This special podcast episode, hosted by Senior Counsel and former Consumer Financial Services Practice Leader Alan Kaplinsky, sets the stage for the upcoming oral argument in the two U.S. Supreme Court cases where the fate of Chevron deference hangs in the balance. This episode provides an essential roadmap for anyone who will listen to the oral argument or is following this critical challenge to this important doctrine.… Continue Reading
Litigation and Court Decisions
Trade group for providers of commercial sales-based financing files lawsuit challenging CFPB final small business lending rule
Revenue Based Finance Coalition (RBFC), a trade group whose members include non-banks that provide sales-based financing to businesses, filed a lawsuit last week against the CFPB in a Florida federal district court challenging the CFPB’s final small business lending rule implementing Section 1071 of Dodd-Frank. The core argument made by RBFC is that because sales-based financing does not constitute “credit” within the meaning of the Equal Credit Opportunity Act (ECOA) and Regulation B, the CFPB did not have the authority to regulate sales-based financing as “credit” under the Rule.… Continue Reading
CFPB files amicus briefs in FDCPA case and also files amicus brief in FCRA case jointly with FTC
By John L. Culhane, Jr. & Joel E. Tasca on
The CFPB recently filed two amicus briefs, one in a First Circuit case involving the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA) and the other, which was filed jointly with the Federal Trade Commission, in a Fourth Circuit case involving the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA).
FDCPA. The FDCPA case is Carrasquillo v.… Continue Reading
SCOTUS slated to make lasting impact on consumer financial services industry in 2024
By Alan S. Kaplinsky & Ballard CFS Group on
This New Year is setting up to be a momentous one for the consumer financial services industry in the United States Supreme Court. In 2024, the Supreme Court is expected to decide four impactful cases that may hold that the CFPB’s funding is unconstitutional, eliminate giving deference to CFPB, FTC and federal banking agency regulations, severely narrow National Bank Act (NBA) preemption of state laws, and limit the time during which a plaintiff may sue an agency to facially challenge an agency rule.… Continue Reading
Justice Department departs from OCC view of preemption in amicus brief filed with SCOTUS; Democratic Senators criticize OCC approach to preemption
The scope of national bank preemption is currently before the U.S. Supreme Court in Cantero v. Bank of America, N.A. A New York statute requires the payment of interest on mortgage escrow accounts and the question before the Supreme Court is whether the National Bank Act (NBA) preempts application of the New York statute to national banks. … Continue Reading
SCOTUS keeps issue of “tester” standing alive, dismissing ADA website appeal as moot
Posted in Accessibility, Litigation and Court Decisions
On December 5, 2023, the Supreme Court of the United States in Acheson Hotels, LLC v. Laufer, declined to substantively address a question businesses across the country have been eager to resolve: That is, whether a “tester” plaintiff has standing to sue a public accommodation under the Americans with Disabilities Act (“ADA”), despite having no intention of ever visiting the business. … Continue Reading
The Supreme Court Keeps Issue of “Tester” Standing Alive, Dismissing ADA Website Appeal as Moot
Posted in Accessibility, Litigation and Court Decisions
On December 5, 2023, the Supreme Court of the United States in Acheson Hotels, LLC v. Laufer, declined to substantively address a question businesses across the country have been eager to resolve: That is, whether a “tester” plaintiff has standing to sue a public accommodation under the Americans with Disabilities Act (“ADA”), despite having no intention of ever visiting the business.… Continue Reading
California federal district court grants summary judgment for DFPI in lawsuit challenging state’s regulations requiring consumer-like disclosures for commercial transactions
By Ballard CFS Group on
A California federal district court recently granted the motion for summary judgment filed by the California Department of Financial Protection and Innovation (DFPI) in the lawsuit filed by an advocacy organization seeking to enjoin the DFPI from enforcing its final regulations (Regulations) implementing California’s commercial financing disclosure law. SB 1235, which was signed into law in 2018, requires consumer-like disclosures to be made for certain commercial financing products, including small business loans and merchant cash advances. … Continue Reading
Oral Arguments Held in CFPB v. Townstone Financial Case
On December 8, 2023, oral arguments were held before a three judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit in the CFPB v. Townstone Financial case, in which the CFPB alleges that Townstone Financial, a non-bank mortgage company (Townstone), engaged in redlining in the Chicago area in violation of the Equal Credit Opportunity Act (ECOA).… Continue Reading
SCOTUS to hear oral argument on January 17 in cases challenging Chevron deference
By Alan S. Kaplinsky on
Posted in Federal Agencies, Litigation and Court Decisions
The U.S. Supreme Court has scheduled oral argument for January 17, 2024 in the two cases in which the question presented is whether the Court should overrule its 1984 decision in Chevron, U.S.A., Inc. v. Nat. Res. Def. Council, Inc. That decision produced what became known as the “Chevron framework”–the two-step analysis that courts typically invoke when reviewing a federal agency’s interpretation of a statute.… Continue Reading