The Arkansas legislature recently passed House Bill 1517, which creates an earned wage access law in the state. It will be one of the relatively few such laws in the country. One interesting question is whether the law...more
Texas has enacted a law that has the potential to place substantial impediments on sales-based financing providers, including merchant cash advance companies, seeking to operate in Texas. The new Texas law prohibits...more
On May 23, the Texas Supreme Court issued an opinion holding that in determining whether a commercial loan is usurious under Texas state law, the “actuarial method” must be employed. This requires the applicable amount of...more
On May 23, the Supreme Court of Texas ruled that the maximum permissible interest on a loan must be calculated using the declining principal balance rather than the initial total principal amount. This decision was in...more
Commercial lenders in Texas should be made aware of the Texas Supreme Court’s new decision in American Pearl Group, LLC v. National Payment Systems, LLC, No. 24-0758. In that case, the Court clarified the “actuarial method”...more
On February 13, 2025, a New York intermediate appellate court affirmed the grant of summary judgment against energy companies that defaulted on their loan obligations. In 2020 and 2021, an engineering firm specializing in...more
On March 17, 2025, the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Eastern District of Michigan denied a borrower’s motion for summary judgment, finding that a secured loan did not violate Michigan’s usury laws. In so holding, the court...more
While uncertainty continued to loom over the CFPB, the states did not take a spring break. Instead, we saw an eye-popping settlement from NY DFS involving BSA/AML claims. And both republican and democratic AGs continued to...more
New York Attorney General Letitia James has sued payday lenders MoneyLion Inc. and DailyPay Inc. in New York state court, alleging that the two companies took advantage of tens of thousands of New Yorkers....more
On April 14, the Attorney General (AG) for the State of New York filed two complaints in the New York State Supreme Court, alleging two earned wage access (EWA) providers violated civil and criminal usury provisions, as well...more
On April 14, New York Attorney General Letitia James announced two separate lawsuits against earned wage access providers—one against a company that issues advances directly to consumers, and another targeting a provider that...more
On April 7, DailyPay, LLC, an employer-integrated earned wage access (EWA) provider, filed a lawsuit against New York Attorney General Letitia James, seeking declaratory relief to prevent the enforcement of state and federal...more
Last month, the Texas legislature introduced two companion bills, S.B. No. 2677 and H.B. No. 700, to regulate sales-based commercial financing. For purposes of the proposed legislation, sales-based financing is a transaction...more
On March 11, a class action lawsuit was filed in the Philadelphia County Court of Common Pleas against a financial technology company offering cash advances up to $200 through a lending app. The lawsuit alleged the company...more
Under CPLR 3213, a plaintiff can move for summary judgment in lieu of complaint which, under the right circumstances, serves as a useful tool to avoid extensive litigation and obtain speedy relief. Recently, in JADR...more
Oregon may become the latest state attempting to stop out-of-state banks from “exporting” home-state interest rates on loans made to Oregon consumers. Like similar legislation adopted by Colorado in 2023, House Bill 2561...more
In the last few years, state legislatures have enacted legislation to curtail online bank lending in response to advocacy efforts by consumer activists. Such programs, in which nonbank financial technology companies...more
On January 22, 2025, New York Attorney General (NYAG) Letitia James announced a judgment and settlement against cash advance provider Yellowstone Capital, its officers, and two dozen affiliates (Yellowstone) for more than $1...more
On January 16, 2025, Yellowstone Capital and other entities, along with Yellowstone officers Isaac Stern and Jeffrey Reece, settled claims by New York Attorney General Letitia James that Yellowstone and the other entities...more
In the current world, where trade ties are vital in strengthening the economy of a country, it is often necessary to enter into legal contracts with various entities around the world. It is also necessary that these contracts...more
In 2019, LGH Investments, LLC loaned $100,000 to Social Life Network, Inc., a software licensing company, in exchange for a convertible note, common stock, and stock warrant for 412,500 shares at a strike price of $0.20. The...more
On Tuesday, November 26, the Minnesota Attorney General’s office (AG) announced it filed a consent order to resolve allegations that online lenders were charging interest on loans in excess of the amounts prescribed under...more
On September 20, 13 states and Washington, D.C. joined Colorado in its appeal asking the Tenth Circuit to uphold a state law imposing more restrictive interest rate caps on loans from out-of-state banks to residents, arguing...more
On May 21, the Massachusetts Attorney General (AG) released an Assurance of Discontinuance against a lender for allegedly violating the state’s Consumer Protection Act (CPA) provision on unfair and deceptive acts and...more
On May 17, 2024, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (“CFPB”) filed suit against an online lending platform, alleging, among other things, the use of dark patterns to induce consumers to pay tips and donations,...more