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In our previous post, we discussed the New York City Department of Consumer and Worker Protection’s (NYC DCWP) decision to delay the enforcement of the amended debt collection rules from December 1, 2024, to April 1, 2025. This postponement was in response to industry concerns and a legal challenge filed by ACA International, Inc. and Independent Recovery Resources, Inc. Since then, NYC DCWP also announced it would delay the effective date for the amended rules to April 1, 2025 to align with the enforcement date.

Late last month, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) filed suit against Global Circulation, Inc. (GCI) and its owner for engaging in deceptive and abusive debt collection practices. According to the FTC, the Georgia-based debt collector tricked consumers into paying more than $7.6 million in bogus debt. The lawsuit, filed in the United States District Court for the Northern District of Georgia, Atlanta Division, alleges violations of Section 5(a) of the FTC Act, the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA), and the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act (GLB Act).

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 Heckman v. Live Nation Entertainment, Inc., a panel of the Ninth Circuit affirmed a lower court decision refusing to enforce the Ticketmaster arbitration provision in a purported consumer antitrust class action brought against Ticketmaster and Live Nation. In reaching its decision, the panel concluded that the arbitration agreement in question was both procedurally and substantively unconscionable. Going further, the panel went out of its way to hold, “as an alternative and independent ground,” that the Federal Arbitration Act (FAA) does not apply to the special multi-party arbitrations contemplated for mass arbitrations by the arbitration agreement in question.

On November 1, ACA International, LLC and Collection Bureau Services, Inc. filed a lawsuit against the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB or Bureau) and Director Rohit Chopra, challenging the CFPB’s recent advisory opinion on medical debt collection practices. The lawsuit, filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, challenges the CFPB’s authority and the procedural validity of the advisory opinion. The plaintiffs are seeking an order vacating the advisory opinion and a stay of the effective date pending the conclusion of the case.

In a significant development, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB or Bureau) has finally reached a settlement with Townstone Financial, Inc. (Townstone) in the first redlining case brought against a nonbank mortgage lender and broker. This settlement follows the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals’ pivotal decision in favor of the CFPB that expanded the Equal Credit Opportunity Act (ECOA) to include protections for prospective applicants who may be discouraged from applying for credit. The settlement marks a resolution of protracted litigation that began in 2020 when the CFPB sued Townstone by accusing the company of redlining practices.

On October 31, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals granted the appellants’ motion to expedite the appeal in Texas Bankers Association v. Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB). The suit brought by several trade associations challenges the CFPB’s Final Rule under § 1071 of the Dodd-Frank Act, the “Small Business Lending Data Collection Rule” (Final Rule). The court scheduled oral argument for February 3, 2025. However, in that same order, the court denied appellants’ motion for a temporary stay of the Final Rule’s compliance dates, stating that the motion for a stay pending appeal “remained pending.” This means that the compliance dates set forth in the CFPB’s Interim Final Rule remain for now, with the earliest date for the largest lenders being July 18, 2025.

On October 18, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit affirmed a district court’s vacatur of a maritime attachment order, providing a detailed analysis of the requirements for personal and in rem jurisdiction over attached property under the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure.