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

The CFPB announced in its Spring 2025 Regulatory Agenda that it will be finalizing amendments to the Remittance Transfer Rule under Regulation E, which implements the Electronic Funds Transfer Act (EFTA), to revise disclosure requirements and corresponding model forms to include clarifying information about the types of inquiries that may be most efficient to direct to the CFPB and the State agency that licenses the remittance transfer provider.… Continue Reading

For now, the Supreme Court is allowing President Trump to fire Democratic FTC Commissioner Rebecca Slaughter, in a case that could upend a 1935 court precedent.

Significantly, in an unsigned order, the Court agreed to hear the case, even though there has been no final decision on the merits by a lower court.… Continue Reading

The CFPB is considering proposing amendments to Regulation V, which implements the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA), to address concerns related to information furnished to consumer reporting agencies regarding coerced debt. This follows the CFPB’s issuance of an advance notice of proposed rulemaking on December 13, 2024 to solicit information on amending the definitions of “identity theft” and “identity theft report,” as well as other related amendments to Regulation V.… 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

If Congress does not reauthorize the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) by September 30, major parts of the program will expire—a lapse that could cause major problems in the mortgage industry.

In past NFIP lapses, borrowers were not able to purchase flood insurance to close, renew or increase loans secured by property that required flood insurance.… Continue Reading

President Trump is asking the Supreme Court to allow him to fire Lisa D. Cook from the Federal Reserve Board.

“This application involves yet another case of improper judicial interference with the President’s removal authority—here, interference with the President’s authority to remove members of the Federal Reserve Board of Governors for cause,” Solicitor General D.… Continue Reading

In this episode of the Consumer Finance Monitor podcast, host Alan Kaplinsky welcomes Pat Utz, CEO and co-founder of Abstract, a venture capital-backed AI company headquartered in New York. Pat brings extensive expertise on artificial intelligence. The podcast focuses on current developments in AI regulation and implementation, first covering President Trump’s recent “Winning the Race: America’s AI Action Plan” and its potential impact on federal policy.… Continue Reading

Banking groups said their members will have to unnecessarily spend significant time and money if a federal court does not delay the compliance dates of an open banking rule that the CFPB said it intends to rewrite.

“Plaintiffs and their members cannot simply stop all work needed to timely comply with a complex regulation that remains on the books, gambling on the outcome of a process that will last well into 2026 at a minimum,” the Bank Policy Institute, Kentucky Bankers Association, and Forcht Bank (“Plaintiffs”), said in a reply brief filed in the U.S.… Continue Reading