Business Torts › Finance & Banking › Consumer Protection

VERONICA GUTIERREZ, ERIN WALKER, and WILLIAM SMITH v WELLS FARGO BANK N.A.

CLASS ACTION FINDINGS OF FACT AND CONCLUSIONS OF LAW AFTER BENCH TRIAL AWARDING $203 MILLION TO WELLS FARGO'S CALIFORNIA CUSTOMERS

CLASS ACTION FINDINGS OF FACT AND CONCLUSIONS OF LAW AFTER BENCH TRIAL AWARDING $203 MILLION TO WELLS FARGO'S CALIFORNIA CUSTOMERS. A California judge ordered Wells Fargo to pay California customers $203 after finding that...more

THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA vs. JPMORGAN CHASE & CO.; CHASE BANK USA, N.A; CHASE BANKCARD SERVICES, INC.

Complaint for Fraudulent and Unlawful Debt-Collection Practices against tens of thousands of Californians.

Attorney General Kamala D. Harris today filed an enforcement action against JPMorgan Chase & Co. (Chase) alleging that the bank engaged in fraudulent and unlawful debt-collection practices against tens of thousands of...more

National Consumer Law Center Re: Restoring the Wisdom of the Common Law: Applying the Historical Rule Against Contractual Penalty...

NATIONAL CONSUMER LAW CENTER (NCLS) Banks Raking In Billions In Profits From Overdraft Fees The notion behind an overdraft fee — in which a bank customer is charged a penalty for overdrafting his account — is twofold:...more

CFPB Annual Report 2013 re Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA)

CFPB Annual Report 2013 re Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA)

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (“CFPB” or “the Bureau”) submits to Congress its second annual report summarizing its activities to administer the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (“FDCPA” or “the Act”), 15 U.S.C....more

Risk Management (March 2013) - The New Rules of Consumer Protection: Six Steps for Banks to Manage Third-Party Compliance Risk

Financial services firms now routinely contract outside companies to market new services that these institutions did not develop internally, such as investment and insurance options. More than ever, third parties are...more

President Signs H.R. 4367 Eliminating the Requirement of Exterior Fee Disclosure Signage on ATM’s

On December 20, 2012, President Obama signed H.R. Bill 4367, which became effective upon his signing of the bill, and which eliminates the mandatory requirement that signage be placed on the exterior of Automated Teller...more

ASSET ACCEPTANCE. LLC vs. ALLEGED DEBTOR

COMPLAINT FOR VIOLATIONS OF THE FAIR DEBT COLLECTION PRACTICES ACT (FDCPA)

Sample FDCPA Lawsuit Unfair Debt Collection Practices Shown below is a sample lawsuit filed under the Federal Fair Debt...more

BNA Banking Report - A Practical Guide to CFPB Procedures for Investigation and Adjudication

A practical guide to CFPB investigations and adjudications. Available through Bloomberg BNA's Banking Report....more

The Art of the New War - A Guide to Handling CFPB Examinations, Investigations, and Enforcement Actions

"The Art of the New War - A Guide to Handling CFPB Examinations, Investigations, and Enforcement Actions" is practical guidance for institutions governed by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau on how to handle...more

Judge Denies S&P’s Motion to Dismiss Claims Brought By Illinois AG

On November 7, Judge Mason of the Circuit Court of Cook County, Illinois ruled that the Illinois Attorney General’s state law deceptive business and trade practice claims against Standard and Poor’s survived S&P’s motion to...more

Credit Crunch Digest -- September 2012

This issue of the Credit Crunch Digest focuses on various actions brought by the FDIC, as the receiver for failed banks, against large financial institutions for losses arising out of mortgage-backed securities sold to the...more

Manhattan U.S. Attorney Files Mortgage Fraud Lawsuit Against Wells Fargo Bank, N.A. Seeking Hundreds of Millions of Dollars in...

The following allegations are based on the Complaint filed today in Manhattan Federal court: WELLS FARGO, the largest originator of home mortgages in the United States, has been a participant in the Direct Endorsement Lender...more

Practical Guide to CFPB Investigations and Enforcement Actions

A practical narrative describing the steps involved in the CFPB investigation and adjudication process....more

New York Federal Court Certifies Class Alleging Fraudulent Collection Practices Based on Documentation Deficiencies

A recent decision by a New York federal court provides yet another example of the documentation-related challenges that creditors and debt buyers are increasingly facing in collection actions involving non-mortgage consumer...more

Brokers Compliance Group - Risk Management for Mortgage Brokers

I am pleased to announce the launch today of our new mortgage risk management support for mortgage brokers:* Brokers Compliance Group For quite some time, I have believed that mortgage brokers are an under-served...more

CFPB Exercises Enforcement Authority Against Alleged Mortgage Modification Scheme

On July 18, the CFPB filed suit against a group of California companies and individuals alleged to have orchestrated a mortgage modification scam in violation of the Consumer Financial Protection Act and Regulation O....more

Price Fixing Case on Swipe Fees Settled By Visa and Mastercard

VISA and Mastercard have agreed to a $7.2 billion settlement in a class action lawsuit brought by merchants over credit card swipe fees. Swipe fees are the fees that VISA and Mastercard charge merchants each time a customer...more

Banks Defraud Customers with Manufactured Overdraft Charges

Nobody wants to pay $35 for a cup of coffee or loaf of bread, but that’s essentially what has happened to debit card users around the nation, according to class action lawsuits against dozens of banks. In July, U.S. Bank,...more

How JPMorgan Chase Gouged its Credit Card Customers

JPMorgan Chase Bank will pay $100 million to settle claims that it jacked up interest rates on loan balances that were transferred to consumers’ credit cards after it promised them a fixed rate, according to documents just...more

Capital One Required to Pay $140 Million in Consumer Refunds

Today, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (“CFPB”) engaged in its first major enforcement action by requiring Capital One to refund 2 million consumers approximately $140 million for profits gained from deceptive...more

New Lawsuit Attacks Constitutionality and Authority of the CFPB and FSOC

The Competitive Enterprise Institute (CEI), one of the organizations that filed briefs supporting the recent challenge to the Affordable Care Act, has now brought a constitutional challenge seeking to block two major...more

Freeman, et al. v. Quicken Loans, Inc.: Supreme Court Declines To Expand Consumer Protections Beyond Congress’ Exact Words

Adhering to the exact wording of the Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act (“RESPA”), the U.S. Supreme Court held in a rare, unanimous decision that a violation of Section 8(b) of RESPA does not apply unless a...more

Freeman, et al. v. Quicken Loans, Inc.: Supreme Court Declines To Expand Consumer Protections Beyond Congress’ Exact Words

Freeman, et al. v. Quicken Loans, Inc.: Supreme Court Declines To Expand Consumer Protections Beyond Congress’ Exact Words. The Freeman decision demonstrates that administrative agencies cannot expand federal consumer...more

CFPB's Flatland Fee

Kicked in the gut by a "flat fee" proposal, the already winded mortgage industry seems to be barely able to catch its breath from the CFPB's recent lurching toward yet another vaguely expected and somewhat ill-defined...more

The SAR catches a RAT

Can a SAR catch a RAT? In its just released review of Suspicious Activity Report (SAR) trends, tips, and issues, FinCEN included a brief, but illustrative statement about how a SAR filing eventually led to an indictment...more