On June 9, 2014, the House of Representatives unanimously passed H.R. 3211, the Mortgage Choice Act, which amends the Truth in Lending Act and the definition of “qualified mortgage” under the Dodd-Frank Act. The legislation was introduced by Representatives Bill Huizenga (R-MI) and Gregory Meeks (D-NY), and is intended to afford low and moderate income
Cordray Testifies before Senate Committee Regarding CFPB’s Semi-Annual Report
On June 10, 2014, CFPB Director Richard Cordray appeared before the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs in conjunction with the May 2014 release of the Bureau’s fifth Semi-Annual Report. Cordray highlighted a variety of topics, including mortgages, student loans, complaint numbers, and proposed data collection efforts.
Senator Mike Crapo (R-Idaho) questioned
CFPB Seeking Information on Mobile Financial Services
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau issued a Request for Information (“RFI”) this week regarding “the opportunities and challenges associated with the use of mobile financial services,” focusing particularly on unbanked and underserved consumers. The RFI comes amid growing concerns that the proliferation of mobile financial services poses an increased privacy risk to consumers.
The Bureau
FTC Commission Member Voices Additional Concern Over Practices of Data Brokers
On June 2, 2014, U.S. Federal Trade Commission member Julie Brill, speaking at the European Data Protection Supervisor’s workshop on privacy, consumer protection and competition in Brussels, said that companies’ privacy protection regimes focused on limiting or stopping harmful uses of data overlook the potential damage to consumers’ privacy through the incremental accumulation of small
ACA Files Amicus Brief in Settlement Offer Dispute before the Sixth Circuit
On May 7, 2014, ACA International, the Association of Credit and Collection Professionals, submitted an amicus curiae brief in an important Fair Debt Collections Practices Act (FDCPA) dispute over settlement-letter language for time-barred debts. The plaintiff received a collection letter from the debt collector offering an opportunity to settle a debt after Michigan’s six-year limitations
California Court Grants Summary Judgment to Consumer Reporting Agency
On May 29, 2014, in the matter of Karrigan v. DataX Ltd. et al., in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California, Civil Action No. 3:13-cv-02995, a federal judge dismissed on summary judgment a putative class action accusing DataX Ltd. of giving credit reports to scammers who manipulated payday loan customers
Trucking Company Settles FCRA Class Action for $870,500
On Thursday, May 29, 2014, defendant New England Motor Freight (“NEMF”) agreed to a $870,500 settlement of a putative class action claim under the Fair Credit Reporting Act pending in New Jersey federal court. The class complaint alleged that NEMF had purchased consumer reports for potential job applicants from various wholesalers without first asking for
FTC Urges Regulation of Data Brokers
On May 27, 2014, the Federal Trade Commission issued a long-awaited report on the data broker industry. The report, titled “Data Brokers: A Call for Transparency and Accountability,” is the result of an eighteen-month study of certain data brokers that represent a cross-section of the industry.
The report encouraged Congress to step in to enact
CFPB Announces Spring 2014 Rulemaking Agenda and More…
CFPB Announces Spring 2014 Rulemaking Agenda, Confirms Development of “Larger Participant” Definition for Auto Finance Market
On May 23, 2014, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau posted its updated semi-annual rule-making agenda, which covers several important categories of upcoming regulatory action.
Defining Larger Participants in Auto Lending Market for Regulation
Through use of its rulemaking
Seventh Circuit Affirms Dismissal of Challenges to Validation Notices
On January 23, 2014, the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed the dismissal of four lawsuits against debt collectors that challenged validation notices under 1692g(a)(4).
The disputed provision of the letters involved the 30-day language notifying consumes of their right to dispute the debt, which letters read in relevant part:
“Unless you notify this office