Join us for an enlightening episode of The Consumer Finance Podcast, where we dissect the intricate world of debt collection, reflecting on the past year and forecasting future trends. This episode, hosted by Chris Willis,...more
We are pleased to share our annual review of regulatory and legal developments in the consumer financial services industry. With active federal and state legislatures, consumer financial services providers faced a challenging...more
2/1/2024
/ Automotive Loans ,
Banks ,
Class Action ,
Consumer Bankruptcy ,
Consumer Financial Products ,
Debt Collection ,
Digital Assets ,
Fair Lending ,
Financial Services Industry ,
FinTech ,
Mortgages ,
Student Loans ,
Tribal Loans ,
Uniform Commercial Code (UCC)
The debt purchaser in In re McIntosh argued that because it was enforcing a debt that was not listed correctly on the debtor’s bankruptcy schedules, it was entitled to assume the debt had not been discharged. The U.S....more
1/30/2024
/ Bankruptcy Code ,
Bankruptcy Court ,
Chapter 7 ,
Credit Cards ,
Creditors ,
Debt ,
Debt Buyers ,
Debt Collection ,
debt-buy ,
Debtors ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Florida ,
Motion for Sanctions ,
PACER
Last week, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB or Bureau) issued a proposed rule with request for public comment to prohibit covered financial institutions from charging nonsufficient funds fees (NSF) for payment...more
1/29/2024
/ Consumer Financial Products ,
Consumer Financial Protection Act (CFPA) ,
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) ,
Financial Institutions ,
Financial Regulatory Reform ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Insufficient Funds ,
Overdraft Fees ,
Popular ,
Proposed Rules ,
Regulation Z ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Rulemaking Process ,
Truth in Lending Act (TILA)
On January 2, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) filed an amicus curiae brief urging the U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit to reverse a district court’s decision finding that a debt collector lacked the...more
1/23/2024
/ Amicus Briefs ,
Automatic Stay ,
Bankruptcy Code ,
Consumer Financial Products ,
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) ,
Creditors ,
Debt ,
Debt Collection ,
Debt Collectors ,
FDCPA ,
Financial Regulatory Reform ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Scienter ,
Statutory Violations
Recently the U.S. Supreme Court granted the petition for certiorari in Smith v. Spizzirri, which presents the question of whether § 3 of the Federal Arbitration Act (FAA) requires district courts to issue a stay pending...more
Information furnishers, beware. A potential rule under consideration by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is explicitly aimed at opening a new era of Fair Credit Reporting Act class actions against companies that...more
In a change of course, the Utah court of appeals has reversed the dismissal of a plaintiffs’ suit against a debt collector based on its alleged failure to register as a collection agency prior to filing collection suits....more
On December 8, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) and Federal Trade Commission (FTC) (collectively, the agencies) filed an amici curiae brief urging the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit to reverse a...more
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB or Bureau) released its 14th annual report to Congress in fulfillment of its requirements under the Credit Card Accountability Responsibility and Disclosure (CARD) Act. For the...more
12/21/2023
/ CARD Act ,
Colleges ,
Consumer Financial Contracts ,
Consumer Financial Products ,
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) ,
Consumer Lenders ,
Credit Cards ,
Educational Institutions ,
Financial Institutions ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Late Fees ,
New Regulations ,
Students ,
Universities
On December 15, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) announced it had reached a settlement with medical debt collector Commonwealth Financial Systems, Inc. (Commonwealth) in its lawsuit over alleged illegal debt...more
12/19/2023
/ Consent Order ,
Consumer Financial Products ,
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) ,
Debt ,
Debt Collection ,
Debt Collectors ,
FDCPA ,
Financial Institutions ,
Financial Regulatory Reform ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Medical Debt ,
Settlement
On November 22, the Third Circuit Court of Appeals issued a decision finding that the plaintiff lacked Article III standing in a putative class action brought under the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA)....more
On November 16, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB or Bureau) released its Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA) Annual Report detailing the CFPB’s 2022 activities related to debt collection practices. This...more
11/21/2023
/ Consumer Financial Products ,
Consumer Financial Protection Act (CFPA) ,
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) ,
Credit Reporting Agencies ,
Debt ,
Debt Collection ,
Debt Collectors ,
FDCPA ,
Financial Institutions ,
Financial Regulatory Reform ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Medical Debt
