July 2023

The Biden Administration has launched an initiative directed at combatting so-called “junk fees,” with the CFPB and FTC leading the Administration’s efforts.  In Part I of this two-part episode, we first discuss the various definitions offered by the White House, CFPB, and FTC for what constitutes a “junk fee” and the types of fees they have labeled “junk fees.” … Continue Reading

Seventeen amicus briefs have been filed with the U.S. Supreme Court in support of the position of the Community Financial Services Association of America (CFSA) that the Court should affirm the Fifth Circuit panel decision in CFSA v. CFPB which held the CFPB’s funding mechanism violates the Appropriations Clause of the U.S.… Continue Reading

The CFPB and the OCC announced that they have each entered into a consent order with Bank of America, N.A. for alleged violations arising from the Bank’s representment fee practices (“Fee Consent Orders”).  The CFPB also announced that it has entered into a second consent order with the Bank for alleged violations arising from certain of the Bank’s credit card-related practices. … Continue Reading

The Nevada Legislature recently passed Assembly Bill 332 (“AB 332”), which amends Nev. Rev. Stat. Title 55 relating to Banks and Related Organizations to add a new chapter regulating Private Education Lenders and Student Loan Servicers.  The provisions of SB 322 will become effective on January 1, 2024. 

AB 332 exempts the following entities from its requirements:

  • Banks;
  • Savings and loan associations;
  • Savings banks;
  • Thrift companies;
  • Credit unions;
  • The Nevada System of Higher Education;
  • The Western Interstate Commission for Higher Education; and
  • Any wholly owned subsidiaries of the above.
… Continue Reading

The Nevada Legislature recently passed Senate Bill 276 (“SB 276”), which permits employees of Collection Agencies to work from remote locations and exempts certain entities from qualifying as a “Collection Agency.”  The provisions of SB 276 relevant to Collection Agencies will become effective on October 1, 2023.

SB 276 amends Nev.… Continue Reading

On June 28, a group of plaintiffs filed a class action lawsuit against OpenAI—creator and publisher of the generative artificial intelligence (AI) tool ChatGPT—as well as OpenAI’s primary investor, Microsoft.  The 151-page complaint is the first significant U.S. class action to assert that generative AI tools violate consumer privacy rights.

The Complaint, filed in the Northern District of California, challenges the core of the generative AI models. … Continue Reading

A Pennsylvania federal district court has ruled that the plaintiffs’ allegations that notices of repossession sent by a bank failed to comply with the state’s Motor Vehicle Sales Finance Act (MVFSA)  were sufficient to state a claim under the Pennsylvania Uniform Commercial Code (UCC).   As a result, the court denied the bank’s motion to dismiss the plaintiffs’ class action complaint.… Continue Reading

A group of four Democratic members of the Senate Banking Committee, including Chairman Sherrod Brown, recently sent a letter to CFPB Director Chopra to express their concerns regarding the emergence of voice cloning technology and its potential exploitation in financial scams.  The Senators ask the CFPB to “review the risks posed by this new technology as soon as practicable and take action under the CFPB’s existing authorities to protect consumers.”… Continue Reading

In advance of a hearing scheduled for tomorrow on medical billing and collections in which the focus will be medical payment products such as medical credit cards and installment loans, the CFPB, jointly with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and U.S. Department of Treasury (Treasury), has issued a request for information (RFI) regarding medical payment products. … Continue Reading

Last Friday, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that the Biden Administration did not have the legal authority to proceed with its plan to forgive approximately $400 billion in federal student loans.  After reviewing the background of the two cases, we first look at the majority opinion authored by Chief Justice Roberts and discuss the majority’s legal analysis for concluding that the Missouri Attorney General had standing to challenge the plan, that the HEROES Act’s text did not authorize the Secretary of Education to forgive the loans, and that the “major questions” doctrine should be applied to assess whether Congress had given loan forgiveness authority to the Secretary. … Continue Reading