Today the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau released an outline of its proposals for rules under the federal Fair Debt Collection Practices Act. The FDCPA regulates the practices of debt collectors, primarily persons who collect consumer debt on behalf of others and sometimes persons who purchase defaulted consumer debts. The CFPB’s outline displays its intention to issue rules not only covering these third-party debt collectors and debt purchasers, but also to regulate the debt collection activities of original creditors themselves under the Bureau’s authority from the Dodd-Frank Act to issue regulations prohibiting unfair, deceptive, and abusive acts and practices. The outline…
Posts published in “Consumer Financial Services Law”
July 26, 2016 — The Annual Consumer Financial Services Conference organized by The Conference on Consumer Finance Law will be held Sept. 15-16 at Loyola University Chicago School of Law. The early registration discount ends July 30. The conference will include presentations on the latest developments in consumer financial services law, including mortgage lending and servicing, bankruptcy and debt collection. Several Maurice Wutscher attorneys will speak at the conference. Donald Maurice will discuss attorney ethics and the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act and Eric Rosenkoetter will speak on state regulation of the debt buying industry. Conference attendees will also hear…
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit recently held that a lender’s practice of charging late fees when the amount of the payment was insufficient to cover both the scheduled payment and earlier late fees violated Maryland’s Credit Grantor Closed End Credit Provisions (CLEC). However, the Court also held that the lender’s practice of applying payments first to late charges, then to accrued interest, and then to principal, as well as the lender’s internal accounting practices, did not violate CLEC. A copy of the opinion in Williams v. Lendmark Fin. Serv. is available at: Link to Opinion. In 2009,…
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit recently held that an arbitration provision was enforceable under the Federal Arbitration Act, 9 U.S.C. §§ 1 et seq., and under Maryland law, even though the arbitration provision appeared in an amended finance agreement that was not signed by the finance company, and even though additional terms in the amended finance agreement were later modified. A copy of the opinion in Galloway v. Santander Consumer USA, Inc. is available at: Link to Opinion. The plaintiff was the obligor on a retail installment sales contract (RISC) she obtained to finance the purchase of…
National financial services law firm Maurice Wutscher LLP has opened a new office in Atlanta, hiring financial services attorney D. Sharmin Arefin to lead the firm’s Georgia litigation and regulatory compliance matters. Arefin will practice in the firm’s Consumer Credit Litigation, Regulatory Compliance, Employment Litigation, and Commercial Litigation groups. She joins Maurice Wutscher’s skilled team of litigators who specialize in appellate matters, business formation and transactions, class action litigation, commercial litigation, construction litigation, consumer credit litigation, contested bankruptcies, contested foreclosures, employment and civil litigation, insurance recovery and advisory services, intellectual property litigation, and regulatory compliance, in offices throughout the United…
Join me on June 2 for a live webinar when I will be among a panel of plaintiff and defense attorneys discussing developments and trends in consumer finance class actions, including the Gillie and Spokeo U.S. Supreme Court cases. During the webinar, we will present effective strategies and approaches for pursuing or defending claims alleging violations of federal consumer protection laws governing the financial services industry, including the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA), Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA), Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) and other similar statutes and regulations. In addition, we will offer guidance on how to navigate the thorny…
The Annual Consumer Financial Services Conference organized by The Conference on Consumer Finance Law will be held Sept. 15-16 at Loyola University Chicago School of Law. The conference will include presentations on the latest developments in consumer financial services law, including mortgage lending and servicing, bankruptcy and debt collection. Twelve CLE credits will be provided, including one hour of Ethics. The fee is $495 for those who register before July 31. For more information, click here.
National financial services law firm Maurice Wutscher LLP has opened a new office in Birmingham, hiring financial services attorney Brent Yarborough to lead the firm’s Alabama litigation matters. Yarborough will practice in the firm’s Appellate, Commercial Litigation, Consumer Credit Litigation and Regulatory Compliance groups. He joins Maurice Wutscher’s skilled team of litigators who specialize in appellate matters, business formation and transactions, class action litigation, commercial litigation, construction litigation, consumer credit litigation, contested bankruptcies, contested foreclosures, employment litigation, equine law, insurance recovery and advisory services, intellectual property litigation, regulatory compliance, and trials and evidentiary hearings. Maurice Wutscher now has 15 offices…
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit recently held that a genuine dispute of material fact precluded summary judgment on the issue of whether the sale of collateral was “commercially reasonable,” even though there was no evidence that the sale was not “fairly conducted.” A copy of the opinion in Harley-Davidson Credit Corp. v. Galvin is available at: Link to Opinion. The assignee of a loan secured by an interest in an aircraft sued the guarantor of the loan to collect $108,681.50, the deficiency that remained after the assignee sold the collateral through a third-party dealer. Pursuant to the loan…
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit recently struck down Florida’s “anti-surcharge” statute, Fla. Stat. § 501.0117, holding that the Florida law prohibiting charging a fee to pay by credit card was an unconstitutional restriction of free speech. A copy of the opinion in Dana’s Railroad Supply, et al v. Attorney General, State of Florida is available at: Link to Opinion. Four small businesses filed suit after receiving cease-and-desist letters from the Florida Attorney General demanding they refrain from charging lower prices for customers using cash and higher prices for those using credit cards, and demanding that they refrain from…
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit recently held that a party challenging an arbitration agreement containing a delegation clause – requiring threshold determinations, such as whether an arbitration agreement is enforceable, to be made by an arbitrator – must challenge the delegation clause specifically, and not simply the agreement as a whole. A copy of the opinion is available at: Link to Opinion. The plaintiff, a Georgia resident, responded to a television advertisement for short-term loans by applying for the $1,000 loan using his computer. The lender was a South Dakota limited liability company located on Indian…
National financial services law firm Maurice Wutscher LLP has opened a new office in Boston, hiring financial services attorney Brady Hermann to lead the firm’s Massachusetts litigation matters. This brings the number of offices of Maurice Wutscher LLP to 12. Hermann will practice in the firm’s Commercial Litigation and Consumer Credit Litigation groups, joining Maurice Wutscher’s skilled team of 26 attorneys focused on defense of the financial services industry in offices throughout the United States. In addition to Boston, Maurice Wutscher has offices in Austin, Chicago, Cincinnati, Flemington, Indianapolis, Miami, New York, Philadelphia, San Diego, San Francisco and Washington, DC.…