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit issued a summary order affirming a district court’s holding that an emailed response to the plaintiff’s email did not constitute an “initial communication” under the Fair Debt...more
Earlier this year, a district court for the Middle District of Florida upheld a jury award of $225,000 in punitive damages in a debt collection case finding the defendant’s conduct “reprehensible” based on the physical harm...more
11/9/2023
/ Bankruptcy Code ,
Chapter 7 ,
Consumer Financial Products ,
Creditors ,
Debt Buyers ,
Debt Collection ,
Debtors ,
Dischargeable Debts ,
Dish Network ,
Emotional Distress Damages ,
FCCPA ,
Financial Institutions ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Jury Awards ,
Punitive Damages ,
Unsecured Debt
On October 30, President Biden issued a sweeping Executive Order calling on Congress to enact privacy laws and directing federal agencies to review existing rules and potentially explore new rulemakings governing the use of...more
11/2/2023
/ Algorithms ,
Artificial Intelligence ,
Bias ,
Biden Administration ,
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) ,
Cybersecurity ,
Data Protection ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Discrimination ,
Executive Orders ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Machine Learning ,
Popular ,
Risk Assessment ,
Rulemaking Process
A U.S. District Court in the Western District of Wisconsin recently denied both the defendant and plaintiff’s summary judgment motions in a Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) case, holding that the reasonableness of the...more
10/27/2023
/ Consumer Reporting Agencies ,
Cross Motions ,
Debt Collection ,
Debt Collectors ,
Debtors ,
Dispute Resolution ,
Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) ,
Financial Institutions ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Identity Theft ,
Reasonableness Factors ,
Summary Judgment
On October 19, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) issued its highly anticipated notice of proposed rulemaking under Section 1033 of the Consumer Financial Protection Act of 2010 (CFPA). The proposed Personal...more
10/26/2023
/ Comment Period ,
Consumer Financial Products ,
Consumer Financial Protection Act (CFPA) ,
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) ,
Data Privacy ,
Financial Institutions ,
Financial Regulatory Reform ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NOPR) ,
Open Banking ,
Personal Data ,
Proposed Rules ,
Regulation E ,
Regulation Z
New York City’s Department of Consumer and Worker Protection (NYC DCWP) recently released a notice of proposed amendments to its debt collection rules. The proposed amendments are detailed, lengthy, and include expanded...more
10/25/2023
/ City of New York ,
Consumer Reporting Agencies ,
Debt Collection ,
Debt Collectors ,
Electronic Communications ,
Financial Assistance Policies ,
Financial Regulatory Reform ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Medical Debt ,
Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NOPR) ,
Proposed Amendments ,
Recordkeeping Requirements ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Reporting Requirements ,
Time-Barred Debt
On October 12, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit issued a decision rejecting a district court’s finding that the so-called informational injury doctrine established Article III standing for the named plaintiff...more
Recently, the New Jersey appellate division held that a debt purchaser is not liable under the New Jersey Consumer Fraud Act (NJ Fraud Act) for failing to obtain a license under the New Jersey Consumer Finance Licensing Act...more
10/18/2023
/ Class Action ,
Consumer Fraud ,
Credit Cards ,
Debt Buyers ,
Debt Collection ,
Debt Collectors ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Midland Funding ,
New Jersey ,
Payment Plans ,
Private Right of Action ,
State Licenses ,
Summary Judgment
On October 12, in its monthly bulletin the California Department of Financial Protection and Innovation (CA DFPI) announced that final regulations to implement the Student Loan Servicing Act and the Student Loans Borrower...more
On October 11, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB or Bureau) published a special edition of its Supervisory Highlights report. This report serves as a “victory lap” for the Bureau, which highlights the relief it...more
10/13/2023
/ Biden Administration ,
Consumer Financial Products ,
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Financial Institutions ,
Financial Regulatory Reform ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Financial Transactions ,
Hidden Fees ,
Insufficient Funds ,
Overdraft Fees ,
Popular ,
Proposed Rules ,
Supervisory Highlights
The Third Circuit Court of Appeals overruled a district court’s reading of an exception into §1681s-2(b) of the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) that would allow a furnisher discretion to refuse to investigate an indirect...more
On October 3, the U.S. Supreme Court heard arguments in Community Financial Services Association of America, Limited (CFSA) v. Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB or Bureau), a case in which the Fifth Circuit held that...more