The Supreme Court has granted certiorari to review a $40 million class action trial judgment for statutory and punitive damages under the Fair Credit Reporting Act, and its forthcoming decision later this Term will likely be the Supreme Court’s most important ruling in the consumer financial services space since its 2016 ruling in Spokeo, Inc.… Continue Reading

Earlier this month, House Financial Services Committee Chairwoman Maxine Waters sent a letter to President-elect Joe Biden recommending various actions that the Biden Administration should take in the financial services arena.  Chairman Waters and members of her staff are expected to have a strong voice in shaping the Biden Administration’s approach to financial services regulatory policy. … Continue Reading

The California Attorney General’s Office recently released a fourth set of proposed regulatory modifications to the California Consumer Privacy Act (the “CCPA”).

As background, the Attorney General’s Office had only just recently given notice of a third set of modifications on October 12, 2020.  The third set of modifications revised the regulations relating to the notice of a consumer’s right to opt-out of the sale of their personal information. … Continue Reading

The CFPB has published its Fall 2020 rulemaking agenda as part of the Fall 2020 Unified Agenda of Federal Regulatory and Deregulatory Actions.  It represents the CFPB’s fourth rulemaking agenda under Director Kraninger’s leadership.  The agenda’s preamble indicates that the information in the agenda is current as of September 11, 2020 and identifies the regulatory matters that the Bureau “reasonably anticipates having under consideration during the period from November 2020 to November 2021.”… Continue Reading

FDIC Chairman Jelena McWilliams recently stated that the FDIC is not contemplating a rulemaking “at this time” similar to the OCC’s proposed fair access rule issued last month.

Chairman McWilliams made this statement in response to a question asked during the FDIC’s presentation of third quarter 2020 results for FDIC-insured institutions.… Continue Reading

The parties in Petersen v. Chase Card Funding, LLC and Cohen v. Capital One Funding, LLC, have filed Stipulations agreeing to the withdrawal with prejudice of the plaintiffs’ appeals to the Second Circuit from the district courts’ decisions holding that the National Bank Act (NBA) preempts their claims that the interest charged on credit card receivables assigned to affiliated securitization trusts violated New York usury law.… Continue Reading

The CFPB recently issued a final rule amending Regulation Z ability to repay rule/qualified mortgage (QM) requirements to replace the strict 43% debt-to-income (DTI) ratio basis for the general QM with an annual percentage rate (APR) limit, while still requiring the consideration of the DTI ratio or residual income. The CFPB also issued a final rule that adds a new seasoned loan QM.… Continue Reading

In a new lawsuit filed in a Missouri federal district court, the CFPB alleges that BounceBack, Inc. violated the FDCPA and CFPA in connection with its operation of bad-check pretrial-diversion programs on behalf of more than 90 district attorneys’ offices throughout the United States.  Such programs require the writer of a dishonored check to pay the debt and also enroll in, pay for, and complete a financial education course.… Continue Reading

In its second case against a Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) service provider, the FTC announced that it has reached a proposed settlement with Alcazar Networks Inc. and its owner Gavin Grabias concerning the FTC’s charges that they facilitated tens of millions of illegal telemarketing phone calls.  The proposed settlement bars Alcazar and Grabias from engaging in similar misconduct in the future, requires them to screen and monitor their customers, and imposes a monetary penalty of $105,562.… Continue Reading

A recent settlement between the U.S. Department of Justice and a media conglomerate underscores the importance of implementing robust Telephone Consumer Protection Act compliance measures, including for third-party vendors.  In 2017, a jury found DISH Network LLC liable for its vendors’ violations of the Telemarketing Sales Rule and the Telephone Consumer Protection Act, as well as several state statutes. … Continue Reading