On June 28, 2024, the Supreme Court decided Loper Bright Enterprises v. Raimondo, overturning its own 40-year-old Chevron v. Natural Resources Defense Council decision. In Chevron, the Supreme Court articulated the so-called...more
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau ended a more than decadelong hiatus since the last formal guidance regarding Section 8 of the Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act on Feb. 7 by issuing its advisory opinion aimed at...more
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) ended a more than decade-long hiatus since the last formal guidance regarding Section 8 of the Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act (RESPA) on February 7, 2023, by issuing its...more
2/10/2023
/ Advisory Opinions ,
Anti-Kickback Statute ,
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) ,
Enforcement ,
Mortgages ,
Online Marketplace Lending ,
Pay-To-Play ,
Real Estate Market ,
RESPA ,
Section 8 ,
Urban Planning & Development ,
Websites
In Kallai v. Jatola Homes, a recent decision under Section 8 of the Real Estate Settlement Services Procedure Act (RESPA), a federal district court judge in Ohio ruled that class plaintiffs’ RESPA allegations were sufficient...more
On March 13, the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals rejected plaintiffs’ claim in a class action under Section 8 of the Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act (RESPA), which imposes a broad prohibition against referral fees or...more
Following Borders & Borders PLC’s (Borders) successful summary judgment motion last summer, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB or Bureau) filed a motion for reconsideration with the federal district court in...more
As anyone who is associated with the residential real estate settlement services industry can appreciate, resolution of the PHH case by the full bench of the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals has brought much-needed clarity and...more
3/9/2018
/ Constitutional Challenges ,
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) ,
Dodd-Frank ,
Enforcement ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Financial Services Industry ,
PHH Corp. v CFPB ,
Regulatory Oversight ,
RESPA ,
Section 8 ,
Strategic Planning ,
Trump Administration ,
UDAAP
On January 22, 2018, the United States Supreme Court, quietly and without commentary, declined to review the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals’ recent decision in the storied Spokeo, Inc. v. Robins case. In 2016, the Supreme...more
2/14/2018
/ Article III ,
Denial of Certiorari ,
Denial of Rehearing ,
FACTA ,
Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Injury-in-Fact ,
RESPA ,
SCOTUS ,
Spokeo v Robins ,
Standing ,
Statutory Violations ,
Substantial Risk of Harm
On September 27, 2017, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) announced the settlement of its Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act (RESPA) enforcement action against Meridian Title Corp. (Meridian), an Indiana-based...more
It’s been over a year since the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) turned the real estate settlement services industry on its head by announcing in its first ever administrative appeal that Section 8(c) of the Real...more
On July 12, 2017, a federal district court in Kentucky issued a summary judgment ruling for the defense in the ongoing Borders & Borders case brought by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB or Bureau). In this...more
Although the RESPA issues were addressed in the briefs filed by the parties in the PHH case, at oral argument this week the parties and the en banc D.C. Circuit focused heavily on whether the president’s authority is...more
5/31/2017
/ Administrative Agencies ,
Administrative Proceedings ,
Anti-Kickback Statute ,
Constitutional Challenges ,
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) ,
Director Removal ,
PHH Corp. v CFPB ,
Removal For-Cause ,
RESPA ,
Separation of Powers ,
Statute of Limitations
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFBP) on January 31, 2017, issued consent orders settling enforcement claims that a major mortgage lender violated the Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act (RESPA) in connection with...more
The legal challenge by PHH Corp. (PHH) to a June 4, 2015, decision by the director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (Bureau) in connection with the Bureau’s enforcement proceeding against PHH has captivated the...more
10/19/2016
/ Administrative Appeals ,
Appeals ,
Article III ,
Constitutional Challenges ,
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) ,
Disgorgement ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Enforcement Guidance ,
Penalties ,
PHH Corp. v CFPB ,
Removal At-Will ,
Removal For-Cause ,
RESPA ,
Safe Harbors ,
Separation of Powers ,
Single Director ,
Standing ,
Statute of Limitations ,
UDAAP ,
Vacated
On April 12, 2016, a panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit heard oral argument in PHH Corporation’s (PHH) milestone legal battle with the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (Bureau). During the argument,...more
4/19/2016
/ Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) ,
HUD ,
Kickbacks ,
Market Rate ,
Mortgage Insurance ,
Mortgage Lenders ,
Reinsurance ,
RESPA ,
Richard Cordray ,
Section 8(a) ,
Statute of Limitations
The consumer financial services industry is wondering how the sudden passing of United States Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia will affect the pending Spokeo, Inc. v. Thomas Robins case. Spokeo is a key case dealing with...more
In the ongoing Integrity Advance enforcement action by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (“CFPB” or “Bureau”), the Office of Enforcement this month filed a brief arguing that its claims for alleged unfair, deceptive,...more
On October 8, 2015, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB or Bureau) issued a Compliance Bulletin on RESPA Compliance and Marketing Services Agreements (“MSAs”)(“Compliance Bulletin”). The Compliance Bulletin’s...more
10/20/2015
/ Affiliated-Business Arrangements ,
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Kickbacks ,
Marketing ,
Marketing Services Agreements ,
Quid Pro Quo ,
Referral Fees ,
RESPA ,
Safe Harbors
The Director of the Federal Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), Richard Cordray, issued a decision yesterday in the first appeal of a Bureau administrative enforcement action.
Cordray’s decision upholds in part,...more
6/5/2015
/ Administrative Appeals ,
Administrative Law Judge (ALJ) ,
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) ,
Disgorgement ,
Dodd-Frank ,
Enforcement Actions ,
HUD ,
Injunctive Relief ,
Kickbacks ,
Mortgage Insurance ,
Referral Fees ,
Reinsurance ,
RESPA ,
Richard Cordray ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Statute of Limitations ,
Title X
In a decision two years in the making, on Wednesday, November 27, 2013, the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals brought some clarity to the use of affiliated business arrangements (“ABAs”) under Real Estate Settlement Procedures...more