According to HUD, one of the companies charged illegal…
On August 5, 2015, a bank revealed in an U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission filing that the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (“HUD”) Office of Inspector General and the U.S. Department of Justice (collectively, the “Government”) are currently investigating whether the bank complied with underwriting requirements on loans…
On August 4, 2015, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (“CFPB”) announced that it filed a complaint against several interrelated offshore companies accused of engaging in usurious lending. The complaint alleges that the companies originated, serviced and collected payday loans from consumers in all 50 states through the Internet. It is alleged that companies collected money…
On August 3, 2015, a national bank revealed in an U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission filing that its student loan servicing practices are under investigation by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (“CFPB”). The bank indicated that it is cooperating with the investigation and anticipates the CFPB may order it to remediate its customers and/or…
On June 1, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) entered into a consent order for civil penalties against a local Massachusetts bank concerning alleged violations of the Flood Disaster Protection Act of 1973 and Part 339 of the FDIC Rules and Regulations. The FDIC alleged that the bank made loans secured…
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) has set its sights on debt collection practices again. In April, we wrote about the CFPB’s $63 million settlement with a mortgage servicer, Green Tree Mortgage, in part for Green Tree’s alleged treatment of mortgage debt. On July 8, 2015, the CFPB once again demonstrated it was…
On July 30, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) announced that it will mail checks totaling over $969,000 to consumers who lost money as part of a credit card interest rate reduction scam. In June 2013, the FTC brought suit in the Middle District of Florida against a payment processor and telemarketing company,…
On July 30, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) announced that it entered into a consent order with a national mortgage servicing company, resolving claims that the servicer engaged in unfair and deceptive practices in violation of the Consumer Financial Protection Act. The CFPB alleged that the servicer failed to honor modifications…
On July 29, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York announced that co-conspirators in a mortgage modification scam pled guilty to conspiracy and fraud. The defendants, through a mortgage modification company, collected fees from residential mortgage holders and promised consumers that the company would either secure them a mortgage modification…
On July 28, the Consumer Financial Protection Board (CFPB) announced that it entered into consent orders with a mortgage payment processing company and servicer related to allegedly deceptive advertisements. The consent orders allege that the payment processer partnered with servicers to market and an provide electronic payment system that directly debited…
On July 28, the North Carolina Attorney General announced that it obtained a default judgment against a mortgage broker and its president in North Carolina Superior Court. The Attorney General brought claims against the defendants under the North Carolina Unfair and Deceptive Trade Practices Act, N.C. Gen. Stat. § 75-1.1. The Attorney General alleged that the…
On July 23, 2015, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (“CFPB”) filed a complaint and proposed consent order in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of California in connection with a settlement reached with a student loan lender that offered fee-based assistance to consumers filling out the federal government’s Free Application…
On July 22, 2015, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (“CFPB”) issued a consent order against a national bank and its affiliates for its servicing practices affecting private student loan borrowers. The order asserts that the bank violated various sections of the Consumer Financial Protection Act of 2010 (“CFPA”) and the Fair…