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Lee Gilley represents financial institutions, including banks, mortgage companies, debt collectors, small dollar lenders, and payment systems providers (credit cards, debit cards, prepaid cards, mobile payments, etc.) in litigation and regulatory matters related to compliance with the Card Act, ECOA, EFTA, FCRA, FDCPA, GLBA, HPA, RESPA, TILA, TCPA, CFPB regulations, and numerous other state laws and regulations. Lee is a member of Bradley’s Banking and Financial Services Practice Group, as well as the firm’s Payments and Small Dollar & Unsecured Lending industry teams.

As more Americans install photovoltaic power generation and storage systems on their homes, journalists have reported incidents of alleged fraud and other forms of misconduct by solar system installers, finance companies, and other related parties. The media attention has correlated directly with an increase in press releases, investigations, and even lawsuits by attorneys general and

In October 2023, the CFPB issued an advisory opinion titled, “Consumer Information Requests to Large Banks and Credit Unions.” The upshot of the advisory opinion is that covered financial institutions responding to consumer information requests under Section 1034(c) of the Consumer Financial Protection Act (CFPA) face significant limitations on the fees they can charge to

On October 12, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) and Department of Justice (DOJ) issued a joint statement emphasizing the risk associated with considering an applicant’s immigration status when making credit decisions. Specifically, the CFPB and DOJ emphasized that creditors should carefully consider how they use immigration status when accepting and evaluating applications and should

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

After (Another) Unusual Year, We’re Very Thankful and Wish You a Happy ThanksgivingNow that the pandemic’s “social distancing” is lessening, we hope you are all able to gather with friends and family this Thanksgiving. As we do the same, we wanted to count our blessings as we review the year. This year, we are thankful for being able to return to our offices, our favorite restaurants, and

CFPB Issues Debt Collection Guidance and Creates More Uncertainty for Mortgage ServicersOn October 29, 2021 — just 32 days prior to the November 30, 2021 effective date — the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) released new guidance regarding the debt validation notice requirements that are part of the upcoming debt collection rules. Specifically, the CFPB provided (1) new Frequently Asked Questions related to the special rule

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

CFPB Proposes Delay to Implementation of Its Debt Collection RulesYesterday, the CFPB issued a proposed rule that would extend implementation of both parts of its debt collection rule by 60 days — from November 30, 2021, to January 29, 2022. The debt collection rule, which we have discussed here in detail, addresses numerous topics related to debt collection, including debt collection call volume,