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Brooke Conkle offers consumer-facing companies compliance counseling and litigation services to help them address federal and state consumer protection laws. Recognizing the challenges facing financial services companies, she provides in-depth analysis of complex issues related to consumer protection and compliance.

Late last year, we discussed the Federal Communications Commission’s (FCC) new rule aimed at closing the “lead generator” loophole by requiring telemarketers to obtain one-to-one consent from consumers for robocalls and robotexts. This rule mandates that consent must be provided for each individual seller or brand, rather than allowing a single consent to apply to multiple telemarketers. The rule also includes requirements for clear and conspicuous disclosures and ensures that robocalls and robotexts are logically and topically related to the interaction that prompted the consent. The new rule also permits blocking “red flagged” robotexting numbers, codifies do-not-call rules for texting, and encourages an opt-in approach for delivering email-to-text messages.

In this special joint episode of The Consumer Finance Podcast and Moving the Metal, Chris Willis teams up with Brooke Conkle and Chris Capurso, hosts of the Moving the Metal podcast, to discuss the CFPB’s recent supervisory highlights on auto-finance and auto-servicing. Joined by Stefanie Jackman, a partner experienced in auto-finance servicing and collections, the team delves into the CFPB’s findings on issues ranging from repossessions and servicing practices to optional products and credit reporting. They explore the implications of these findings and provide insights into the regulatory landscape, emphasizing the importance of compliance and timely remediation. Tune in for an in-depth analysis of the CFPB’s focus areas and what they mean for the auto-finance industry.

As discussed here, on February 15, 2024, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) approved amendments to the rules and regulations implementing the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA). These amendments were purportedly aimed at strengthening consumers’ ability to revoke consent to robocalls and robotexts. Last month, the FCC announced that the new rules go into effect on April 11, 2025.

In this special joint episode of The Consumer Finance Podcast and Moving the Metal, Chris Willis teams up with Brooke Conkle and Chris Capurso, hosts of the Moving the Metal podcast, to discuss the CFPB’s recent supervisory highlights on auto-finance and auto-servicing. Joined by Stefanie Jackman, a partner experienced in auto-finance servicing and collections, the team delves into the CFPB’s findings on issues ranging from repossessions and servicing practices to optional products and credit reporting. They explore the implications of these findings and provide insights into the regulatory landscape, emphasizing the importance of compliance and timely remediation. Tune in for an in-depth analysis of the CFPB’s focus areas and what they mean for the auto-finance industry.

In this episode of Moving the Metal, Chris and Brooke break down recent amendments to the New Hampshire Retail Installment Sales Act. On August 2, New Hampshire Governor Chris Sununu signed HB 1243 into law, bringing significant, retroactive revisions to Chapter 361(a) of the New Hampshire Code. Tune in to understand how these legislative updates from one of the smallest states in the union could challenge your business operations and consumer interactions in the Granite State.

In this podcast episode, Brooke Conkle and Chris Capurso are joined by esteemed senior practitioner Alan Wingfield to discuss the National Automobile Dealer Association’s (NADA) challenge to the Federal Trade Commission’s (FTC) CARS Rule. The conversation centers around the recent oral arguments held by the Fifth Circuit on October 9, involving both the NADA and the Texas Automobile Dealers Association (TADA). The discussion aims to provide insights into the origins and implications of the CARS Rule, as well as the legal arguments presented by the dealer associations in their challenge and the FTC in defense.

On October 7, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB or Bureau) published the Fall edition of its Supervisory Highlights, focusing on examinations of the auto-finance market completed between November 1, 2023, and August 30, 2024. The report highlights significant findings across various aspects of consumers’ experiences with vehicle finance, including origination disclosures, repossession activities, servicing practices, the handling of add-on products, and credit reporting.

On October 4, the Supreme Court granted certiorari in the case of McLaughlin Chiropractic Associates, Inc. v. McKesson Corporation. This case will address a critical question that has been a point of contention among various circuit courts: whether the Hobbs Act, which limits judicial review of Federal Communications Commission (FCC) “final orders” to appellate courts, requires district courts to accept the FCC legal interpretation of the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA). While the Supreme Court previously addressed whether the Hobbs Act applied in private litigation, it ultimately did not resolve whether a district court is required to follow a particular FCC order interpreting the TCPA.

On September 19, USTelecom — The Broadband Association (USTelecom), a major telecommunications trade organization, sent a letter to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) expressing its concerns about the proposed enhancements to anti-robocall regulations. USTelecom’s primary contention is that the proposed rules, which aim to extend the do-not-originate (DNO) requirement, could inadvertently block legitimate calls, including emergency communications. The association argues that the current industry practices already effectively block calls from invalid, unallocated, and unused numbers, as well as numbers on the DNO list managed by the USTelecom-led Industry Traceback Group (ITG).