On February 12, the city of Baltimore filed a lawsuit against the Trump administration and CFPB Acting Director Ross Vought, alleging that efforts to defund the agency violate the Administrative Procedure Act. The lawsuit...more
On January 22, New York Attorney General Letitia James announced a $1 billion settlement with a now defunct cash advance firm and its officers. The settlement resolves allegations that the firm and its officers repeatedly...more
On February 6, 2025, the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals struck down the FCC’s one-to-one consent rule. Applying the Supreme Court’s decision in Loper Bright Enters. v. Raimondo, 9 the Eleventh Circuit ruled that the FCC...more
2/10/2025
/ Appeals ,
Consent ,
Consumer Protection Laws ,
Enforcement Actions ,
FCC ,
Loper Bright Enterprises v Raimondo ,
Robocalling ,
SCOTUS ,
TCPA ,
Telecommunications ,
Telemarketing
On January 31, 2025, the CFPB announced President Donal Trump had appointed Scott Bessent as Acting Director of the CFPB. In a brief statement, Bessent expressed his commitment to advancing the administration’s agenda to...more
On January 24, 2025, the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals struck down an FTC rule aimed at curbing deceptive advertising and sales practices in the auto industry. The rule, which sought to prohibit certain “junk fees” and...more
2/3/2025
/ Administrative Procedure Act ,
Advertising ,
Automotive Industry ,
Compliance ,
Consumer Protection Laws ,
Enforcement Actions ,
False Advertising ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Fees ,
Final Rules ,
Rulemaking Process ,
Scams ,
Unfair or Deceptive Trade Practices
On January 13, 2025, the CFPB announced a proposed rule aimed at prohibiting companies from including in consumer agreements terms that operate to waive consumers’ legal rights, allow companies to unilaterally change key...more
On January 17, 2024, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) issued a report, consumer advisory, and filed an amicus brief addressing the risks associated with home equity contracts (HECs)—financial products often...more
1/20/2025
/ Consumer Financial Products ,
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) ,
Consumer Lenders ,
Consumer Protection Laws ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Home Equity ,
Mortgages ,
Regulation Z ,
Truth in Lending Act (TILA) ,
Unfair or Deceptive Trade Practices
On January 17, 2025, the CFPB issued a consent order against a large consumer reporting agency for failing to properly investigate consumer disputes concerning inaccurate information on consumers’ credit reports. The CFPB...more
On January 7, 2025, the CFPB announced the finalization of a rule amending Regulation V, which implements the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA), 15 U.S.C. § 1681 et seq., to prohibit the inclusion of medical bills on credit...more
On January 6, 2025, the CFPB filed a lawsuit against a non-bank manufactured home financing company for violations of the Truth in Lending Act and Regulation Z. The lawsuit alleges that the mortgage lender engaged in...more
On December 6, the CFPB issued an order establishing supervisory authority over a major tech company. While the company is already subject to CFPB’s enforcement authority, the Bureau has determined that the company meets the...more
On December 9, the CFPB entered into a consent order with a debt collection agency for alleged unlawful student loan debt collection practices against defaulted borrowers. The debt collection agency’s allegedly improper...more
On October 16, the FTC announced that it has finalized its “click to cancel” rule, that will require sellers to make it much easier for consumers to cancel subscriptions. The final rule is part of the FTC’s ongoing review of...more
On September 30, a credit repair service provider and its owner were ordered to pay $31 million in consumer redress, and a $19 million civil money penalty, when a Massachusetts federal court granted summary judgment for the...more
On September 24, California enacted a series of consumer protection laws, including three bills aimed specifically at restricting certain debt collection practices in connection with medical debt reporting, civil actions for...more
On August 12, the National Consumer Law Center (NCLC), a prominent consumer advocacy group, petitioned the CFPB to open rulemaking under the Equal Credit Opportunity Act (ECOA) to expand the definition of “credit” to include...more
8/19/2024
/ Adverse Action ,
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) ,
Consumer Protection Laws ,
Credit Reports ,
ECOA ,
Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) ,
Fair Lending ,
Landlords ,
NCLC ,
Notification Requirements ,
Rental Property ,
Residential Leases ,
Rulemaking Process
On August 8, the CFPB filed a proposed order to resolve its 2021 lawsuit (previously discussed here) against a California-based software company and its CEO for their role in helping credit repair businesses charge illegal...more
On July 29, the FTC filed a stipulated order settling claims against an online career-training company on the grounds that it engaged in deceptive advertising. In addition to injunctive relief barring the company from...more
On June 18, the CFPB settled enforcement actions against two mortgage servicers who serviced reverse mortgages on behalf of HUD, for their systemic failure to respond to consumer requests for assistance, resulting in...more
On June 14, the CFPB published a press release announcing that its 2017 Payday, Vehicle Title and Certain High-Cost Installment Loans Rule (“Payday Lending Rule”) will go into effect on or about March 30, 2025. According to...more
Florida is one of several states that has enacted “de-banking” legislation that requires financial institutions to provide consumers with fair access to financial products and services. On May 3, Governor DeSantis signed into...more
On May 31, the CFPB filed suit in federal court in the Middle District of Pennsylvania against a Pennsylvania-based student loan servicer accusing it of illegally pursuing student loan debts discharged in bankruptcy and...more
On May 16, the CFPB filed a motion for summary judgement in the U.S. District Court in the Southern District of Florida seeking a $20 million civil penalty against a California-based mortgage provider for allegedly submitting...more
On May 1, the FTC announced a settlement in federal court in the Northern District of Georgia against a payment processing company, along with its former CEO and senior vice president, for the company’s role in handling...more
On April 25, the FTC took action against a Washington-based bill payment company and its two co-founders alleging that the company used misleading search ads to impersonate consumers’ billers and deceptive design practices to...more