For the past year, the industry’s attention has been focused on the Debt Collection Rule (the “Rule”), its changes, and the new expectations it will place on debt collectors; but as the rubber meets the road, collection...more
With the CFPB having decided to leave the effective date of the Debt Collection Rule as November 30th, the push is on for debt collectors to ensure their compliance with the Rule by that date. As debt collectors make the...more
Last month, the entire ARM industry was caught by surprise when the Eleventh Circuit held that a debt collector’s transmittal of information to a third-party letter vendor violated Section 1692c(b) of the FDCPA. Hunstein v....more
On April 1, 2021, the United States Supreme Court unanimously held that in order to qualify as an automated telephone dialing system under the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (the “TCPA”), a device must have the capacity...more
The FDCPA provides a bona fide error defense for debt collectors who can show by a preponderance of the evidence that their violation was not intentional and resulted from a bona fide error notwithstanding the maintenance of...more
On April 6th, the CFPB announced its proposal to postpone the effective date of the Debt Collection Rule. Originally scheduled to take effect November 30, 2021, the CFPB now proposes that the Rule become effective on January...more
Section 1692a(3) defines a consumer as any natural person obligated or allegedly obligated to pay a consumer debt. The final debt collection rule interprets the definition of a consumer to include deceased natural...more
While it remains to be seen what, if any, changes a change in leadership in the CFPB will bring to the Debt Collection Rule, for now collection agencies should begin readying themselves for a November 30th effective date. Now...more
On December 18, 2020, the CFPB published the remainder of its Final Debt Collection Rule (the “Rule”) highlighting its crown jewel - the provisions centering around debt validation notices. While the bulk of Part 2...more
The Sixth Circuit recently weighed in on whether there is a “benign language” exception to Section 1692f(8) of the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (the “FDCPA”). In Donovan v. FirstCredit, Inc., No. 20-3485, 2020 U.S....more
On October 30, 2020, the CFPB published its long awaited Final Debt Collection Rule (the “Rule”) which is intended to interpret the federal Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (the “FDCPA”) and clarify how new communication...more
The North Carolina Department of Insurance has extended its previous order which activated the payment deferral provisions of N.C.Gen. Stat. 58-2-46. The Order would have expired April 26th and has been extended an additional...more
On March 30th, Commissioner Mike Causey amended his March 27th Order regarding COVID-19 to provide for thirty days rather than sixty days. The Order will now expire April 26th. A copy of the Amended Order can be found here....more
In response to the rapidly developing COVID-19 pandemic, North Carolina Governor Roy Cooper issued an order on March 27, 2020 requiring all people in the state to stay in their homes “except as permitted in” the order. In a...more
The House has passed a bipartisan bill that amends the FDCPA to provide additional protections to servicemembers. The bill, H.R. 5003, amends 15 U.S.C. §§1692c and f to add provisions regarding communications to...more
A recent opinion issued by the Sixth Circuit should prove helpful to attorneys facing unsettled issues of state law. As drolly described by the Court, “[a] lawyer sued two lawyers, and each side hired more lawyers. Five years...more
The CFPB has issued its semi-annual report to Congress. The Report, which covers April through September of 2019, is mandated by Dodd-Frank and was released in conjunction with Director Kraninger’s testimony to the House...more
2/10/2020
/ Annual Reports ,
Consumer Complaint System ,
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) ,
Credit Reporting Agencies ,
Credit Scores ,
Debt Collection ,
Debt Collectors ,
Dodd-Frank ,
Financial Services Committee ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Proposed Rules ,
Rulemaking Process
The CFPB has issued a Statement of Policy which seeks to “convey and foster greater certainty above the meaning of abusiveness” and provide a framework for its exercise of supervisory and enforcement authority as to abusive...more
1/31/2020
/ Abusive Acts ,
Consumer Financial Products ,
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) ,
Covered Entities ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Enforcement Authority ,
Enforcement Guidance ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Good Faith ,
Policy Statement ,
Remedies ,
Restitution ,
Safe Harbors ,
Unfair or Deceptive Trade Practices
The CFPB’s 2020 Rulemaking Agenda provides a preview of the Bureau’s intended rulemaking activities for 2020. Here are the highlights of what we can look forward to in 2020:
Business Lending Data (Pre-rule Stage): Under...more
1/7/2020
/ Consumer Financial Products ,
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) ,
Debt Collection ,
Final Rules ,
Financial Services Industry ,
HMDA ,
Mortgages ,
NPRM ,
Payday Lending Rule ,
Proposed Rules ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Rulemaking Process ,
Small Business
In a recent appeal directly to the Fifth Circuit from a Southern District of Texas Bankruptcy Court, the court affirmed the bankruptcy court’s denial of a motion to compel arbitration. In Henry v. Educational Financial...more
11/22/2019
/ Adversary Proceedings ,
Appeals ,
Arbitration ,
Bankruptcy Code ,
Bankruptcy Court ,
Chapter 13 ,
Conflicts of Laws ,
Congressional Intent ,
Creditors ,
Debtors ,
Dischargeable Debts ,
Epic Systems Corp v Lewis ,
Federal Arbitration Act ,
Injunctions ,
Interlocutory Appeals ,
Motion to Compel ,
Reaffirmation ,
SCOTUS
On November 14, 2019, the House Committee on Financial Services passed the following bills which would amend the federal Fair Debt Collection Practices Act and tighten consumer protections. The bills will now make their way...more
The Eleventh Circuit recently affirmed a Florida bankruptcy court’s denial of plaintiff’s motion for sanctions. In doing so, the Court rejected the consumer’s attempt to import the FDCPA’s “least sophisticated consumer”...more
The Third Circuit recently doubled-down on its decision in Douglass v. Convergent Outsourcing, 765 F.3d 299 (3rd Cir. 2014). In Douglass, the Third Circuit held that displaying an internal collection agency reference number...more
A First Circuit Bankruptcy Appellate Panel (the “Panel”) recently held that a mortgage company’s communications did not violate the discharge injunction when viewed under an objective standard and considering the facts and...more
8/28/2019
/ Bankruptcy Code ,
Bankruptcy Court ,
Cease and Desist ,
Chapter 7 ,
Communication Restrictions ,
Consumer Bankruptcy ,
Debt Collection ,
Debtors ,
Foreclosure ,
Loss Mitigation ,
Mortgage Lenders ,
Right To Cure ,
Short Sales
More than five years after it issued its Advanced Notice of Proposed Rulemaking, the CFPB appears poised to issue its proposed debt collection rules. The first hint that this was imminent came in the fall of 2018 when the...more
4/24/2019
/ Advanced Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (ANPRM) ,
Consumer Financial Products ,
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) ,
Consumer Lenders ,
Debt Collection ,
Debt Collectors ,
Dispute Resolution ,
Electronic Communications ,
FDCPA ,
SBREFA ,
Third-Party