On June 28, 2024, the Supreme Court decided Loper Bright Enterprises v. Raimondo, overturning its own 40-year-old Chevron v. Natural Resources Defense Council decision. In Chevron, the Supreme Court articulated the so-called...more
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau ended a more than decadelong hiatus since the last formal guidance regarding Section 8 of the Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act on Feb. 7 by issuing its advisory opinion aimed at...more
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) ended a more than decade-long hiatus since the last formal guidance regarding Section 8 of the Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act (RESPA) on February 7, 2023, by issuing its...more
2/10/2023
/ Advisory Opinions ,
Anti-Kickback Statute ,
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) ,
Enforcement ,
Mortgages ,
Online Marketplace Lending ,
Pay-To-Play ,
Real Estate Market ,
RESPA ,
Section 8 ,
Urban Planning & Development ,
Websites
In Kallai v. Jatola Homes, a recent decision under Section 8 of the Real Estate Settlement Services Procedure Act (RESPA), a federal district court judge in Ohio ruled that class plaintiffs’ RESPA allegations were sufficient...more
In a putative class action against Amazon, Nicosia v. Amazon.com, Inc., the Second Circuit recently issued a ruling (“Nicosia II”) sending the named plaintiff’s claims to arbitration based on an arbitration clause contained...more
On March 13, the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals rejected plaintiffs’ claim in a class action under Section 8 of the Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act (RESPA), which imposes a broad prohibition against referral fees or...more
Real estate businesses should be aware that they may be the target of new class action lawsuits under the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (“TCPA”), which has the potential for significant liability exposure. Businesses in...more
On March 20, 2019, in Frank v. Gaos, 586 U.S. ___ (2019), the United States Supreme Court sidestepped a novel question regarding a cy pres class action settlement, instead remanding the case back to the lower courts with...more
4/22/2019
/ Amicus Briefs ,
Article III ,
Class Action ,
Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) ,
Frank v Gaos ,
Injury-in-Fact ,
Remand ,
SCOTUS ,
Spokeo ,
Spokeo v Robins ,
Standing ,
Statutory Damages
Circuit courts of appeal are solidifying the reach of the Supreme Court’s June 2018 decision in China Agritech v. Resh and curtailing the availability of equitable tolling in class contexts. The Supreme Court’s decision in...more
3/22/2019
/ American Pipe & Construction Co. v. Utah ,
Appeals ,
Ascertainable Class ,
China Agritech Inc v Resh ,
Class Action ,
Class Certification ,
Class Representatives ,
Equitable Tolling ,
Rule 11 ,
Sanctions ,
Statute of Limitations ,
Tolling
As the saying goes: “Everything in moderation— especially communications from defendant employers to putative members of a class action suit.”
While this might not be exactly how the saying goes, a trial court in...more
This week, in the closely watched case of China Agritech v. Resh, the U.S. Supreme Court issued an important class action ruling, holding that the tolling principles announced in its earlier American Pipe decision do not...more
6/14/2018
/ Appeals ,
China Agritech Inc v Resh ,
Class Action ,
Class Certification ,
Class Members ,
Equitable Tolling ,
FRCP 23 ,
Putative Class Actions ,
Reversal ,
SCOTUS ,
Securities Fraud ,
Statute of Limitations ,
Subsequent Litigation
As we previewed last week, the Supreme Court is considering whether the filing of a class action tolls the statute of limitations for absent class members so that they can pursue a separate class action if the initial action...more
Parties have long argued over whether the filing of a class action tolls the statute of limitations for absent class members so that they can pursue a separate class action if the initial action fails to be certified for any...more
3/30/2018
/ American Pipe & Construction Co. v. Utah ,
China Agritech Inc v Resh ,
Class Action ,
Class Certification ,
Corporate Counsel ,
FRCP 23 ,
FRCP 23(b)(3) ,
Notice Requirements ,
Pleading Standards ,
PLSRA ,
Putative Class Actions ,
Rules Enabling Act ,
SCOTUS ,
Shady Grove ,
Spokeo v Robins ,
Statute of Limitations ,
Tolling
Following Borders & Borders PLC’s (Borders) successful summary judgment motion last summer, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB or Bureau) filed a motion for reconsideration with the federal district court in...more
