On January 27, 2016, the Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”) announced that it has filed a complaint against a for-profit college for allegedly violating the FTC Act by engaging in deceptive advertising. The suit was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California. The FTC has requested a permanent…
Update: The AG announced on January 26, 2016 that court granted the preliminary injunction against the company. The AG also warned that if the company continues to ignore the lawsuit, he will seek a default judgment that would effectively cancel the loans issued by the company. On January 14, the Michigan Attorney…
Scrutiny of the CFPB’s auto-lending supervision and enforcement practices was renewed last week when Republicans on the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Financial Services issued another scathing report criticizing the agency, this time focusing on its handling of the distribution of the Ally Financial auto-lending settlement funds. Concurrently with…
We have an update on Campbell-Ewald, one of the Supreme Court cases we were monitoring last fall. While, contrary to our prediction, the majority decision in Campbell-Ewald, 577 U.S. ___ (2016) appears to deal a blow to companies seeking a mechanism to settle class actions effectively by offering complete relief to…
On January 21, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) announced that it had entered into an administrative consent order with a Colorado “buy here, pay here” used car dealer related to its auto loan financing practices between January 2012 and May 2014. The consent order alleged that the auto dealer hid the total cost of…
On January 20, the New York Attorney General’s Office (Attorney General) announced that it had filed a complaint against several New York auto dealerships over allegations that the dealerships sold deceptive “after-sale” products to consumers. The lawsuit alleges that the dealerships partnered with an independent credit repair company to charge 1,426 consumers…
In December 2015, the CFPB took action against non-bank auto lender CarHop. In so doing, the CFPB continued to carry out its stated intention of expanding its regulatory oversight to large non-bank auto lenders. The CFPB ordered CarHop and its affiliated financing company, Universal Acceptance Corporation (Universal), to cease their…
On January 19, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) announced that it had reached a settlement with a national bank over allegations that the bank discriminated against mortgage loan applicants who had disabilities or received public assistance. The DOJ alleged in its simultaneously filed complaint that the bank violated the Fair Housing…
Late last year, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) revealed an ongoing nationwide enforcement initiative targeting debt collectors, called Operation Protection Collection. The initiative is the first of its kind coordinated crackdown by state and federal enforcers targeting abusive and deceptive debt collection practices. According to statements by the FTC, the…
Often overlooked by lenders and servicers, sometimes striking a deal with the Chapter 7 Trustee in bankruptcy court, is the more prudent and cost effective approach to resolving frivolous lawsuits filed by defaulting borrowers in state court. In Brumfiel v. Lewis, Chapter 7 Trustee, et al. (In re Lisa Kay…
Thomas Hefferon, chair of Goodwin Procter’s Consumer Financial Services Litigation Practice, will serve as a conference co-chair and speak on a panel regarding the CFPB’s increasing regulation of the consumer finance industry titled “Evaluating the Lessons Learned from Recent CFPB Enforcement Actions, Regulation of Arbitration Agreements in Consumer Credit Contracts,…
On January 11, the Florida Attorney General announced the filing of a consent order against two credit counseling and debt management companies and their controlling officer, resolving allegations that the defendants violated Florida’s Deceptive and Unfair Trade Practices Act by marketing and selling putative debt management and/or credit counseling services, which claim…
On January 12, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) announced that it filed administrative charges against three California home loan modification assistance companies and their employees, alleging that they targeted Hispanic homeowners by charging thousands of dollars for services that were never provided or were ineffective. HUD’s…
On January 8, 2016, the Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”) and the Attorney General for the State of Florida (“Florida AG”) announced charges against a payment processing business relating to an alleged nationwide debt relief telemarketing scam. The amended complaint was filed on December 21, 2015 in the United States District Court for the Middle District…
On January 7, 2016, the Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”) and its law enforcement partners announced four separate actions against various debt collectors. The FTC stated that the actions were part of a continuing nationwide crackdown referred to as “Operation Collection Protection,” which is designed to target debt collectors using illegal tactics. The FTC claims the debt…
On December 9, 2015, the House Financial Services Committee reported a Bill to Congress that would impact the cybersecurity compliance of financial services companies. The Bill, H.R. 2205, would set standards for development and implementation of cybersecurity protocols; require investigation and notification of breaches; and allow administrative enforcement. One of…
On January 5, 2016, the Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”) announced that two online payday lenders reached a settlement with the FTC to resolve charges that payday lenders illegally charged consumers undisclosed and inflated fees. As part of the settlement, each company agreed to a penalty of $2.2 million and combined waived $68 million in uncollected consumer…
On January 5, 2016, the Office of the Comptroller of Currency (“OCC”) announced that it had terminated consent orders against two national banks. In doing so, the OCC assessed civil money penalties against the banks relating to previous violations of the existing consent orders. The OCC announced that it was terminating…
David Permut, a partner in Goodwin Procter’s Consumer Financial Services Litigation Practice will speak on the panel ” Focus on Class Actions: New Trends in Certification Motions; the Latest on Early Resolution and Settlement Strategy; Recent CAFA and Removal Developments; and Reviewing Campbell-Ewald v. Gomez on Rule 68, Offering Relief…
Don’t miss the Goodwin Procter team (Margaret Crockett and David Permut) at the Welcome Reception on January 9, 2016 at 6:30. Other highlights of the Winter Meeting, include: a panel presentation called “RESPA Update: Lighthouse, and PHH, and MSAs, oh my!” and a CLE Program presented by the Housing Finance Subcommittee,…