Consumer Protection › Civil Remedies › Administrative Law

GSEs: Ability-to-Repay and Qualified Mortgages

Yesterday, the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) announced that it is directing Fannie Mae ("Fannie") and Freddie Mac ("Freddie") to limit their future mortgage acquisitions to loans that meet the requirements for a...more

Waiting for the CFPB

My sources tell me that the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) will soon announce substantial monetary penalties and other administrative actions against a large nonbank. I guess it is inevitable that when such an...more

CFPB's Gang of Seven (Final Rules)

This has been a busy month for the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB). Since the advent of the New Year, the CFPB has issued seven Final Rules that impact residential mortgage loan originations. The finale was...more

CFPB's Final Rule: Ability-to-Repay and Qualified Mortgages

Yesterday, I provided an outline of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's (CFPB's) Regulatory Agenda for 2013. As if on cue, the CFPB has accommodated us today with the first of its forthcoming issuances. This pertains...more

Where Have All The CAFA Notices Gone?

On February 18 2005, Congress enacted the Class Action Fairness Act (CAFA), P.L. No. 109-2 (28 U.S.C. §§ 1332(d), 1453, and 1711 – 1715). In enacting the CAFA, Congress sought to protect consumers and investors from...more

A CFPB Christmas carol: first coordinated action with states

In the first action of its kind since the agency’s creation, the CFPB, Attorneys General from New Mexico, North Carolina, North Dakota, and Wisconsin, and the Hawaii Office of Consumer Protection joined forces to enjoin a...more

Important standing case before Eighth Circuit

Among the more interesting developments discussed in our webinar last week on the CFPB’s amicus program was the appeal currently pending before the Eighth Circuit in Charvat v. First National Bank of Wahoo, a case that raises...more

National Mortgage Settlement Monitor Issues Progress Report

On November 19, Joseph Smith, Jr., the Monitor of the national mortgage settlement, released a report on the consumer relief activities of the five banks that are parties to the settlement. Between March 1, 2012 and September...more

Generic Drug Law Update -- November 2012: Expanding Liability for Ineffective Product Recalls

FDA-regulated companies may face civil liability if they fail to provide adequate notice of product recalls to their customers via information gathered in company customer databases. A group of California plaintiffs sued a...more

Rogers Towers: Recent Changes to Florida’s Wage Garnishment Exemption

Since the financial crisis of 2008, the economy has been improving, albeit at a slower pace than many would like, and the stock market has seen meaningful gains. However, unemployment is still relatively high and the...more

Federal Court Ruling Validates Industry Concerns with CPSC Database

The Consumer Product Safety Commission’s (“CPSC”) product safety database suffered its first successful legal challenge in a recent ruling by a Maryland federal judge. U.S. District Judge Alexander Williams Jr.’s opinion in...more

Luu v. American Investments Real Estate Corporation

Final Order of the Virginia Board for Contractors Authorizing Payment of Claim

This is the Final Order of the Virginia Board of Contractors that rejected its own Summary which recommended denial of the claim and after hearing testimony, ultimately approved payment of the maximum statutory amount of...more

An Individualized Motor Vehicle Recall Information Database? Will OEMs and Suppliers Get the Bill?

An Overview of Proposed Amendments to Defect Notification and Early Warning Reporting Regulations Tucked away in the recently enacted 584 page "Moving Ahead for Progress in the 21st Century Act" is a small provision...more

CFPB’s First Enforcement Action Warns Financial Institutions About Liability for Third Party Activities on their Behalf; Related...

This article by Victoria Holstein-Childress discusses the CFPB’s first enforcement action, announced July 18, 2012, which together with a parallel OCC enforcement action required a major bank to pay $210 million to settle...more

In Re Electronic Privacy Information Center

Petition For A Writ of Mandamus To Enforce This Court's Mandate

EPIC Files Mandamus Petition to Compel Action on the Airport Body Scanner Program EPIC has filed a mandamus petition with the Federal Court of Appeals in Washington, DC to require the beginning of a public comment...more

EPIC Objects to Facebook Settlement, Cites Failure to Benefit Class Members (Letter two).

EPIC has asked a federal judge to reject a pending class action settlement concerning Facebook, stating that it does not actually benefit Facebook users. In one letter to the court, EPIC explained that the settlement does not...more

EPIC Objects to Facebook Settlement, Cites Failure to Benefit Class Members

EPIC has asked a federal judge to reject a pending class action settlement concerning Facebook, stating that it does not actually benefit Facebook users. In one letter to the court, EPIC explained that the settlement does not...more

Advertising News & Analysis - May 31, 2012

In this issue: - FDA Rejects “Corn Sugar” Rebranding for High - Fructose Corn Syrup - RealNetworks’ “Free Trial” Charges Result in $2.4 Million Washington AG Settlement - CFPB Launches Nonbank Supervision...more

New Michigan Nonrecourse Mortgage Act Seeks to Restore Protections for Borrowers

In a much-followed action, Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder recently signed into law the Nonrecourse Mortgage Loan Act, MCL Sec. 445.1591, et seq., which seeks to overturn two Michigan court decisions that interpreted and applied...more

Federal Reserve Tells Borrowers How to Apply For Foreclosure Review

On May 23, the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System issued a video that gave instructions to borrowers who may have been injured by improper foreclosures on how to seek relief. Both English and Spanish versions of...more

Spotlight on Auto Finance (Part 3 of 3): Expanded Coverage for Vehicle and Consumer Loans

Consumers have a larger platform to submit complaints against vehicle and consumer finance companies directly to regulators. The CFPB has set up an online database that allows the CFPB to receive consumers’ complaints against...more

Spam, spam, wonderful spam by Jessica John Bowman

Originally published in The Journal Record - May 17, 2012. At first glance, email marketing campaigns may appear to be an ideal way to market your business: A business that engages in an email marketing campaign can...more

FTC Affirms Holder in Due Course Rule

On May 10, the FTC released an advisory opinion affirming that the Holder in Due Course Rule does not limit or preclude a consumer’s right to recovery other than to restrict awards to monies paid under a contract. The opinion...more

Tenth Circuit Permits Trade Group Challenge to New Mexico Fair Credit Reporting Act

On May 7, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit published an opinion that a trade group has standing to sue the Attorney General of New Mexico over that state’s credit reporting and identify theft requirements....more

AARP Seeking Reverse Mortgage Reforms

The American Association of Retired Persons (AARP) is awaiting word on its challenges to federal rules and industry practices that are placing widows and widowers at risk of foreclosure. In March of 2011, the AARP Legal...more