As anyone who is associated with the residential real estate settlement services industry can appreciate, resolution of the PHH case by the full bench of the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals has brought much-needed clarity and...more
3/9/2018
/ Constitutional Challenges ,
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) ,
Dodd-Frank ,
Enforcement ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Financial Services Industry ,
PHH Corp. v CFPB ,
Regulatory Oversight ,
RESPA ,
Section 8 ,
Strategic Planning ,
Trump Administration ,
UDAAP
On January 22, 2018, the United States Supreme Court, quietly and without commentary, declined to review the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals’ recent decision in the storied Spokeo, Inc. v. Robins case. In 2016, the Supreme...more
2/14/2018
/ Article III ,
Denial of Certiorari ,
Denial of Rehearing ,
FACTA ,
Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Injury-in-Fact ,
RESPA ,
SCOTUS ,
Spokeo v Robins ,
Standing ,
Statutory Violations ,
Substantial Risk of Harm
A recent settlement of deceptive practice allegations against Peoples Bank of Lawrence, Kansas, (Peoples) by the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System (Board of Governors) serves as a reminder that unfair or...more
On September 29, 2017, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, the Texas Association of Business, and various other national and Texas statewide business organizations and trade groups (together, Plaintiffs) filed a federal lawsuit in...more
On September 27, 2017, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) announced the settlement of its Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act (RESPA) enforcement action against Meridian Title Corp. (Meridian), an Indiana-based...more
It’s been over a year since the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) turned the real estate settlement services industry on its head by announcing in its first ever administrative appeal that Section 8(c) of the Real...more
On July 12, 2017, a federal district court in Kentucky issued a summary judgment ruling for the defense in the ongoing Borders & Borders case brought by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB or Bureau). In this...more
On July 10, 2017, in a surprise move, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB or Bureau) issued its long awaited final rule on arbitration (Final Arbitration Rule). This rule-making has been a lightning rod issue for...more
7/15/2017
/ Arbitration Agreements ,
Class Action Arbitration Waivers ,
Congressional Committees ,
Congressional Review Act ,
Consumer Credit Protection ,
Consumer Financial Contracts ,
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) ,
Debt Collectors ,
Debt Settlement Services ,
Final Rules ,
Mortgage Lenders ,
Mortgage Servicers ,
Obama Administration ,
Real Estate Professionals ,
Richard Cordray ,
Third-Party Service Provider ,
Trump Administration
Although the RESPA issues were addressed in the briefs filed by the parties in the PHH case, at oral argument this week the parties and the en banc D.C. Circuit focused heavily on whether the president’s authority is...more
5/31/2017
/ Administrative Agencies ,
Administrative Proceedings ,
Anti-Kickback Statute ,
Constitutional Challenges ,
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) ,
Director Removal ,
PHH Corp. v CFPB ,
Removal For-Cause ,
RESPA ,
Separation of Powers ,
Statute of Limitations
On April 26, 2017, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (“CFPB”) broke new ground by imposing a fine – in excess of a million dollars – against a consumer financial services company for allegedly violating the terms of...more
5/15/2017
/ Consent Order ,
Consumer Financial Products ,
Consumer Financial Protection Act (CFPA) ,
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) ,
Debt Collection ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Penalties ,
Settlement Agreements ,
Settlement Violations ,
Unfair or Deceptive Trade Practices
Businesses across the country regularly bemoan the time and expense of litigation. Even when businesses are successful in defending non-meritorious consumer claims alleging unfair or deceptive practices, false advertising,...more
5/12/2017
/ Arbitration ,
Arbitration Agreements ,
Class Action Arbitration Waivers ,
CLRA ,
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) ,
Federal Arbitration Act ,
Injunctive Relief ,
PHH Corp. v CFPB ,
Statutory Damages ,
Statutory Rights ,
Unconscionable Contracts ,
Unfair Competition