On July 29, the attorney general (AG) for Washington, D.C. sued StubHub, Inc. (StubHub) for violations of the district’s Consumer Protection Procedures Act. The complaint accuses StubHub of employing “dark patterns,”...more
Last week, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and the State of Arizona announced a joint action against Coulter Motor Company, an Arizona-based motor vehicle dealership, and its former general manager, for allegedly engaging...more
8/19/2024
/ Automotive Industry ,
Automotive Loans ,
Car Dealerships ,
CARS Rule ,
Consumer Fraud ,
ECOA ,
Fair Lending ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Financial Services Industry ,
FTC Act ,
Motor Vehicles ,
Race Discrimination ,
State Attorneys General ,
Unfair or Deceptive Trade Practices
In an unusual move, attorneys general (AG) from 30 states and the District of Columbia filed a bipartisan amicus brief in the Ninth Circuit supporting efforts to revive a proposed class action against payment processor...more
7/25/2024
/ Amicus Briefs ,
Class Action ,
Data Collection ,
Data Privacy ,
Data Protection ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Internet Retailers ,
Payment Processors ,
Personal Jurisdiction ,
Personally Identifiable Information ,
Shopify ,
State Attorneys General ,
Unfair Competition Law (UCL)
In 2024, the landscape of state attorneys general (AGs) is poised for significant change, with numerous elections and regulatory actions reshaping priorities and enforcement strategies. This dynamic environment reflects the...more
7/23/2024
/ Advertising ,
Algorithms ,
Artificial Intelligence ,
California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) ,
Data Privacy ,
Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) ,
Energy Policy ,
Environmental Policies ,
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Healthcare ,
Machine Learning ,
Marketing ,
Personal Data ,
Pharmaceutical Industry ,
Proposed Rules ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Regulatory Authority ,
Social Media ,
State Attorneys General ,
State Privacy Laws
On June 6, New York Attorney General (AG) Letitia James filed suit against NovaTech Advisors, LLC, AWS Mining Pty Ltd., and several other entities, alleging the defendants orchestrated two consecutive, fraudulent...more
California Attorney General (AG) Rob Bonta, along with a coalition of AGs, has submitted a letter to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) regarding a proposed final rule. This rule aims to establish a registry of...more
A new Connecticut law expands the authority of the state’s attorney general to enforce certain provisions of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act (the Act)....more
The U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) recently announced an Airline Passenger Protection Partnership with state attorneys general (AGs), marking a significant expansion of AGs’ regulatory reach. This partnership, formed...more
4/29/2024
/ Airlines ,
Consumer Complaint Management ,
Consumer Complaint System ,
Department of Transportation (DOT) ,
Final Rules ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Memorandum of Understanding ,
Preemption ,
Regulatory Authority ,
State and Local Government ,
State Attorneys General
New York Attorney General (AG) Letitia James filed a lawsuit on March 5 against Yellowstone Capital, its founder David Glass, and a network of 30 other affiliated companies and individuals. James alleges that Yellowstone...more
3/15/2024
/ Consumer Financial Products ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Financial Fraud ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Loans ,
Merchant Cash Advance (MCA) ,
New York ,
Predatory Lending ,
Restitution ,
Settlement ,
Small Business Loans ,
State and Local Government ,
State Attorneys General ,
Unfair or Deceptive Trade Practices
On February 8, New York attorney general (AG) Letisha James announced a $77 million judgment with three merchant cash advance (MCA) companies, Richmond Capital Group, Ram Capital Funding, and Viceroy Capital Funding, and...more
In the absence of comprehensive federal action, states and regulators are enacting legislation and issuing guidance requiring climate-related disclosures, stepping in to fill the void left by the U.S. Securities Exchange...more
1/30/2024
/ Climate Change ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Environmental Social & Governance (ESG) ,
Final Rules ,
Financial Institutions ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Greenhouse Gas Emissions ,
NYDFS ,
Regulatory Requirements ,
Risk Management ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)
On January 11, Massachusetts Attorney General (AG) Andrea Joy Campbell announced a $1.8 million settlement with Nelnet, Inc. (Nelnet), one of the largest federal student loan servicers in the U.S., for allegedly sending...more
