The decision of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit in Berlin v. Renaissance Rental Partners, LLC issued on May 6 represents a win for the CFPB’s amicus program. At the court’s invitation, the CFPB filed a letter brief supporting the consumer/appellee’s position that a single-floor condominium unit in a multistory building is a “lot,” thus triggering the disclosure and reporting requirements of the Interstate Land Sales Full Disclosure Act (ISLA). The Second Circuit concluded that the CFPB’s interpretation was “reasonable and therefore warrants deference.”
ILSA is a consumer protection statute governing the sale or lease of undeveloped lots in large developments. ILSA protects consumers by requiring developers to register their plans with the CFPB (previously HUD) and to provide specific disclosures to consumers. Under Dodd-Frank, rulemaking and other authority relating to ILSA transferred from HUD to the CFPB in 2011.
The Berlin decision is one of the topics that will be discussed in a webinar–”The CFPB and the Interstate Land Sales Full Disclosure Act: What’s New?”–to be conducted by Ballard Spahr attorneys on May 21, 2013. More information on the webinar is available here.
