The CFPB is holding an “embargoed press call” today at 2 p.m. ET “to announce consumer protections.” We are virtually certain that the “consumer protections” to be announced by the CFPB will be the release of its final...more
I have previously expressed serious doubt whether Director Cordray will issue a final arbitration rule. In the CFPB’s last semi-annual regulatory agenda issued last year, the CFPB stated that the arbitration rule would be...more
In an unusual turn-about, the U.S. Justice Department has reconsidered its earlier position in a set of closely watched arbitration cases that the Supreme Court will decide next term and filed an amicus brief supporting the...more
An $11.7 million judgment awarded against credit reporting company Experian in a 69,000-member class action brought under the federal Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) was vacated by the Fourth Circuit in Dreher v. Experian...more
The second presentation of the 22nd Annual Consumer Financial Services Institute, sponsored by the Practising Law Institute, will take place in Chicago on May 4-5, 2017. I am co-chairing the event, as I have for the past 21...more
4/17/2017
/ Class Action ,
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) ,
Data Security ,
Debt Collection ,
Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) ,
Fair Lending ,
Financial Institutions ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Mortgages ,
Regulatory Standards ,
TCPA
On April 7, 2017, the Rutgers Institute for Professional Education and Rutgers University Law Review will sponsor an all-day symposium entitled: “Resolving the Arbitration Dispute in Today’s Legal Landscape.” One of the four...more
The FCC's 2006 Solicited Fax Rule is unlawful to the extent that it requires opt-out notices on solicited fax advertisements, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit has held in a 2-1 ruling....more
On Monday, during “The CFPB Speaks” panel I moderated that was part of the Practicing Law Institute’s 22nd Annual Consumer Financial Services Institute in Manhattan, Diane Thompson, Deputy Assistant Director of the CFPB’s...more
Recently, Richard Cordray was interviewed by CNBC while eating breakfast at a diner in his hometown in Ohio. The interview was more noteworthy for what it failed to cover than for what it covered. He was not asked the...more
3/3/2017
/ Administrative Law Judge (ALJ) ,
Administrative Proceedings ,
Arbitration ,
Banking Sector ,
Class Action ,
Class Action Arbitration Waivers ,
Congressional Review Act ,
Constitutional Challenges ,
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) ,
PHH Corp. v CFPB ,
Removal For-Cause ,
RESPA ,
Richard Cordray ,
Single Director ,
Statute of Limitations ,
Trump Administration
After the U.S. Supreme Court's decision in Spokeo, Inc. v. Robbins last year, many defendants have perceived the assertion of a standing argument as a potential panacea when confronted with federal statutory claims in which...more
3/2/2017
/ Article III ,
Attorney's Fees ,
Class Action ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Dismissal With Prejudice ,
FACTA ,
Financial Institutions ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Injury-in-Fact ,
Motion to Remand ,
Removal ,
Spokeo v Robins ,
Standing
Phone calls made by a lawn care company after the termination of a customer's contract were beyond the scope of the parties' agreement to arbitrate any claim "arising from or relating to" their contract, the U.S. Court of...more
2/22/2017
/ Arbitration ,
ATDS ,
Auto-Dialed Calls ,
Class Action ,
Consumer Contracts ,
Contract Terms ,
Federal Arbitration Act ,
Mandatory Arbitration Clauses ,
Right to Privacy ,
Robocalling ,
TCPA
On February 9, 2017, the House Judiciary Committee by a vote of 19-12 passed the Fairness in Class Action Litigation Act of 2017, a bill that would make significant changes to the procedures for class actions in federal...more
Director Cordray has sent a letter to Senator Jeff Flake responding to a series of questions posed by the Senator on the CFPB’s proposed arbitration rule. The comment period on the proposed rule closed on August 22, 2016. ...more
2/10/2017
/ Arbitration ,
Arbitration Agreements ,
Attorney's Fees ,
Class Action ,
Class Action Arbitration Waivers ,
Congressional Review Act ,
Consumer Contracts ,
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) ,
Court Nullification ,
Dodd-Frank ,
Federal Arbitration Act ,
Richard Cordray
Adding more complexity to the issue of arbitration contract formation, the Ninth Circuit has rejected Samsung's attempt to compel individual arbitration of fraud claims asserted by plaintiffs in two class actions. Ruling in...more
1/25/2017
/ Arbitration ,
Cell Phones ,
Class Action ,
Consent ,
Contract Terms ,
Fraud ,
Mandatory Arbitration Clauses ,
Mobile Devices ,
Motion to Compel ,
Opt-Outs ,
