Archive for February, 2018

Northern District of Illinois Decertifies TCPA Class Action

On February 13, 2018, the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois decertified a Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) text-message class in light of new evidence of consent obtained during the class-member identification process.  Johnson v. Yahoo! Inc., No. 1:14-cv-02028 (N.D. Ill. Feb. 13, 2018), is instructive for TCPA defendants…

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Goodwin Releases Annual Review of Key Developments Within the Consumer Financial Services Industry

Goodwin announces the release of its third annual Consumer Finance Year in Review, an in-depth report that analyzes the principal litigation, enforcement actions and regulations that have impacted the consumer finance industry over the prior year. This report synthesizes Goodwin’s consumer finance coverage from 2017 and offers predictions and insights…

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Goodwin Releases Annual Review of Key Developments Within the Consumer Financial Services Industry

Goodwin announces the release of its third annual Consumer Finance Year in Review, an in-depth report that analyzes the principal litigation, enforcement actions and regulations that have impacted the consumer finance industry over the prior year. This report synthesizes Goodwin’s consumer finance coverage from 2017 and offers predictions and insights…

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FTC Accuses Student Loan Debt Relief Operation of Deceiving Consumers

Piggy Bank with a Graduation Cap

​On February 7, 2018, the Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”) announced an enforcement action against a student loan debt relief operation, claiming it deceived consumers out of $28 million by falsely promising that their monthly payments would go towards their student loans. In the complaint, filed in the U.S. District Court for the Northern…

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Virginia Attorney General Announces Settlement with Online Lender, Resulting in $2.7 Million in Relief to Virginia Consumers

​On February 7, 2018, Virginia Attorney General Mark R. Herring (Virginia AG) announced a settlement with a Virginia based online lender for alleged violations of the Virginia Consumer Protection Act. The lender allegedly offered closed-end, installment loans online and falsely claimed it was licensed in Virginia to do so.  According to the…

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Changes to the CFPB’s Approach to the Payday Lending Industry

The Trump Administration-appointed Acting Director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (“CFPB”), Mick Mulvaney, recently stated in a memo to his staff that under his leadership, the CFPB would significantly change in its approach to regulation and enforcement.  The most concrete example of this thus far is his approach to the payday lending…

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D.C. Circuit Issues Long-awaited Decision in PHH Corp. v. CFPB, Reinstating the Panel's RESPA Holdings

On January 31, 2018, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit (D.C. Circuit), sitting en banc, issued its long-awaited decision in PHH Corp. v. CFPB, holding that the provision of the Dodd-Frank Act shielding the single director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) from removal without cause…

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CFPB Solicits Comments on CID Process

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) has solicited comments to assist it to revise its current Civil Investigative Demand (CID) process.  The “Request for Information Regarding Bureau Civil Investigative Demands and Associated Processes” was published in the Federal Register on January 26, 2018. The CFPB’s power to issue CIDs is derived from…

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DOJ Investigates FHA Loans Issued by Florida-Based Mortgage Subsidiary

On January 25, 2018, a Florida-based homebuilder filed its Form 10-K annual report with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), disclosing that its “mortgage subsidiary has been subpoenaed by the United States Department of Justice (DOJ) regarding the adequacy of certain underwriting and quality control processes related to Federal Housing Administration (FHA)…

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