Do “negative option” subscription services constitute unfair or deceptive practices under the Consumer Financial Protection Act (CFPA)? According to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) in its recent circular, these subscription services may violate the CFPA when a seller: 1) misrepresents or fails to clearly disclose the material terms of the program; (2) fails
Creditors and debt collectors may rest assured that they are not violating the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA) when sending debt-collection communications prior to any knowledge of a debtor’s bankruptcy filing. In Carrasquillo v. CICA Collection Agency, Inc., the district court for the District of Puerto Rico relied on a Third Circuit
May a debt collector incur liability under the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA) by seeking to collect a debt under a state court judgment later determined to be void? Not according to the Third Circuit Court of Appeals in a nine-page opinion issued on January 11, 2023 in the case of Barbara Lowe v.
As discussed here, on October 19, 2022 the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals in Community Financial Services Association of America Ltd. (CFSA) v. Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) held that the CFPB’s funding mechanism violates the Appropriations Clause of the U.S. Constitution. The Fifth Circuit based its decision on the fact that, among other
On January 11, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) announced it reached a settlement with law firm Forster & Garbus, LLP in its lawsuit over alleged illegal debt collection practices. Specifically, the CFPB alleged that, from 2014 through 2016, fewer than a dozen attorneys filed more than 99,000 debt collection lawsuits, while having the requisite
As forecasted in its 2022 Fall Rulemaking Agenda discussed here, today the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) published a proposed rule with request for public comments that would require certain nonbank covered entities, with limited exceptions, to submit information on terms and conditions in their form contracts that “seek to waive or limit
On Dec. 15, 2022, the Federal Financial Institutions Examination Council’s (FFIEC) Task Force on Consumer Compliance adopted revised examination procedures for the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA) and its implementing regulation, Regulation F.
The revised interagency procedures will apply to examinations conducted by FFIEC’s member regulators of their respective regulated institutions. FFIEC is composed
On January 4, the District Court of New Jersey dismissed a Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA) complaint against an unlicensed debt collector for lack of standing. In Valentine v. Unifund CCR, LLC, et al., the court held that merely receiving a letter from an unlicensed debt collector is insufficient to establish a concrete injury
As discussed here, on May 20, California’s Department of Financial Protection and Innovation (DFPI or Department) announced that it had filed a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking with the Office of Administrative Law. The purpose of the proposed regulations is to make explicit what it means to provide a timely response to consumer complaints. Covered
A recent opinion issued by the Tenth Circuit serves as further confirmation that plaintiffs bringing Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA) claims in federal court must allege sufficient concrete injury — tangible or intangible — to confer Article III standing. The holding also underscores that FDCPA claims predicated on disclosure of debtor information to third