The Department of Justice (DOJ) announced that Patriot Bank (Patriot or Bank) has agreed to pay $1.9 million to resolve allegations that the Bank engaged in a pattern or practice of redlining majority-Black and Hispanic neighborhoods in Memphis, Tennessee from 2015 to at least 2020, in violation of the Fair Housing Act (FHA) and the Equal Credit Opportunity Act (ECOA).… Continue Reading
settlement
Pennsylvania AG Settles with Law firms over Alleged Deceptive Debt Settlement Services
On January 24, 2024, Pennsylvania Attorney General, Michelle Henry announced a settlement with attorney Erik M. Helbing and his businesses Helbing Law, LLC, and Consumer Law Relief, LLC. (Respondents) to resolve alleged violations of the Pennsylvania Unfair Trade Practices and Consumer Protection Law (UTPCPL), the Pennsylvania Debt Settlement Services Act (DSSA), and the federal Telemarketing Sales Rule (TSR).… Continue Reading
CFPB Agrees to Pay $6M to Settle Discrimination Claims by Black and Hispanic Employees
After nearly a decade of litigation, Judge Beryl A. Howell of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia has approved the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s $6.0 million settlement of class claims of alleged discrimination by the CFPB against 85 Black and Hispanic employees. The class consists of all “minority employees and women who work or worked as Consumer Response Specialists and have been subjected to and harmed by the Bureau’s agency-wide pattern or practice of discrimination and retaliation and discriminatory policies and practices,” according to the complaint.… Continue Reading
FTC Settles With Background Report Companies for FCRA Violations and Deceptive Acts
The Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”) on September 11, 2023, settled a claim against a group of affiliated entities operating a background reporting business, Instant Checkmate, LLC, TruthFinder, LLC, The Control Group Media Company, LLC, Intelicare Direct, LLC, and PubRec LLC (“background report companies” or “companies”) for alleged misrepresentations that deceived consumers about whether they had criminal records and for operating as a consumer reporting agency without following the requirements of the Fair Credit Reporting Act (“FCRA”).… Continue Reading
CFPB Touts Settlement with Debt Collection Group as Focus on Debt Collection Continues
The CFPB’s focus on debt collection continues. In addition to proposing changes to debt collection rules, analyzing debt collector trade lines, and filing and participating as an amicus in debt-collection litigation, the CFPB recently announced a proposed settlement involving over $60 million in redress and penalties with debt collection companies Northern Resolution Group, LLC, Enhanced Acquisitions, and Delray Capital, and the companies’ creators, Douglas MacKinnon and Mark Gray.… Continue Reading
State AGs urge SCOTUS to review Ninth Circuit cy pres class action settlement decision; DOJ to step up CAFA class action settlement review
A bipartisan group of 16 state attorneys general has filed an amicus brief in support of a petition for certiorari asking the U.S. Supreme Court to review a Ninth Circuit decision upholding the district court’s approval of a class action cy pres settlement. The petition was filed by objectors to the settlement.… Continue Reading
Senate Judiciary Committee Chair seeks DOJ rescission of settlement payments to third parties
Earlier this month, Attorney General Jeff Sessions issued a memorandum in which he prohibited DOJ attorneys from entering into settlement agreements on behalf of the United States that require a payment or loan to any non-governmental person or entity that is not a party to the dispute. The AG’s press release explained that the directive was intended to end the use of settlement funds to “to bankroll third party special interest groups or the political friends of whoever is in power.”… Continue Reading
Will the CFPB follow the SEC’s policy shift on “neither admit nor deny” settlements?
Last week, the Securities and Exchange Commission announced a policy shift concerning settled enforcement actions. The SEC has indicated that it will more frequently require an admission of wrongdoing from defendants as a condition of settlement. For more on the SEC’s policy shift, see our legal alert.
Like the SEC, the CFPB has allowed defendants in enforcement actions to enter into settlements “without admitting or denying” wrongdoing. … Continue Reading
What’s in the mortgage servicers settlement for military personnel?
In recent days, the CFPB and the White House have made what looks like a coordinated effort to publicize the relief that military personnel will receive under the $25 billion settlement announced on February 9 between five leading bank mortgage servicers and a coalition of state attorneys general and federal agencies.… Continue Reading
“Know before you owe”: goodbye testing; hello SBREFA
The CFPB is conducting this week its final round of testing in its “Know Before You Owe” project. Instead of asking for comments on side-by-side comparisons of prototypes for the same disclosure, the CFPB is asking for comments on one prototype of a RESPA/TILA integrated application disclosure and one prototype of a RESPA/TILA integrated settlement disclosure.… Continue Reading