Anthony Kaye

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On January 15, the American Arbitration Association (AAA) issued amended Mass Arbitration Supplementary Rules and new Consumer Mass Arbitration and Mediation Fee Schedules (collectively, the New Rules). The New Rules will apply to all mass arbitration cases filed on or after January 15, but not to any mass arbitrations filed prior to that date. The New Rules aim to reduce friction and enhance process efficiency. However, unless the New Rules are supplemented by a well-constructed pre-dispute arbitration agreement, they will not solve the principal problems posed by mass arbitrations.

The Utah court of appeals has recently affirmed the dismissal of a plaintiff’s suit against a debt buyer based on its alleged failure to register as a collection agency prior to filing collection lawsuits. The court’s decision in Meneses v. Salander Enterprises LLC, not only holds that a violation of the Utah Collection Agency Act (UCAA) is not a deceptive or unconscionable act under state law, but also calls into question whether the UCAA ever even applied to debt buyers. As discussed here, the UCAA was repealed by the state legislature earlier this year, but cases asserting this theory of liability remain pending before state and federal courts.

In response to a petition filed last week by a number of consumer advocacy groups, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB or Bureau) announced that it will be seeking public input on a possible rule that would curtail mandatory pre-dispute arbitration provisions.

On June 29, Connecticut Governor Ned Lamont signed SB 1033, An Act Concerning Various Revisions to the Banking Statutes, into law. As discussed here, with this bill, Connecticut joins several other states that have set strict rate caps on consumer loans, including Illinois, New Mexico, Colorado, and California, and those that expressly provide for a predominant economic interest test for true lender purposes. The law will take effect on October 1, 2023.

Today the U.S. Supreme Court issued a 5-4 decision in Coinbase, Inc. v. Bielski, holding that a district court must stay its proceedings while an interlocutory appeal on the question of arbitrability is pending. The decision resolves a circuit split on the question of whether such a stay is mandatory or discretionary. Justice Kavanaugh…

On June 20, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s (CFPB or Bureau) Office of Servicemember Affairs published its Annual Report analyzing complaints submitted by servicemembers, veterans, and their families in 2022. The report found that in 2022, servicemembers submitted over 66,400 complaints, representing a 55% increase from 2021, and a 62% increase from 2020. As in prior years, credit reporting remained the top issue for servicemembers, followed by debt collection and credit cards. Nonetheless, much of the report focused on the rising number of complaints from servicemembers related to payment app fraud and recommended steps the industry can take to address this issue.

In Wood v. Omni Financial of Nevada, Inc., the plaintiffs filed a class action complaint alleging violations of the Military Lending Act (MLA). Specifically, the plaintiffs, two active duty service members who had entered into multiple installment loans with the defendant, alleged that the defendant violated the MLA by unlawfully: 1) extending loans with…

Today, the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals issued a much-awaited opinion affirming the dismissal of a servicemember’s class-action suit brought under the Military Lending Act (MLA or Act) because, even though the secured automobile loan at issue financed guaranteed asset protection (GAP) coverage and other fees, the loan was still given for the “express purpose”…

On April 5, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) released its Consumer Compliance Supervisory Highlights report, providing a high-level overview of consumer compliance issues identified by the agency during 2022 in its supervisory activities of state non–member banks and thrifts. The report did note that, “[o]verall, supervised institutions demonstrated effective management of their consumer compliance…

In a significant boost to the financial services industry, Utah has taken major steps to streamline its debt collection bureaucracy — including the removal of criminal penalties for failure to comply with technical requirements.

Utah House Bill 20, titled “Collection Agency Amendments,” was signed into law last month and goes into effect May 3…