We are pleased to share our annual review of regulatory and legal developments in the consumer financial services industry. With active federal and state legislatures, consumer financial services providers faced a challenging...more
Since May 2023, the U.S. Supreme Court has issued three decisions addressing or potentially impacting issues of bankruptcy law. These included rulings concerning the abrogation of sovereign immunity for Native American tribes...more
On June 15, 2023, the U.S. Supreme Court decided Lac du Flambeau Band of Lake Superior Chippewa Indians, et al. v. Coughlin. The case involved a tribal entity, “Lendgreen,” that lent an individual, Brian Coughlin, “$1,100 in...more
On June 15, 2023, Justice Jackson led the majority in an 8-1 decision holding that the Bankruptcy Code abrogates federally recognized tribes’ sovereign immunity. The decision has significant implications for tribal creditors...more
In January, the U.S. Supreme Court agreed to hear Lac du Flambeau Band of Lake Superior Chippewa Indians v. Coughlin after the First Circuit barred the Lac du Flambeau Band from seeking to collect on a $1,600 debt obligation...more
On June 15, 2023, the U.S. Supreme Court decided Lac du Flambeau Band of Lake Superior Chippewa Indians et al. v. Coughlin, No. 22-227, holding that the Bankruptcy Code unambiguously abrogates the sovereign immunity of all...more
The U.S. Supreme Court ruled on Thursday that because Indian tribes are indisputably governments, the Bankruptcy Code unmistakably abrogates their sovereign immunity to bankruptcy court proceedings....more
On January 24, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit concluded that a district court did not abuse its discretion when certifying a class action. The lawsuit alleges an individual who orchestrated an online payday...more
Arbitration provisions are common features of commercial agreements. Arbitration is often touted as a cost-effective alternative to litigation that provides contract parties the freedom to decide everything from what law the...more
The COVID-19 pandemic may have halted many aspects of daily life, but the wheels of justice at your friendly federal regulators continue to turn. In the months since the crisis, a number of enforcement actions by both the...more
The U.S. Court of Appeals, Second Circuit has ruled that an online tribal lender must comply with state interest rate and licensing laws, allowing a pair of borrowers to move forward with their suit against tribal officials....more
Where a Loan Agreement’s arbitration provision stated disputes “will be resolved by Arbitration, which shall be conducted by the Cheyenne River Sioux Tribal Nation by an authorized representative in accordance with its...more
In a span of three days, the CFPB, under Acting Director Mulvaney, significantly retreated in the payday-lending space and suffered a court defeat in its request for monetary relief with respect to a CashCall installment...more
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (“CFPB” or “Bureau”) is a U.S. government agency created by the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act. The CFPB is the first federal agency tasked solely with the...more
Despite a stronger global economic outlook than we’ve seen in years, the world’s central bankers appear loath to let go of stimulus measures while lower-than-expected inflation bedevils them....more
Earlier yesterday, at the Practicing Law Institute’s (“PLI”) 22nd Annual Consumer Financial Services Institute in New York City, Alan Kaplinsky (who is co-chairing the event) moderated a panel entitled “The CFPB Speaks,” that...more
The Ninth Circuit recently issued its opinion in CFPB v. Great Plains Lending, LLC, et al., in which three tribal-affiliated, for-profit lending companies (“Tribal Lenders”) challenged the authority of the CFPB to issue civil...more
In a state enforcement action alleging violations of California's lending law and seeking to enjoin continued lending to state residents, the California Supreme Court has ruled that the two tribally affiliated entities that...more
Financial Industry Developments - Agencies Publish Study on Banking Activities and Investments under Dodd-Frank - On September 8, 2016, the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, Federal Deposit Insurance...more
By a vote of 30-26 earlier this week, the House Financial Services Committee approved the “The Financial CHOICE Act of 2016” (H.R. 5983), the bill released in July 2016 by Committee Chairman Jeb Hensarling to replace the...more
In case you missed it, here is what the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) was up to over the last month: Enforcement Actions and Litigation - Enforcement Action Against First National Bank of Omaha - ...more