While the federal government’s campaign against hidden “junk” fees intensifies, state attorneys general (AGs) have long been contesting concealed costs as unfair or deceptive — especially in the absence of sufficient...more
12/29/2023
/ Consumer Financial Products ,
Convenience Fees ,
False Advertising ,
Financial Regulatory Reform ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Goods or Services ,
Misleading Impressions ,
Processing Fees ,
Proposed Legislation ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
State Attorneys General ,
Unfair or Deceptive Trade Practices
On November 28, Massachusetts Attorney General (AG) Campbell reached an $8.75 million settlement with Rent-A-Center (RAC), the nation’s largest rent-to-own company specializing in consumer goods leases. The settlement aimed...more
On November 20, Delaware Attorney General (AG) Kathy Jennings, along with the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) and 11 other states, announced a settlement in excess of $30 million with Prehired LLC and affiliated...more
11/30/2023
/ Chapter 11 ,
Consumer Bankruptcy ,
Consumer Financial Products ,
Consumer Financial Protection Act (CFPA) ,
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) ,
Debt Collection ,
Delaware ,
FDCPA ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Income Share Agreements ,
Regulation Z ,
Regulatory Oversight ,
Settlement ,
State Attorneys General ,
Statutory Violations ,
Stipulated Judgment ,
Student Loans ,
Truth in Lending Act (TILA) ,
Unfair or Deceptive Trade Practices
On November 3, Colorado Attorney General (AG) Phil Weiser announced that his office reached a settlement with Touchstone Partners, Inc. (Touchstone), a noted debt management company. The AG’s allegations were that Touchstone...more
11/17/2023
/ Consumer Financial Products ,
Consumer Lenders ,
Debt Collection ,
Debt Collectors ,
Debt Management Companies ,
Debtors ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Popular ,
Settlement ,
State Attorneys General
On October 17, following Washington Attorney General (AG) Bob Ferguson’s unsuccessful consumer protection action against thrift store chain, Savers Value Village Inc. (Savers), the Washington Superior Court of King County...more
On October 17, 52 state and territorial attorneys general, in addition to state money transmission regulators, entered into settlements amounting to more than $20 million with ACI Worldwide (ACI), to resolve claims involving...more
10/20/2023
/ Data Breach ,
Data Privacy ,
Data Security ,
Financial Institutions ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Insufficient Funds ,
Money Transmitter ,
Mortgages ,
Payment Processors ,
Settlement ,
State Attorneys General ,
State Regulators ,
Third Party Payments ,
Unauthorized Transactions
On September 13, Tennessee Attorney General (AG) Jonathan Skrmetti sent a letter to members of the Net Zero Financial Service Providers Alliance (NZFSPA) warning that their commitment to support “global net zero greenhouse...more
On August 21, the U.S. Supreme Court denied a request by West Virginia Attorney General (AG) Patrick Morrisey and 26 other state AGs to participate in oral arguments in Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) et al. v....more
8/30/2023
/ Amicus Briefs ,
CFPB v Community Financial Services Association of America ,
Constitutional Challenges ,
Consumer Financial Protection Act (CFPA) ,
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) ,
Dodd-Frank ,
Federal Funding ,
Federal Reserve ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Oral Argument ,
Payday Lending Rule ,
Regulatory Authority ,
Regulatory Oversight ,
SCOTUS ,
State Attorneys General
Rhode Island Attorney General Peter F. Neronha announced a total settlement of $557,815 with three car dealerships to resolve allegations that the dealerships...more
On June 13, Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) Director Rohit Chopra provided the CFPB’s semiannual report to Congress, which included concerns about predatory house-flipping practices by companies like HomeVestors....more
On June 7, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) announced a request for information (RFI) to gain additional insight into how it can optimize joint enforcement with state attorneys general (state AGs) to protect consumers from...more
On May 10, SoLo Funds, Inc. (Solo), one of the largest community lending platforms in the United States, entered into a settlement with the District of Columbia attorney general (OAG). The settlement resolves claims that the...more
6/5/2023
/ Attorney General ,
Consumer Financial Products ,
Consumer Protection Act ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Lenders ,
Loans ,
Online Marketplace Lending ,
Regulatory Oversight ,
Unfair or Deceptive Trade Practices ,
Usury
As discussed here, on December 7, 2022, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB or Bureau) made a preliminary conclusion that a New York commercial financing law was not preempted by the Truth in Lending Act (TILA)....more