Thomas Burke

Subscribe to Thomas Burke's Posts
Contact:Read more about Thomas Burke

A New York trial court, in a decision issued on July 20, 2026, has handed the New York Attorney General a significant early victory in her lawsuit against Early Warning Services, LLC (“EWS”), the operator of the Zelle peer-to-peer payment network. In People of the State of New York v. Early Warning Services, LLC, Index No.… Continue Reading

The Aspen Institute’s Financial Security Program has announced a significant new initiative designed to address what many now view as one of the most pressing consumer protection challenges facing the United States: the explosion of fraud and scams targeting American consumers.

The newly launched Scam Prevention Initiative builds upon the work of the Aspen Institute’s National Task Force on Fraud and Scam Prevention and reflects an increasingly broad consensus that scams can no longer be viewed solely as an issue for consumers or financial institutions to solve on their own.… Continue Reading

On May 29, 2026, Governor Abigail Spanberger vetoed Virginia’s closely watched class action legislation, preserving Virginia’s status as one of only two states in the country (the other one being Mississippi) without a general state-court class action procedure. The veto halts what would have been a major shift in Virginia civil litigation and consumer protection law.… Continue Reading

Virginia is on the verge of making a consequential change to its civil justice system. Legislation now pending before Governor Abigail Spanberger would authorize private class actions in Virginia state courts and make significant amendments to the Virginia Consumer Protection Act (“VCPA”). If signed, Virginia would join virtually every other state in expressly permitting class action procedures in its own courts.… Continue Reading

The CFPB received about 22,900 complaints about private and federal student loans between July 1, 2024, and June 30, 2025, the highest level the Bureau has received in a one-year period, the CFPB’s Private Education Loan Ombudsman said in its annual report.

The CFPB received about 2,100 debt collection complaints related to private and federal student loan debt, according to the report.… Continue Reading

Last month, New York Attorney General Letitia James sued Early Warning Services, LLC (EWS), the company that operates the Zelle Network, for allegedly failing to protect its users from fraud. The complaint, much of which was filed under seal, claims that EWS harmed consumers by creating “a payment network that was highly susceptible to fraudulent activity, that lacked the basic network safeguards, and that exposed millions of consumers to widespread fraud.”… Continue Reading

On February 18, 2025, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit—following up on its August 2024 unsigned order—resolved an expedited appeal concerning a district court injunction preventing the U.S. Department of Education from proceeding with implementation of its much-debated SAVE repayment plan. The opinion, which affirms the district court, calls into question the legality of not only the SAVE plan itself, but also existing income-contingent repayment (“ICR”) plans such as PAYE and REPAYE.… Continue Reading

The CFPB and the National Collegiate Student Loan Trusts—a group of fifteen securitization trusts that acquire, pool, and securitize student loans—have entered into a proposed final consent judgment that, if approved, would resolve  the CFPB’s allegations that the Trusts unlawfully filed defective debt collection lawsuits to collect on private student loans.… Continue Reading

In an unsigned order dated August 9, 2024, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit signaled its frustration with the U.S. Department’s ongoing efforts to proceed with implementation of its much-debated SAVE repayment plan notwithstanding an earlier partial injunction entered by a federal district court.

In a case filed by Republican state officials (the “States”), a federal judge in Missouri had previously concluded that the States were likely to prevail on their claim that the Department of Education exceeded its authority in creating the SAVE plan, and that the prospect of irreparable harm warranted an injunction prohibiting the Department from forgiving loans under the SAVE plan while the case was litigated.… Continue Reading

Two federal judges recently said that the Education Department lacked the power to reduce or cancel federal student loans under the SAVE program; an appeals court subsequently lifted the injunction in one case.

In cases filed by Republican state officials, federal judges in Kansas and Missouri, both Democratic appointees, issued injunctions, saying that Congress had not given the Department of Education the power to reduce and cancel those loans as it had planned to do under the SAVE program.… Continue Reading