Litigation and Court Decisions

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In a decision issued May 5, 2026, a Second Circuit Court of Appeals panel in Cantero v. Bank of America, N.A., August Term 2024, Nos. 21-400, 22-403, once again held that New York’s General Obligations Law § 5-601, which requires mortgage lenders to pay at least 2% interest on escrow accounts is preempted by the National Bank Act (NBA) as applied to national banks like Bank of America.… Continue Reading

The latest episode of the Consumer Finance Monitor Podcast being released today tackles one of the most consequential developments in bank–fintech litigation in recent years: the Los Angeles Superior Court’s tentative decision in Opportunity Financial, LLC v. Hewlett (read more here). This case squarely addresses the long-debated “true lender” doctrine which has for decades bedeviled banks and Fintechs and “bricks and mortar” non-banks that have entered into joint ventures with one another to engage in interstate lending programs which take advantage of interest rate exportation rights afforded to banks.… Continue Reading

In a very significant and potentially precedent-setting February 24, 2026 decision, the Los Angeles County Superior Court (Hon. Gary D. Roberts) issued a tentative decision granting summary judgment in favor of Opportunity Financial, LLC (“OppFi”) and against the California Department of Financial Protection and Innovation (“DFPI”). The ruling rejects the DFPI’s claim that OppFi was the “true lender” of certain loans originated by Utah-chartered FinWise Bank and therefore subject to California’s 36% interest rate cap under the California Financing Law (CFL), as amended by AB 539.… Continue Reading

As we reported previously, a petition for rehearing en banc was filed by the plaintiff bank trade associations in National Association of Industrial Bankers v. Weiser. In that case, the panel’s 2-1 decision held that a loan is “made” for purposes of the opt-out provision in Section 525 of DIDMCA in both the state where the bank is located and the borrower’s state, meaning that Colorado interest rate limits will apply to loans made to Colorado residents by out-of-state state-chartered depository institutions.… Continue Reading

As we previously reported, on November 10, 2025 the Tenth Circuit rendered its 2-1 decision in National Association of Industrial Bankers v. Weiser. It held that a loan is “made” for purposes of the opt-out provision in Section 525 of DIDMCA in both the state where the bank is located and the borrower’s state, meaning that Colorado’s usury limits will apply to interstate loans made to Colorado residents by out-of-state state-chartered depository institutions.… Continue Reading

In a recent published opinion, the Third Circuit affirmed the District Court’s sanctions against JP Ward & Associates, attorney Travis Gordon, and attorney Joshua Ward for engaging in, as the District Court put it, “a campaign of deception.”.

According to the court, the law firm drafted nonsensical hand-written letters to debt collectors in which they intentionally buried the following vague dispute reference “I saw that your company is reporting that I owe you a sum of money, but I just don’t think that is current.”… Continue Reading

The podcast show we are releasing today is a repurposing of part 1 of a webinar we produced on August 13, 2025, which explored the U.S. Supreme Court’s pivotal 6-3 decision in Trump v. CASA, Inc., a ruling that significantly curtails the use of nationwide or “universal” injunctions. A universal injunction is one which confers benefits on non-parties to the lawsuit.… Continue Reading

Citing a host of recent U.S. Supreme Court rulings interpreting the Federal Arbitration Act (FAA), the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has “determined that the presence of an issuer-investor mandatory arbitration provision will not impact decisions whether to accelerate the effectiveness of a registration statement under the Securities Act.” This new policy statement reverses the agency’s previous position that it would not use its authority to accelerate the effective date of a company’s registration statement when the company’s governing documents contained a mandatory arbitration provision covering disputes under the federal securities laws.… Continue Reading

The saga of the CFPB’s section 1071 small business data collection and reporting rule continues. Rise Economy, fka California Reinvestment Coalition (Rise), the National Reinvestment Coalition (NCRC), the Main Street Alliance (MSA) and Reshonda Young (a small business owner and member of MSA) filed a complaint against Acting CFPB Director Russell Vought and the CFPB seeking to force the agency to implement the section 1071 rule.… Continue Reading