On December 8, the Southern District of Indiana released a decision relating to the interplay between the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act and bankruptcy. In Grandidier v. Quantum3 Group, LLC, the District Court denied a motion to dismiss a plaintiff’s complaint relating to the supposed filing of a time-barred proof of claim in the
Regulatory Enforcement + Compliance
ALJ Issues First Decision in Contested CFPB Administrative Enforcement Action; Appellate Decision by Director Cordray Pending
In November, Administrative Law Judge Cameron Elliot of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission issued the first “recommended decision” in a litigated Consumer Financial Protection Bureau administrative enforcement action.
In In re PHH Corporation, et. al., the CFPB alleged this residential mortgage lender was engaged in a nearly 15-year “mortgage insurance kickback scheme” by…
FTC Ends Aggressive Year in Auto Enforcement with Action against Dallas Dealer
By all accounts, 2014 was a particularly busy one for the Federal Trade Commission in taking enforcement actions in the automobile sales and financing industry. The FTC’s last public action of 2014 in the auto finance and sales area involved a suburban Dallas dealer, charged with using deceptive ads to promote the sale and lease…
Two States Ask Supreme Court to Overturn Colorado’s Marijuana Laws
Oklahoma and Nebraska filed a joint lawsuit asking the U.S. Supreme Court to find Colorado’s recreational marijuana laws unconstitutional. The two states claim that Amendment 64 “directly conflicts with federal law and undermines express federal priorities in the arena of drug control and enforcement.”
Colorado’s Amendment 64, which was passed as ballot initiative on November…
OCC Revises Comptroller’s Handbook Booklet on TILA
On December 16, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) issued a new Truth in Lending Act (TILA) booklet of the Comptroller’s Handbook.
Replacing guidance from December 2010, this booklet provides updated guidance and procedures to examiners in connection with recent changes made to Regulation Z (12 CFR 1026), primarily with regard…
CFPB Webinars Available on TILA-RESPA Integrated Disclosure Rule
Last month the CFPB held another in a series of webinars on the TILA-RESPA Integrated Disclosure Rule. You can view the video of this webinar – and the prior three webinars – here, which focused on questions related to completing the Closing Disclosure Form.
Last month’s session was the fourth in a series of…
CFPB Asks for Comments on Proposed Amendments to 2013 Mortgage Rules
On December 15, the CFPB published a proposed rule regarding Amendments to the 2013 Mortgage Rules under the Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act (Regulation X) and the Truth in Lending Act (Regulation Z).
As we previously discussed, in October 2014 the CFPB issued a final rule amending the 2013 mortgage rules that took effect…
Colorado’s Attorney General is Busy Making Things “Rocky” for Certain Foreclosure Law Firms
As part of a recent investigation and clean-up of that state’s foreclosure industry, Colorado’s Attorney General John Suthers has filed two more lawsuits against in-state foreclosure law firms, alleging fraud and violations of state consumer protection laws. These lawsuits close out a busy 2014, in which other similar civil lawsuits were filed by Colorado’s AG,…
Fourth Circuit Holds Filing an Assignment of Judgment Qualifies as Action Taken in Connection with Collection of a Debt
In Powell v. Palisades Acquisition XVI, LLC, the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals held that the filing of an assignment of judgment in a debt collection action qualifies as debt collection activity that triggers the requirements of the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (“FDCPA”). In so holding, the Fourth Circuit overturned the decision of…
Eighth Circuit Rejects County Recorders’ Claims Against Lenders, Servicers, and MERS
Last Friday, the Eighth Circuit affirmed the dismissals of claims filed by county recorders in Iowa and Minnesota who claimed that the use of the Mortgage Electronic Registration System (MERS) unjustly deprived the counties of recording fees. In Plymouth County v. Merscorp, Inc., Plymouth County, on its own behalf and on behalf of all…