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Ethan G. Ostroff

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Ethan’s practice focuses on financial services litigation and compliance counseling, as well as digital assets and blockchain technology. With a long track record of successful litigation results across the U.S., both bank and non-bank clients rely on him for comprehensive advice throughout their business cycle.

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After two and a half years, Coinbase, Inc. (Coinbase) and other crypto market participants may finally get an answer for why the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has declined to promulgate rules clarifying how and when federal securities laws apply to digital assets like cryptocurrencies.

In a significant and highly anticipated move, President Donald Trump has fired Rohit Chopra, the Director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB or Bureau). Rohit Chopra, who had been serving as the Director of the CFPB since 2021, confirmed his departure in a letter to President Trump dated February 1, 2025. Chopra’s tenure was characterized by aggressive efforts to curb what he termed as “junk” fees and regulate Big Tech’s financial services.

On January 30, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB or Bureau) released its updated list of consumer reporting companies for 2025. The list includes nationwide consumer reporting companies as well as several other companies that focus on specific market areas, consumer segments, and types of users. According to the CFPB, consumers can use the list to know about the kinds of personal financial information that is collected for credit and other consumer reports, request their consumer reporting data, dispute inaccuracies, and block access to their credit reporting data through security freezes. 

On January 29, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB or Bureau) released a report analyzing the auto lending market’s impact on servicemembers. This report indicates that servicemembers face heightened financial challenges in the auto lending market, including higher loan amounts, interest rates, and monthly payments. Despite these challenges, servicemembers were less likely to experience vehicle repossessions.

This week, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit issued a decision reversing a summary judgment order in a Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA) case. The court found that there were genuine issues of material fact regarding whether the defendant debt collector knew or should have known that the plaintiff disputed the debt, and whether the defendant exercised reasonable care in reporting the debt.

Last week, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit issued an opinion denying class certification in a case under the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) finding common issues did not predominate the individual inquires. The decision further clarified the application and constitutionality of the statute to unsolicited fax advertisements.

On January 27, a three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit issued a significant opinion holding that the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act (SCRA) does not prohibit the enforcement of arbitration agreements in credit card contracts under the Federal Arbitration Act (FAA).

In a previous post, we discussed the oral arguments held on December 18, 2024, by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit in the case of Insurance Marketing Coalition Limited (IMC) v. Federal Communications Commission (FCC). The case challenged the FCC’s December 2023 order under the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA), which aimed to reduce unwanted robocalls and texts by closing the “lead generator loophole” and requiring “one-to-one consent” for telemarketing communications. The new rule was set to take effect on January 27, 2025. However, during oral arguments, the Eleventh Circuit judges expressed skepticism about the FCC’s justification for its new rule.