On August 28, 2015, the Maryland Attorney General announced that it reached a settlement with an Ohio-based mortgage field-services company to resolve allegations that the company wrongfully locked Maryland residents out of their homes and took or damaged personal property. The company contracts with lenders and mortgage servicers to provide services related to inspecting,…
On August 31, 2015, the owner of a now-defunct New Jersey title company pleaded guilty to charges of second-degree theft and second-degree misconduct by a corporate official for failing to make required disposition of settlement funds. The investigation was spearheaded by the New Jersey Division of Criminal Justice Financial & Computer Crimes…
Click here to check out the latest article from LenderLaw Watch – No Summer Vacation for Student Lending Companies as Enforcement Activity Continues. The article analyzes recent federal and state enforcement activity taken against student lending companies, and comments on what student lenders can expect from enforcers in the near future.
Student lending continues to remain in the crosshairs of federal and state consumer finance regulators during the summer months, with over five enforcement actions and investigations in recent weeks. As covered in both LenderLaw Watch (LLW) and Consumer Finance Enforcement Watch (CFEW), this is a small part of a larger…
On August 24, 2015, a large student loan company disclosed in a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission that it “received a letter from the CFPB notifying [it] that, in accordance with the CFPB’s discretionary Notice of Opportunity to Respond and Advise (“NORA”) process, the CFPB’s Office of Enforcement is considering recommending…
In Hart v. FCI Lender Services, Inc., the Second Circuit made it clear that servicers should pay close attention to initial communications with borrowers upon commencing loan servicing when it determined in an August 12, 2015 ruling that FCI Lender Services, Inc.’s (FCI) initial communication with a borrower was not merely…
On August 21, 2015, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency announced that it had concluded its investigation into several related national banks regarding alleged violations of the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act. The Act prohibits certain debt collection activities against members of the armed forces. Before proceeding with judicial…
On August 20, 2015, the CFPB and the New York Department of Financial Services (NYDFS) announced they had filed a lawsuit in federal court in California against two regional financial companies. According the complaint, the companies deceived consumers about the fees and interest rates associated with pension loans. The companies…
On August 19, 2015, the New York Attorney General’s Office announced an interim agreement with a subsidiary of a national banking organization over allegations that the bank charged improper fees on customer’s inactive accounts. The bank managed consumer investment accounts and charged a variety of fees for account management services….
On August 18, 2015, the Oregon Attorney General’s Office and the Oregon Department of Consumer and Business Services announced that they filed a lawsuit against a regional automobile loan company. The company advertised car title loans online. When consumers completed the online applications, the company allegedly deceived them into signing…
On August 18, 2015, the Washington State Attorney General’s Office announced the entry of summary judgment against a regional student loan processing company in a case involving alleged illegal fees charged to borrowers. The company offered student loan modification services, including income-based repayment plans, debt consolidation, and debt forgiveness. According…
On August 17, 2015, the North Dakota Attorney General’s Office announced it entered a cease and desist order against a regional consumer credit services company. According to the Attorney General, the company solicited business using illegal robocalls that promised interest rate reductions and other loan modification services. The company allegedly called…
On August 13, 2015, the Ohio Attorney General announced that it had filed a complaint against several loan modification companies that allegedly misrepresented to Ohio consumers the nature of their services. The complaint alleges that the companies violated the Ohio Consumer Sales Practices Act and the Ohio Debt Adjuster’s Act by representing…
On August 10, 2015, the American subsidiary of an automotive lending company disclosed in an SEC filing that the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) had notified the company on July 31, 2015 that it had asked the DOJ to investigate the company’s potential violations of the Equal Credit Opportunity Act. According to the filing, the CFPB’s referral…
On August 12, 2015, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) announced that it, along with the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) and the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC), had entered into several consent orders with affiliated regional banks over allegations concerning consumer bank deposits. According to the consent orders,…
On August 3, 2015, the 11th Circuit held in Ewing Industries Corp. v. Bob Wines Nursery, Inc., No. 14-13842, 2015 WL 4605234 (11th Cir. Aug. 3, 2015) that the pendency of a purported class action does not toll the limitations period for a later class action seeking to represent the same…
Last week, the Seventh Circuit reversed its prior circuit precedent regarding whether a Rule 68 offer of judgment moots a case. In Chapman v. First Index, Inc., the Seventh Circuit considered the question of mootness as well as whether the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois erred…
On August 6, 2015, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) issued an order denying a petition to modify or set aside a Civil Investigative Demand (CID) issued to an employee of a marketing company that generates and sells leads. According to the petition, the CID sought oral testimony to determine “whether…
On August 5, 2010, the American Bankers Association (ABA) announced that it had sent a letter to federal regulators and enforcement agencies, requesting that they confirm in their “interagency guidance, updated exam procedures, and where appropriate amended regulations” that the burden-shifting framework used by the Supreme Court in Texas Department of Housing and Community Affairs v….
On August 10, 2015, HUD announced that it had reached settlement agreements with two regional mortgage companies over allegations that the companies failed to comply with HUD’s Fair Housing Act regulations. Both companies obtained approval from HUD to originate FHA-insured mortgage loans. According to HUD, one of the companies charged illegal…