Samsung ,
Smartphones ,
Warranties ,
Wireless Devices ,
Wireless Industry ,
Wireless Technology
The 22nd Annual Consumer Financial Services Institute, sponsored by the Practising Law Institute, will take place on March 27-28, 2017 in New York City (and by live webcast and groupcast in Atlanta; Philadelphia, Pittsburgh,...more
1/24/2017
/ Banking Sector ,
Class Action ,
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) ,
Data Privacy ,
Data Security ,
Debt Collection ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) ,
Fair Lending ,
Mortgages ,
Regulatory Oversight ,
TCPA ,
Trump Administration
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit has vacated a district court's dismissal of a data breach class action filed against Horizon Healthcare Services Inc., in the wake of the 2013 theft of two computer laptops...more
1/24/2017
/ Appeals ,
Article III ,
Class Action ,
Data Breach ,
Electronic Medical Records ,
Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) ,
Health Care Providers ,
Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) ,
Healthcare ,
HIPAA Breach ,
Injury-in-Fact ,
Laptop Computers ,
Personally Identifiable Information ,
PHI ,
Standing
The U.S. Supreme Court has agreed to decide an important issue that has deeply divided the Courts of Appeals—are arbitration provisions in employment agreements that waive an employee's right to bring or participate in class...more
1/16/2017
/ Arbitration ,
Arbitration Agreements ,
Case Consolidation ,
Certiorari ,
Class Action ,
Class Action Arbitration Waivers ,
Collective Actions ,
Employment Contract ,
Federal Arbitration Act ,
NLRA ,
SCOTUS ,
Section 7
Deepening an already-existing circuit split, the Ninth Circuit has held that class certification is appropriate even if plaintiff has not shown that identifying class members is "administratively feasible." Expressly...more
The Cause of Action Institute has filed an action against the CFPB under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) seeking information related to the CFPB’s proposed arbitration rule. In its complaint filed in D.C. federal...more
Last week, the Wall Street Journal reported that the CFPB is pushing to finalize its arbitration rule before Donald Trump’s inauguration as President on January 20. The comment period on the proposed rule closed on August...more
11/29/2016
/ Arbitration ,
Arbitration Agreements ,
Class Action ,
Class Action Arbitration Waivers ,
Congressional Review Act ,
Constitutional Challenges ,
Consumer Contracts ,
Consumer Financial Products ,
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) ,
Final Rules ,
Financial Institutions ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Payday Loans ,
PHH Corp. v CFPB ,
SBREFA ,
Service Contracts ,
Title Loans ,
Trump Administration
The FTC has announced that to study the effectiveness of various class action settlement notice programs, it has issued orders to eight claims administrators requiring them to provide information on their procedures for...more
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has announced that to study the effectiveness of various class action settlement notice programs, it has issued orders to eight claims administrators requiring them to provide information on...more
Republican Congressman Randy Neugebauer, who chairs the House Financial Services Committee’s Subcommittee on Financial Institutions and Consumer Credit, and Democratic Congressman W. Lacy Clay, the Subcommittee’s Ranking...more
9/16/2016
/ Arbitration ,
Arbitration Agreements ,
Class Action ,
Class Action Arbitration Waivers ,
Consumer Contracts ,
Consumer Financial Products ,
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) ,
Dodd-Frank ,
Financial Institutions ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Legislative Committees ,
Safe Harbors ,
Service Contracts
In an important decision underscoring the challenges faced by retailers and others in enforcing online arbitration agreements with their customers, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit has reversed a district...more
8/30/2016
/ Amazon Marketplace ,
Arbitration ,
Arbitration Agreements ,
Browsewrap Agreement ,
Class Action ,
Class Action Arbitration Waivers ,
Clickwrap Agreements ,
Corporate Counsel ,
E-Commerce ,
Internet Retailers ,
Retail Market ,
Terms and Conditions ,
Websites
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit announced this week that it agrees with the National Labor Relations Board that individual arbitration waiver agreements, which prevent employees from filing or participating in...more
8/26/2016
/ Appeals ,
Arbitration ,
Arbitration Agreements ,
Class Action ,
Class Action Arbitration Waivers ,
Collective Actions ,
Ernst & Young ,
Federal Arbitration Act ,
Mandatory Arbitration Clauses ,
NLRA ,
NLRB ,
Protected Concerted Activity ,
Section 7