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Posts published in “Banking”

OCC and FDIC Issue NPRMs to Fix Madden, and Clarify the Validity of the ‘Valid When Made’ Doctrine

The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) both recently issued proposed rules to “fix” the potential problems arising from the ruling in Madden v. Midland Funding, LLC, 786 F.3d 246 (2nd Cir. 2015), which called into question the “valid when made” doctrine. In addition, the FDIC’s proposal would make clear that the permissible interest on a loan would be determined at the time the loan is made, regardless of subsequent events such as changes in state law or the sale or assignment of the loan. The OCC’s Notice of Proposed Rulemaking is available…

9th Cir. Holds FCRA ‘Permissible Purpose’ Plaintiff Had Standing, Establishes Elements for Such Claims

In a case of first impression in that circuit, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit recently reversed a trial court’s dismissal of a consumer’s Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) claim for lack of standing and failure to state a claim, holding that the plaintiff had Article III standing. In so ruling, the Ninth Circuit held that the consumer suffered a concrete injury in fact when a bank obtained her credit report for a purpose not authorized by the statute, and it was irrelevant whether the report was published or used by the party requesting it. The Court…

5th Cir. Holds Bankruptcy Discharge Violations Not Always Subject to Arbitration

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit recently affirmed a bankruptcy court order denying a bank’s motion to compel arbitration, holding that when a debtor seeks to enforce a discharge injunction, a bankruptcy court may decline to compel arbitration because it implicates a bankruptcy court’s ability to enforce its own orders. A copy of the opinion in Henry v. Educational Financial Service is available at:  Link to Opinion. A borrower took out a student loan and subsequently filed for Chapter 13 bankruptcy. The bankruptcy court confirmed the plan.  The borrower made the payments to her creditors, including her…

Three New California Laws Will Impact Consumer Credit

Three new laws signed by California Gov. Gavin Newsom in recent days will impact consumer credit in the state by capping interest rates on payday and other consumer installment loans, giving automatic exemptions for bank account levies and removing exemptions for attorneys and mortgage loans from the Rosenthal Act. California Financing Law Expanded AB 539 amends the California Financing Law, which licenses and regulates finance lenders and brokers, by imposing new restrictions on loans of $2,500 or more but less than $10,000. It also adds a rate cap on those loans so that the annual simple interest rate may not…

6th Cir. Holds FCRA Preempts State Common Law Claims, Joins 2nd and 7th Cirs.

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit recently affirmed a judgment in favor of the furnisher of credit information in an action filed under the federal Fair Credit Reporting Act and other claims under state common law. In so ruling, the Sixth Circuit held that the FCRA’s preemption provisions apply to state common law claims concerning a furnisher’s reporting obligations, joining similar rulings by the Seventh and Second Circuits. A copy of the opinion in Scott v. First Southern National Bank is available at:  Link to Opinion. The plaintiffs owned several investment properties and obtained a $300,000 commercial…

7th Cir. Holds UCC Financing Statement May Incorporate List of Collateral by Reference

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit recently reversed a bankruptcy court’s ruling that a lender failed to perfect its security interest because its UCC financing statement failed to provide sufficient indication of the secured collateral under Article 9 of the Uniform Commercial Code. In so doing, the Seventh Circuit concluded that under the Illinois version of the UCC, a financing statement’s reference to an unattached security agreement sufficiently “indicates” the secured collateral as required by Article 9, and need not “contain” a specific description of the collateral within its four corners. A copy of the opinion in…

11th Cir. Holds Lender’s Forum Selection and Class Action Waiver Clauses Unenforceable

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit recently affirmed the denial of a lender’s motions to dismiss and to strike a complaint filed on behalf of a class of borrowers who entered into loan agreements with the lender and its affiliates. In so ruling, the Eleventh Circuit held that the loan agreements’ forum selection clause and class action waivers were unenforceable under Georgia’s Payday Lending Act and Industrial Loan Act, as enforcement would undermine the purpose and spirit of Georgia’s statutory scheme including to preserve class actions as a remedy. A copy of the opinion in Davis v.…

7th Cir. Holds LLC Act Did Not Shield Owner from Liability for Fraudulent Loan Closings

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit recently ruled in favor of a bank suing to recover for a fraudulent loan scheme, finding that the Illinois Limited Liability Company Act did not shield the closing agent company’s owner from liability in a fraud scheme because he was substantially involved in the fraud and the scheme would have failed without his individual participation. A copy of the opinion in Fifth Third Mortgage Company v. Kaufman is available at:  Link to Opinion. Straw buyers submitted fraudulent loan applications to a bank. The participants in the scheme used an attorney to…

7th Cir. Holds Borrower’s Fraud Claims Against Bank Not Barred by Res Judicata

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit recently reversed a trial court order determining that res judicata barred a borrower’s fraud claims against a bank. In so ruling, the Court held that res judicata should not apply in this case because in the first action the borrower was a defendant and raised the fraud claim before the bank voluntarily dismissed the case when the borrower learned of the fraud claims and threatened to allege them against the bank. A copy of the opinion in Doherty v. Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation is available at:  Link to Opinion. A borrower…

11th Cir. Reverses Trial Court’s Use of Fee Multiplier in Fee-Shifting Case

In a class action arising from a data breach at a retailer that resulted in the theft of millions of consumers’ credit card information, the U.S Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit recently held that the fee arrangement included as part of the settlement was a fee-shifting contract and the constructive common fund doctrine did not apply, reversing as an abuse of discretion the trial court’s use of a fee multiplier in a fee-shifting case. A copy of the opinion in Northeastern Engineers Federal Credit Union, et al. v. Home Depot, Inc., et al. is available at:  Link to Opinion.…

7th Cir. Holds Plaintiff Lacked Standing in ADA ‘Website Accessibility’ Case Against Credit Union

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit recently held that a blind plaintiff lacked standing to sue under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) for alleged accessibility problems with a credit union’s website because he could not establish an injury in fact as a non-member. A copy of the opinion in Carello v. Aurora Policemen Credit Union is available at:  Link to Opinion. The plaintiff, who is blind, sued a credit union, alleging that the credit union’s website violated his rights under the ADA because it was not accessible to blind people. Specifically, the plaintiff claimed that the credit…

6th Cir. Reverses Dismissal in Short-Term Cash Advance Class Action Involving Two Definitions of ‘APR’

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit recently reversed the dismissal of a breach of contract claim in a putative class action involving short-term cash advance loans, finding that the contract at issue was ambiguous because it provided two inconsistent definitions of “annual percentage rate” that could not be reconciled. A copy of the opinion in Laskaris, et al. v. Fifth Third Bank is available at:  Link to Opinion. The defendant bank created a short-term cash advance program for eligible customers who held checking accounts with the bank.  Specifically, the bank would deposit loans up to $1,000 directly…