On March 15, 2018, in Chamber of Com. of the U.S. v. U.S. Dep’t. of Labor (No. 17-10238, 5th Cir. Mar. 15, 2018), the Fifth Circuit entered an order enjoining enforcement of the Department of Labor’s (DOL) fiduciary rule (Fiduciary Rule), finding that the DOL exceeded its statutory authority in…
On March 15, 2018, the U.S. Senate passed the Economic Growth, Regulatory Relief and Consumer Protection Act (S-2155)–a bipartisan bill that LenderLaw Watch reported on as a piece of legislation to watch back in December. In general, the bill seeks to reduce compliance obligations for smaller financial institutions while maintaining…
On February 26, 2018, the Supreme Court granted certiorari in New Prime, Inc. v. Oliviera, 17-340, a First Circuit case arising from the District of Massachusetts. The case is posed to resolve a split among the circuit courts as to who – the court or the arbitrator – decides whether…
On March 16, 2018, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit issued its long-awaited decision in ACA International v. FCC, invalidating several key pieces of the Federal Communications Commission’s (FCC’s) 2015 Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) interpretive order, but upholding other aspects of that order. 885 F.3d 687 (D.C….
On February 16, 2018, the 6th Circuit, in Hagy v. Demers & Adams (882 F.3d 616 (6th Cir. Feb. 16, 2018)), found that a former borrower did not have standing to assert a claim under the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA) absent a showing of concrete harm. The case is one of…
On March 1, 2018, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) issued its sixth request for information (RFI) since Mick Mulvaney, acting head of the CFPB, began his tenure. This request seeks “comments and information from interested parties on the usefulness of complaint reporting and analysis, as well as specific suggestions or…
On February 27, 2018, the U.S. House of Representatives passed H.R. 4296, which would reduce the operational capital requirements imposed on financial institutions. The bill passed with a 245-169 vote. As could be expected from such deregulatory legislation, only 19 Democrats voted in favor of the bill and only 3…
On February 13, 2018, the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois decertified a Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) text-message class in light of new evidence of consent obtained during the class-member identification process. Johnson v. Yahoo! Inc., No. 1:14-cv-02028 (N.D. Ill. Feb. 13, 2018), is instructive for TCPA defendants…
Goodwin announces the release of its third annual Consumer Finance Year in Review, an in-depth report that analyzes the principal litigation, enforcement actions and regulations that have impacted the consumer finance industry over the prior year. This report synthesizes Goodwin’s consumer finance coverage from 2017 and offers predictions and insights…
On January 25, 2018, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) issued the final prepaid accounts rule (which we wrote about here and here) under the Electronic Fund Transfer Act (Regulation E) and the Truth in Lending Act (Regulation Z). The final rule, which will now become effective on April 1,…
The Trump Administration-appointed Acting Director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (“CFPB”), Mick Mulvaney, recently stated in a memo to his staff that under his leadership, the CFPB would significantly change in its approach to regulation and enforcement. The most concrete example of this thus far is his approach to the payday lending…
On January 31, 2018, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit (D.C. Circuit), sitting en banc, issued its long-awaited decision in PHH Corp. v. CFPB, holding that the provision of the Dodd-Frank Act shielding the single director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) from removal without cause…
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) has solicited comments to assist it to revise its current Civil Investigative Demand (CID) process. The “Request for Information Regarding Bureau Civil Investigative Demands and Associated Processes” was published in the Federal Register on January 26, 2018. The CFPB’s power to issue CIDs is derived from…
On January 16 and 17, 2018, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) released two statements signaling that yet more change is on the horizon for the agency. Close on the heels of similar announcements regarding potential changes to its Home Mortgage Disclosure Act and prepaid card rules, the Bureau announced…
On January 3, 2018, the Second Circuit decided Latner v. Mount Sinai Health Sys., Inc., 879 F.3d 52 (2d Cir. 2018), affirming the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York’s decision to dismiss the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) suit, and finding that the plaintiff consented to…
On December 22, 2017, four Democratic Senators, Dianne Feinstein (D-CA), Kamala Harris (D-CA), Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) and Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), introduced a bill titled the “Accountability for Wall Street Executives Act of 2017.” The bill amends the Revised Statutes, 12 U.S.C. § 484, to arm state attorneys general and other law enforcement…
This December, the National Credit Union Administration (NCUA) released a letter to credit unions detailing its primary areas of supervisory focus for 2018. The NCUA intends for credit unions to rely on the letter to better prepare for their examinations by the NCUA throughout 2018. The seven areas of focus…
On December 21, 2017, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) announced delays and potential changes to its Home Mortgage Disclosure Act (HMDA) and pre-paid card regulations. Both sets of regulations have been subject to criticism by industry participants and others. Although lenders will have to comply with the CFPB’s HMDA…
The Congressional Review Act (CRA) provides Congress with oversight over administrative rulemaking, providing it with a veto of sorts over rulemaking with which it disagrees. For an agency rule to become effective, the agency must submit a report to Congress describing the rule. Congress then has 60 days to issue…
On December 5, 2017, the Lower East Side People’s Federal Credit Union filed a lawsuit against President Trump and Mick Mulvaney over Trump’s appointment of Mulvaney as the Acting Director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB). The case, Lower East Side People’s Federal Credit Union v. Trump, et al., No….