In the Fall of 2021, the U.S. House of Representatives once again passed the Safe and Fair Enforcement (SAFE) Banking Act, with joint support from both parties. And although the Senate has yet to sign off, last month, the bill had 40 co-sponsors therein. The SAFE...
The United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia, has deepened a split among federal appellate courts, holding that government agencies can be sued under the Fair Credit Reporting Act (“FCRA”), 15 U.S.C.A. § 1681. The DC Circuit joined the Seventh...
The United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit, in a case spanning fourteen years, has held that consumers alleging a violation of the Fair Credit Reporting Act (“FCRA”), 15 U.S.C.A. § 1681e(b), must allege actual harm to sue under the statute. A claim for...
On July 9, 2021, President Biden issued an executive order that could spell changes for banking regulation. The Executive Order’s stated purpose is to promote a “fair, open, and competitive marketplace” and the Order asserts that “in the financial-services sector,...
In late 2020, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) issued the “true lender” rule, which was immediately met with criticism. Shortly thereafter, several State Attorneys General, led by New York Attorney General Letitia James, sued the OCC seeking to...
Letters of credit are a common payment mechanism in international trade that normally allow a buyer to substitute the financial integrity of a stable credit source such as a bank for his own. For the seller of goods, a letter of credit functions as a bank’s...
Late last year, we wrote about the issuance of the “true lender” rule by the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC), which went into effect in December 2020. Prior to the issuance of that rule, federal courts had differed as to whether third-party lenders...
The United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit recently held that a private settlement on favorable terms for the plaintiff does not qualify as a “successful action” triggering the fee shifting provisions of the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (“FDCPA”)...
In Pittner v. Castle Peak 2012-1 Loan Trust (Memo & Order April 14, 2021), the United States District Court for the District of Massachusetts awarded summary judgment to Defendants, Castle Peak 2012-1 Loan Trust and Selene Finance LP, on Plaintiff’s claims of...
In AT&T Mobility LLC v. Concepcion, 563 U.S. 333 (2011), the United States Supreme Court ruled that the Federal Arbitration Act preempts state laws that prohibit consumer contracts from disallowing class-wide arbitration. On May 5, 2016, however, the Federal...
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