Joseph J. Schuster

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In a significant victory for bank-fintech partnership models, the Los Angeles County Superior Court on May 19, 2026 has now issued its final Statement of Decision granting summary judgment in favor of Opportunity Financial, LLC (“OppFi”) in its long-running litigation with the California Department of Financial Protection and Innovation (“DFPI”). The final opinion follows the court’s February 24, 2026 tentative ruling, which we previously discussed on this blog.… Continue Reading

President Donald Trump has nominated John Crews to serve on the NCUA board. If confirmed, Crews would replace Kyle Hauptman as the sole board member of the agency.

Hauptman’s term expired in August 2025, but he has stayed on the board as permitted by section 102(c) of the Federal Credit Union Act, which allows any board member to continue to serve after the expiration of their term until a successor has qualified.… Continue Reading

In a significant win for parties seeking to enforce arbitration agreements, the U.S. Supreme Court yesterday issued a unanimous decision in Jules v. Andre Balazs Properties holding that when a federal court stays a case pending arbitration under Section 3 of the Federal Arbitration Act (“FAA”), the federal court retains jurisdiction to later confirm or vacate the resulting arbitration award, even if the post-arbitration motion would not independently satisfy federal subject matter jurisdiction requirements.… Continue Reading

The FDIC has issued FIL-14-2026 rescinding its guidance governing the re-presentment of the same transaction after raising questions about the Biden Administration’s prior guidance.

“Based on a review and assessment of the guidance in FIL-32-2023, the FDIC concludes that the guidance is overly broad in scope and has raised uncertainty regarding when, for instance, disclosures regarding re-presentments may result in ‘unfairness’ concerns under Section 5 of the Federal Trade Commission Act,” the FDIC said in announcing the rescission.… Continue Reading

On April 28, 2026, Governor Wes Moore of Maryland has signed into law the nation’s most aggressive state law aimed at so-called “surveillance pricing” and algorithmic price-setting. House Bill 895, titled the Protection From Predatory Pricing Act, will become effective on October 1, 2026. It restricts the use of personalized pricing, consumer data-driven pricing, and certain AI-enabled pricing practices, particularly in the food retail (operating establishments of at least 15,000 square feet) and delivery sectors.… Continue Reading

The FTC and the Maryland Attorney General’s Office announced that Lindsay Automotive Group (“Lindsay”) must pay refunds to consumers the government officials said were misled by Lindsay, under a settlement reached with the dealerships and other defendants.

The settlement resolves allegations that Lindsay and its executives deceived consumers for years with falsely low prices and unwanted add-ons that resulted in buyers paying thousands of dollars more for their vehicles.… Continue Reading

A significant new filing on March 31 in the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals, National Treasury Employees Union v. Vought (Case No. 25-5091), purportedly provides the most up-to-date, detailed picture yet of how leadership of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) intends to dramatically scale back the agency’s operations—if permitted to do so by the courts.… Continue Reading

The FTC has sent letters to 97 auto groups, warning them that they must advertise the total price of vehicles that consumers will be required to pay; that figure must include all mandatory fees.

“When consumers do not know the true price of a car—or any product—consumers and others suffer related consequences, including that consumers cannot comparison-shop and make informed decisions, sellers trying to deal honestly with consumers are put at a competitive disadvantage, and the market cannot operate efficiently,” Christopher Mufarrige, Director of the FTC’s Bureau of Consumer Protection, wrote, in a template of the letter being sent to the auto groups.… Continue Reading

We are excited to announce the launch of a new six-part podcast mini-series focused on one of the most important and often misunderstood areas of consumer financial services: debt sales. A new episode will be released each Monday, with our first episode being released this coming Monday. This mini-series will run in addition to our regular Consumer Finance Monitor Podcast episodes, which will continue to be released on Thursdays.… Continue Reading

On March 6, 2026, President Trump issued Executive Order 14390, a sweeping directive aimed at combating cyber-enabled fraud schemes targeting Americans. The Executive Order was published in the Federal Register on March 11, 2026.

The Order reflects growing federal concern about large-scale cyber fraud operations—often referred to as “scam centers”—run by transnational criminal organizations (TCOs) that target U.S.… Continue Reading