On February 28, the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York dismissed a case brought against the Consumer Data Industry Association (CDIA) under federal antitrust law. The case alleged that the CDIA — a trade association of which the three competitor national credit bureaus are members — asserted “monopolistic” control over the
On February 25, the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania held that a purported public records vendor (Credit Lenders Service Agency or CLSA) is a consumer reporting agency (CRA) under the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA). A copy of the decision in McGrath v. Credit Lenders Service Agency, Inc. can be found
On June 28, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) issued an interpretive rule, encouraging states to enact more laws regulating consumer reporting, arguing that states’ powers are only constrained in limited ways by the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA).
The CFPB believes that states have the ability to enact state-level laws that are stricter
In a blog post released June 15, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) continued to show its interest in credit reporting by Buy Now, Pay Later (BNPL) lenders. Recognizing the importance of credit reporting to consumers building credit profiles through payment of BNPL obligations, the CFPB encouraged BNPL lenders to report both positive and negative
On May 26, California Supreme Court ruled that the Federal Trade Commission’s (FTC) “Holder Rule” does not limit the award of attorneys’ fees where a consumer seeks fees from a holder under a state prevailing party statute.
The Holder Rule and Previous California Precedent
The FTC’s Holder Rule permits consumers to bring any legal claims
On May 26, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB or Bureau) announced that federal anti-discrimination law requires companies to explain to applicants the specific reasons for denying an application for credit or taking other adverse actions, even if the creditor is relying on credit models using complex algorithms.
In a corresponding Consumer Financial Protection Circular
On May 5, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB or Bureau) and the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) together filed an amicus brief in an appeal pending before the Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit, Sessa v. Trans Union, LLC, No. 22-87 (2d Cir. 2022). The agencies argue that the Fair Credit Reporting Act
On April 7, the Consumer Finance Protection Bureau (CFPB or Bureau) filed an amicus brief in an appeal, pending before the Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit in which the Bureau argued that the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) does not exempt furnishers from investigating disputes based on legal questions as opposed to factual
On May 2, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB or Bureau) released its Supervisory Highlights report on legal violations discovered during examinations in the second half of 2021.
The Supervisory Highlights detail issues identified by CFPB examination teams across a wide number of segments of the consumer financial services industry. Summarized below are those issues
In Ramones v. AR Res., Inc., No. 19-62949-CIV-SCOLA/SEITZ (S.D. Fla. Apr. 8, 2022), the court refused to set aside an award of punitive damages based on violations of the Fair Credit Reporting Act, but it reduced the jury’s award from $700,000 to $450,000.
The case arose out of a dispute concerning medical debts