On February 23, the CFPB filed a joint stipulation in the United District Court for the Central District of California to dismiss its lawsuit against an online lending platform. The lawsuit, originally filed in May 2024, alleged that the platform misled borrowers about the total cost of its loans in violation of the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) and the Consumer Financial Protection Act (CFPA).Continue Reading CFPB Drops Lawsuit Against Online Lender Following Litigation Freeze
On February 14, a divided Second Circuit panel upheld a 2016 jury verdict which found that a mortgage lender violated, among other laws, the Equal Credit Opportunity Act (“ECOA”) by engaging in “reverse redlining” when it allegedly targeted Black and Latino homeowners with predatory loans.Continue Reading Second Circuit Upholds Reverse Redlining Verdict Against Mortgage Lender
On January 22, New York Attorney General Letitia James announced a $1 billion settlement with a now defunct cash advance firm and its officers. The settlement resolves allegations that the firm and its officers repeatedly engaged in fraudulent and deceptive predatory lending practices aimed at small business owners in violation of New York law. Continue Reading New York AG Reaches $1 Billion Settlement with ‘Predatory’ Lender
On August 26, the United States District Court for the Southern District of Texas issued a decision upholding the legality of the CFPB Small Business Lending Rule (the “Rule”) (designed to implement section 1071 of the Dodd-Frank Act) in a lawsuit filed by plaintiff trade associations challenging the CFPB’s authority in promulgating the Rule (previously discussed here and here).Continue Reading Federal Court Upholds CFPB’s Small Business Lending Rule
On August 12, the National Consumer Law Center (NCLC), a prominent consumer advocacy group, petitioned the CFPB to open rulemaking under the Equal Credit Opportunity Act (ECOA) to expand the definition of “credit” to include housing and apartment rental leases, and “creditors” to include landlords. While acknowledging that landlords are already banned from discriminating against prospective tenants under the federal Fair Housing Act, the petition aims to secure two additional protections. Continue Reading Advocacy Group Petitions CFPB to Categorize Housing Rental Leases as “Credit”
Florida recently enacted H1347, revising the state’s criteria for what constitutes usurious consumer loans. Continue Reading New Florida Law Overhauls Consumer Finance Loan Interest Rate Requirements
On June 17, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau filed an order to resolve its 2023 lawsuit against the former CEO of a short-term small dollar lender and his spouse, in connection with a series of fraudulent transfers they utilized to evade the civil penalties imposed by the CFPB against the company.Continue Reading CFPB Takes Action Against Owners of Small Dollar Lender for Hiding Money to Avoid Penalties
On May 16, the CFPB filed a motion for summary judgement in the U.S. District Court in the Southern District of Florida seeking a $20 million civil penalty against a California-based mortgage provider for allegedly submitting inaccurate government mortgage loan data.Continue Reading CFPB Files Motion for Summary Judgment on HMDA Enforcement Action
On May 17, Colorado’s governor signed the nation’s first artificial intelligence law designed to prevent algorithmic discrimination. The law is slated to go into effect on February 1, 2026.Continue Reading Colorado Enacts Nation’s First AI Discrimination Law
On April 22, the Governor of Tennessee signed HB 2100 into law. This new law, an amendment to the state’s consumer protection codes, introduces protections for consumers against discrimination by financial institutions and insurers in their service offerings.Continue Reading Tennessee New Law to Curb “De-Banking”
On March 5, the New York Attorney General filed a lawsuit against a network of over 30 lending companies and their officers alleging their involvement in a predatory “merchant cash advance” lending scheme that exploited New York businesses through fraudulent loans at “sky-high interest rates.” Continue Reading New York Attorney General Brings $1.4 Billion Lawsuit Against Merchant Cash Advance Lenders