More than two years after filing suit, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and Connecticut Attorney General William Tong have secured a $4 million settlement with Manchester, Connecticut auto dealer Chase Nissan LLC, doing business as Manchester City Nissan, along with its owners and managers, resolving allegations of widespread deceptive fee practices targeting consumers in the car-buying process.
On August 7, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) issued a policy statement announcing that it will no longer pursue claims based on disparate impact or “unfair discrimination” theories under any statute it enforces. The FTC’s action is the latest in a series of coordinated federal agency moves away from disparate impact enforcement. As we previously reported here, the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) proposed to repeal its Fair Housing Act disparate impact regulations in January 2026, and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) finalized its rewrite of Subpart A of Regulation B under the Equal Credit Opportunity Act (ECOA) in April 2026, eliminating the disparate impact “effects test” from ECOA enforcement and reframing ECOA as an intent-only statute (see here). Together with the FTC’s action, these developments signal a sweeping realignment of federal fair lending and consumer protection enforcement away from outcome-based theories and toward intentional discrimination as the operative standard.
After years of pandemic-era forbearance programs, emergency moratoriums, and historically low foreclosure volumes, the mortgage market is undergoing a meaningful correction. Foreclosure activity is rising steadily across the country, and with it comes a familiar set of legal risks for servicers, lenders, and investors. The question is no longer whether foreclosure volumes will normalize — it is whether organizations are prepared for the compliance and litigation exposure that follows.
Statistics for May 2026 consumer litigation filings are in, and the picture is essentially the reverse of April. After all three major consumer protection statutes posted month-over-month increases in April, the first time that had happened in over a year, all three declined in May.
Louisiana and Massachusetts have each recently issued guidance addressing motor vehicle dealer advertising practices, particularly around the disclosure of fees in advertised vehicle prices. Both actions follow the Federal Trade Commission’s March 13, 2026 “Notorious 97” warning letters to auto dealership groups nationwide (discussed here) and reflect ongoing efforts at the state and federal level to ensure that advertised prices accurately reflect the total cost consumers will be required to pay.
The New York City Department of Consumer and Worker Protection (DCWP) recently published new compliance resources for its amended debt collection regulations, known as the SHIELD Rule, which are scheduled to take effect on September 1, 2026.
On June 2, Louisiana Governor Jeff Landry signed SB 254 into law as Act 751, prohibiting retail businesses from imposing surcharges on customers who pay with a debit card. The law takes effect August 1, 2026.
Virginia is implementing a new Business Screening Services (BSS) program that will significantly change how private background screening companies handle Virginia criminal and traffic history records.
On April 8, Virginia Governor Abigail Spanberger signed HB 444, the Uniform Consumer Debt Default Judgments Act, into law. The Act establishes pleading and notice requirements in certain consumer debt collection actions that must be met for a creditor to obtain a default judgment against a consumer. This Act is based on a model drafted by the Uniform Law Commission, similar versions of which have been enacted in Washington and introduced in Pennsylvania. HB 444 will take effect on July 1, 2027.
On June 10, President Trump sent to the Senate his nomination of Brian Johnson to serve as Director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB or Bureau) for a five-year term. The CFPB has been without a confirmed, full-time director since former Director Rohit Chopra was fired on February 1, 2025 (discussed here).