December 2014

Oklahoma and Nebraska filed a joint lawsuit asking the U.S. Supreme Court to find Colorado’s recreational marijuana laws unconstitutional.  The two states claim that Amendment 64 “directly conflicts with federal law and undermines express federal priorities in the arena of drug control and enforcement.”

Colorado’s Amendment 64, which was passed as ballot initiative on November

On December 16, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) issued a new Truth in Lending Act (TILA) booklet of the Comptroller’s Handbook.

Replacing guidance from December 2010, this booklet provides updated guidance and procedures to examiners in connection with recent changes made to Regulation Z (12 CFR 1026), primarily with regard

Last month the CFPB held another in a series of webinars on the TILA-RESPA Integrated Disclosure Rule. You can view the video of this webinar – and the prior three webinars – here, which focused on questions related to completing the Closing Disclosure Form.

Last month’s session was the fourth in a series of

On December 15, the CFPB published a proposed rule regarding Amendments to the 2013 Mortgage Rules under the Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act (Regulation X) and the Truth in Lending Act (Regulation Z).

As we previously discussed, in October 2014 the CFPB issued a final rule amending the 2013 mortgage rules that took effect

As part of a recent investigation and clean-up of that state’s foreclosure industry, Colorado’s Attorney General John Suthers has filed two more lawsuits against in-state foreclosure law firms, alleging fraud and violations of state consumer protection laws.  These lawsuits close out a busy 2014, in which other similar civil lawsuits were filed by Colorado’s AG,

In Powell v. Palisades Acquisition XVI, LLC, the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals held that the filing of an assignment of judgment in a debt collection action qualifies as debt collection activity that triggers the requirements of the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (“FDCPA”).  In so holding, the Fourth Circuit overturned the decision of

Last Friday, the Eighth Circuit affirmed the dismissals of claims filed by county recorders in Iowa and Minnesota who claimed that the use of the Mortgage Electronic Registration System (MERS) unjustly deprived the counties of recording fees.  In Plymouth County v. Merscorp, Inc., Plymouth County, on its own behalf and on behalf of all

Last week, the United States Senate passed an extension of the Mortgage Debt Forgiveness Act.  Without the Act, any home mortgage forgiveness that results from a short sale would have counted as income for homeowners.  In other words, homeowners that had short sales in 2014 will not have to pay taxes on the mortgage debt

On December 4, Whole Foods was added to the long list of employers that have been hit with nationwide class action lawsuits under the FCRA based on their background check practices.  This lawsuit should serve as another reminder to employers to verify that their background check practices comply with the Fair Credit Reporting Act.

Prior

In November, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau issued a compliance bulletin (CFPB Bulletin 2014-03) reminding lenders of their legal obligations when underwriting mortgage loans for Social Security disability recipients.  The agency outlined steps that creditors can take to avoid illegal discrimination in violation of the Equal Credit Opportunity Act (ECOA) and Regulation B.

Lenders in