On September 18, in an en banc review, the Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit overruled, in part, seminal cases Barger v. City of Cartersville, 348 F.3d 1289 (11th Cir. 2003) and Burnes v. Pemco Aeroplex, Inc., 291 F.3d 1282 (11th Cir. 2002), adopting a totality-of-the-circumstances analysis when facing questions of judicial
CFPB Proposes Modifications to Home Mortgage Law to Protect Borrowers’ Privacy
On September 20, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau issued proposed policy guidance that would modify a mortgage disclosure law in an effort to protect applicants’ and borrowers’ privacy.
In 2015, the CFPB finalized changes to the Home Mortgage Disclosure Act (“HMDA”), which requires lenders to report and disclose to the public certain information about their
FTC Says Its Focus Must Be on Instances of Real Harm to Consumers
In a September 19 speech at the Federal Communications Bar Association in Washington, FTC Acting Chairman Maureen K. Ohlhausen stated that the Commission should focus on addressing instances of “substantial consumer injury” in deciding which cases to pursue. Echoing (intentionally or not) the language of the Supreme Court’s foundational decision in Spokeo, Inc. v. Robins
CFPB’s Latest Supervisory Highlights Provides Valuable Statistics and Insight on Enforcement Efforts
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau recently released its Summer 2017 Supervisory Highlights, which summarizes the agency’s supervisory activities during the first half of this year.
Looking to the numbers. From January through June, the CFPB’s nonpublic supervisory activities led to restitution payments that totaled approximately $14 million, and public enforcement actions that netted an
Join Us for a Complimentary Webinar on September 12: A Review of Recent Fair Housing Act Municipality Cases and other Municipality Claims
On Tuesday, September 12, from 2-3 p.m. ET, Join Troutman Sanders for a webinar discussing the recent cases brought by cities and counties against mortgage originators and servicers under the Fair Housing Act, the Supreme Court’s decision in Bank of America Corp. v. City of Miami, 581 U.S. –, 137 S.Ct. 1296 (2017),
Seventh Circuit Holds That Debt Collector Cannot Avoid Liability Under FDCPA Despite Strict Compliance With Controlling Precedent
In a surprising decision involving a vigorous and scathing dissent, the Seventh Circuit ruled that a debt collector was liable under the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act even when it followed the law that was in effect at the time the alleged violation took place. This alarming ruling raises an
CFPB Warns Older Consumers of Risks of Reverse Mortgage
Financial professionals often recommend a reverse mortgage loan as a way to delay claiming Social Security benefits. A reverse mortgage, federally insured through the Federal Housing Association’s (“FHA”) Home Equity Conversion Mortgage Program (“HECM”), allows homeowners age 62 and older to borrow against the equity in their homes and defer payment of the loan until
Seventh Circuit Holds Rule 67 Tender of Full Relief Does Not Moot TCPA Class Action
In Campbell-Ewald Co. v. Gomez, 136 S.Ct. 663 (2016), the Supreme Court held that an unaccepted offer of full relief under Rule 68 to a named plaintiff was insufficient to moot class claims. However, the Supreme Court expressly left open the possibility of a “different result if a defendant deposits the full amount of
Texas Man Pleads Guilty to Felony Charge for Role in Foreclosure Rescue Scheme
The Department of Justice announced that Bruce Kevin Hawkins, 52, of Desoto, Texas, recently pled guilty in a federal court in Texas regarding his role in a foreclosure rescue scheme that ran from February 2012 to January 2013 and bilked over $240,000 from homeowners facing foreclosures. Hawkins pled guilty to one count of mail fraud
Pending Changes to Federal Bankruptcy Rules Could Negatively Impact Residential Mortgage Lenders
The U.S. Supreme Court has approved changes to the Federal Bankruptcy Rules that, if they become effective, will result in important alterations to the filing of proofs of claim by residential mortgage lenders in Chapter 7, 12 and 13 cases. A proposed change to Bankruptcy Rule 3002 will shorten the time within which a creditor