Security Group, Inc. and several of its wholly owned subsidiaries entered into a consent order with the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) in which it agreed to injunctive relief and to pay a $5 million penalty. Security Group is a financial services company that originates, purchases, services, and collects on short-term secured and unsecured loans. … Continue Reading
One overarching certainty of federal debt collection law seems to be prolonged uncertainty over its appropriate scope. Is this scope about to change yet again? One recent bill called the Practice of Law Technical Clarification Act of 2017, H.R. 1849, seeks to do just that. It has been now 40 years since the Fair Debt … Continue Reading
On October 4, 2017, the CFPB released an interim final rule and a proposed rule to amend certain provisions of its 2016 Mortgage Servicing Final Rule. While the changes will not drastically change the 2016 Mortgage Servicing Final Rule, it is nevertheless important for mortgage servicers to synthesize the information and adjust implementation efforts as the effective … Continue Reading
On July 31, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) issued a public bulletin intended to provide guidance to covered persons and service providers who take payments from consumers using pay-by-phone services and charge the consumer a fee for such a service. The purpose of the bulletin was to highlight and re-emphasize the potential for violations … Continue Reading
The United States Supreme Court issued a significant decision in Henson v. Santander Consumer USA, Inc. drastically restricting the universe of companies subject to potential liability under the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA). In a unanimous decision authored by new Justice Neil Gorsuch, the Court held that companies that buy defaulted debts are not … Continue Reading
Yesterday, at the Consumer Advisory Board Meeting in Washington D.C., Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) Director Richard Cordray provided an update on one of the most highly anticipated areas in the debt collection industry – the CFPB’s intentions with respect to its proposed debt collection rulemaking. The biggest news from the meeting was that the … Continue Reading
The Supreme Court of Alabama has reversed a jury verdict awarding the plaintiff $200,000 in damages, ruling on appeal that the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA) did not apply to the pawn transaction at issue. The case, Complete Cash Holdings, LLC v. Powell, arose from a forged title-pawn agreement. Ms. Powell’s granddaughter stole title … Continue Reading
In a win for debt buyers and servicers, the Supreme Court held in Midland Funding, LLC. v. Johnson that the filing of a proof of claim in a bankruptcy case for obviously time-barred debt is not false, deceptive, misleading, unfair, or unconscionable within the meaning of the Fair Debt Collections Practices Act (FDCPA). The Decision … Continue Reading
Should a full-service consumer finance company be subject to federal debt collection law when it attempts to collect upon debt it purchased? Attorneys general from Maryland, the District of Columbia, California, New York, and more than two dozen other states have urged the Supreme Court to adopt a startling new interpretation of federal law and … Continue Reading
Debt collectors filing suit often assume that the forum state’s statute of limitations will apply. However, a string of recent cases suggests that may not always be the case. The Ohio Supreme Court recently determined that, by virtue of Ohio’s borrowing statute, the statute of limitations for the place where the customer submits payments or … Continue Reading
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) announced a consent order with Navy Federal Credit Union (Navy Federal) on October 11, 2016. While financial institutions should always analyze CFPB consent orders closely and carefully scrutinize their relevant practices in light of the consent order, first-party creditors, debt collectors, and any financial institution that electronically restricts access … Continue Reading
Last week , the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) met with the Community Bank Advisory Council (CBAC) to discuss the CFPB’s July 28, 2016, outline of the proposed debt collection rules (Outline) intended to “drastically overhaul the debt collection market.” The meeting was available online through the CFPB’s website. The CBAC did not provide much … Continue Reading
The Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals has clarified the type of injury that must be alleged by a plaintiff suing under the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA). This decision, in Church v. Accretive Health, Inc., is the first from the Eleventh Circuit applying the United States Supreme Court’s recent holding in Spokeo v. Robins. … Continue Reading
On June 27, the United States Supreme Court declined to review the Second Circuit’s decision in Madden v. Midland Funding, LLC, 786 F.3d 246 (2d Cir. 2015). By denying Midland Funding, LLC’s petition for a writ of certiorari, the Court allowed the Second Circuit’s decision to stand. The Second Circuit held that the National Bank … Continue Reading
Monday morning, the United States Supreme Court issued its long-awaited opinion in Spokeo, Inc. v. Robins (No. 13-1339), which addresses the question of whether a bare allegation of a statutory violation, unaccompanied by allegation of injury, is enough to satisfy Article III’s standing requirements and provide a federal court with subject-matter jurisdiction. The Court reversed … Continue Reading
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) recently released its fifth annual Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA) Annual Report, detailing the CFPB and FTC’s activities throughout 2015 related to debt collection practices. The report covers: The current status of the debt collection market The CFPB’s handling of consumer complaints The CFPB’s supervision of debt collection … Continue Reading
In Alaska Trustee, LLC and Stephen Routh v. Brett Ambridge and Josephine Ambridge, the Alaska Supreme Court considered whether Alaska Trustee and Routh were “debt collectors” subject to liability under the Federal Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA). The case represents another in a growing body of precedent revolving around the fundamental issue of whether law … Continue Reading
