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Aaron Chastain represents financial services institutions, healthcare companies, and other businesses in a broad range of litigation and compliance-related matters. Aaron has advised student loan and mortgage loan originators and servicers in complying with the complex universe of regulation and state lien laws, as well as in handling finance-related litigation, such as claims for violations of the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA), wrongful foreclosure, violations of the Truth in Lending Act (TILA), and violations of the Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act (RESPA). He has specific experience advising clients in the realms of student and mortgage lending, servicing, and operations.

On September 19, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) issued Circular 2023-03, which provides guidance as to how lenders must explain denials of applications of credit when the underwriting is based on artificial intelligence (AI) or complex credit models. The upshot of the guidance is that a lender that denies an application for credit

Over the last year and a half, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) has become increasingly interested in the origination, servicing, and collection of medical debt. The CFPB alone has published several pieces of industry guidance, 13 press releases concerning medical debt, and 12 reports concerning aspects of medical debt. Moreover, the CFPB is not

On July 7, the CFPB, Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), Department of Health & Human Services (HHS), and Department of the Treasury issued a formal request for information regarding forms of consumer-facing healthcare financing. The inquiry specifically solicits comments “from the public and interested parties on medical credit cards, loans, and other financial

The Supreme Court has asked the solicitor general to weigh in on an issue that could affect lenders and borrowers alike: whether the National Bank Act (NBA) trumps state laws that require lenders to pay interest on mortgage escrow accounts. The request, which follows the Supreme Court’s previous denial of a request to review a

Less than three years after the U.S. Supreme Court reviewed the CFPB’s appointment structure, the bureau again finds itself before the Court in what could prove the most consequential case for the financial services industry in years. Four months ago, the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals issued a decision in Community Financial Services Association of

On October 19, 2022, the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals issued its opinion in Community Financial Services Association of America, et al. v. CFPB (CFSA v. CFPB) invalidating the CFPB’s Payday, Vehicle-Title, and Certain High-Cost Installment Loans rule (Small-Dollar Rule). The three-member panel decision calls into question the future viability of the CFPB

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s (CFPB) focus on ensuring loan servicers’ compliance with the implementation of the Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) program continues. On March 30, 2022, the CFPB entered into a Consent Order with student loan servicer EdFinancial Services, LLC, to settle the CFPB’s allegations that EdFinancial committed deceptive servicing acts and practices

Does the Eleventh Circuit’s Hunstein Decision Mean that the FDCPA Violates the First Amendment?The Eleventh Circuit’s far-reaching decision in Hunstein v. Preferred Collection and Management Services, Inc. — which we previously covered on this blog — continues to raise questions for the wide range of industries that fall within the FDCPA’s definition of “debt collectors.” To put it briefly, the Eleventh Circuit held that a debt collector violates

On April 21, 2021, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit issued a decision that threatens significant consequences for a variety of loan servicing and debt collection industries. The upshot of the court’s holding is that anyone falling within the FDCPA’s broad definition of “debt collector” violates the FDCPA when it communicates with

Mississippi Joins the Anti-Preemption ParadeThe Mississippi Supreme Court recently rejected federal preemption arguments relating to federally owned student loans. This follows other preemption rulings, as we’ve discussed here and here.

Mississippi’s attorney general filed the action on behalf of the state against Navient Corporation, bringing claims under the Mississippi Consumer Protections Act and for unjust enrichment for Navient’s