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Last week, the U.S. Supreme Court heard oral argument in the case of Timbs v. Indiana, which presents the issue of whether the prohibition on excessive fines in the Eighth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution is incorporated against the States under the Fourteenth Amendment.  Although it involves a civil asset forfeiture arising from the…

A group of 16 Democratic state attorneys general have sent a letter to the CFPB in response to its Request for Information Regarding Bureau Civil Investigative Demands and Associated Processes.

The AGs express their opposition to any curtailment of the Bureau’s investigatory authority because “it would significantly hinder the Bureau’s ability to fulfill its mandate…

Since the CFPB issued its final rule for general purpose prepaid accounts on October 5, 2016, it has faced attacks from Congress and criticism from industry participants

On April 5, in a letter to Congressional leaders, attorneys general (AGs) from 17 states (Iowa, California, Maine, Hawaii, Maryland, Massachusetts, Illinois, Minnesota, Mississippi, Vermont, New York, Virginia,…

On Monday, we blogged about the highlights of the panel I moderated, “The CFPB Speaks,” that was part of the Practicing Law Institute’s 22nd annual Consumer Financial Services Institute in Manhattan. The next panel,  “Federal Regulators Speak: Priorities & Coordination,” focused on priorities and developments at the Department of Justice (DOJ), the OCC,…

The Democratic Attorneys General of 16 states and the District of Columbia have filed a motion with the D.C. Circuit seeking to intervene in the PHH appeal.  The states are Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Illinois, Iowa, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Mississippi, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, and Washington.

According to the AGs,…

The Attorneys General for the states of Connecticut, Indiana, Kansas, and Vermont recently took the unusual step of filing a joint motion to intervene to modify the settlement terms of a CFPB enforcement action.

The motion was filed in the CFPB’s action filed in a New York federal district court in December 2014 against Sprint…

Since last Tuesday’s election, there has been much discussion of how expected changes under a Trump Administration are likely to reduce the CFPB’s impact, particularly in the enforcement arena.  Little attention, however, has been paid to the election’s implications for the role of state attorneys general and state financial services regulators in enforcing federal and…

As he has done in prior years, Director Cordray spoke earlier this week to the National Association of Attorneys General.  His prepared remarks focused on the familiar theme of “the four Ds” that create obstacles for consumers in the financial services marketplace–deceptive marketing, debt traps, dead ends, and discrimination.

Director Cordray’s remarks included the…

Below is an update on the lawsuits we have been following that state attorneys general and a state regulator have brought using their Dodd-Frank enforcement authority.  Under Dodd-Frank Section 1042, a state AG or regulator is authorized to bring a civil action to enforce provisions of Dodd-Frank Title 10 or regulations issued under Title 10,…

The CFPB’s collaboration with state attorneys general was the focus of Director Cordray’s remarks today to the National Association of Attorneys General.  Director Cordray discussed the role of such collaboration in various CFPB enforcement actions, including its actions against Payday Loan Debt Solutions and CashCall.  He also commented that in addition to cases that…