Grant A. Premo

Grant Premo is an associate in the Birmingham office. He practices in the firm’s General Litigation Group and Banking and Financial Services Practice Group. During law school, Grant competed in the Robert F. Wagner National Labor and Employment Moot Court Competition; served on the Campbell Moot Court Board; and was a Senior Editor for the Alabama Law Review. View articles by Grant

Firm/Organization: Bradley Arant Boult Cummings LLP

Blogs: Financial Services Perspectives

Latest Articles

Financial Services Perspectives

Eleventh Circuit Endorses Narrow Definition of TCPA Autodialer Creating Circuit Split

By Grant A. Premo & R. Aaron Chastain

February 5, 2020

On January 27, 2020, a federal court of appeals issued a significant decision interpreting the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (commonly referred to as the “TCPA”) in a way that limits the expansive potential liability companies face under the statute. In Glasser v. Hilton Grand Vacations Company, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit reached three significant conclusions: The court adopted a narrow definition of what constitutes an “autodialer” under the TCPA, rejecting…

Financial Services Perspectives

NCUA’s Appraisal Threshold Increase to $1 Million for Commercial Real Estate Loans Set to Go into Effect

By Grant A. Premo

October 18, 2019

The National Credit Union Administration’s (NCUA) new appraisal threshold rule for commercial real estate loans will go into effect on October 22, 2019. Under the NCUA’s new appraisal rule, credit unions will not be required to obtain an appraisal for commercial real estate transactions less than $1 million. The new rule sharply increases the appraisal threshold, which the NCUA previously set at $250,000. As a basis for the increase, the NCUA noted that the…

Financial Services Perspectives

State Law Claims Based on Student Loan Servicer’s Loss Mitigation Representations Not Preempted by the HEA, Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals Holds

By Grant A. Premo & R. Aaron Chastain

July 2, 2019

The Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals struck a blow to student loan servicers’ arguments that certain state law claims brought by borrowers are preempted under the Higher Education Act (HEA). In a lengthy opinion issued on June 27, 2019, in Nelson v. Great Lakes Educations Loan Services, Inc., the court held that a borrower’s state law claims based on alleged misrepresentations made by the servicer about the borrower’s repayment options could proceed. In Nelson,…

Financial Services Perspectives

Fourth Circuit Strikes Down TCPA Exemption for Collection of Government Debt, Putting Loan Servicers and Debt Collectors at Risk

By R. Aaron Chastain & Grant A. Premo

April 30, 2019

A recent decision by a panel of the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit interpreting the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) has significant – and possibly costly – implications for loan servicers and debt collectors seeking to collect on loans owed to or guaranteed by the United States. On April 24, the Fourth Circuit issued its published decision in American Association of Political Consultants, Inc. v. Federal Communications Commission, holding that…

Financial Services Perspectives

Student Loan Servicers’ Fight over Federal Preemption of State Regulation May End Up in the Supreme Court

By Grant A. Premo & Keith S. Anderson

April 15, 2019

In courts across the country, servicers are facing off against states and borrowers over the extent to which federal laws preempt state regulation of federal student loan servicers. Numerous states have stepped up their enforcement activity against student loan servicers and begun enacting new laws aimed at regulating student loan servicing, partially in response to what the states view as a slowdown in federal oversight. Some servicers of federal student loans, pushing back against the…

Financial Services Perspectives

CFPB Student Loan Ombudsman Abruptly Resigns in Protest

By Grant A. Premo

August 30, 2018

In another move reflecting the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s (CFPB) shifting focus on student lending, the CFPB’s Student Loan Ombudsman announced his resignation on August 27, 2018. In his resignation letter, Seth Frotman, who served as the Student Loan Ombudsman for the past three years, criticized reforms implemented by the CFPB’s current leadership and charged the CFPB leadership with “abandoning” student lending consumers. Frotman’s resignation comes three months after the CFPB announced organizational changes…

Financial Services Perspectives

D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals’ TCPA Ruling Is a Mixed Bag

By Grant A. Premo & Edward S. Sledge IV

March 20, 2018

On March 16, 2018, the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals issued its long-awaited Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) opinion in ACA International v. Federal Communications Commission, a consolidated appeal of the FCC’s July 10, 2015, TCPA Declaratory Ruling and Order. While the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals upheld the FCC’s approach to revocation of consent for autodialed calls and exemption for time-sensitive healthcare calls, the opinion sets aside the FCC’s interpretation of the type…

Financial Services Perspectives

Trump’s New FCC Chairman Ajit Pai May Drain the TCPA Swamp

By Grant A. Premo & Ryan P. Robichaux

February 1, 2017

In one of his first official actions, newly elected President Donald Trump tapped Ajit Pai as the new chairman of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), replacing outgoing chairman Tom Wheeler. Pai is a sharp critic of the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) as it is currently being applied, meaning the FCC’s regulatory approach to the TCPA is likely to shift under his leadership. Pai was initially nominated by President Barack Obama for a Republican Party…

Financial Services Perspectives

Commercial Lenders Take Note: Insurance May Not Cover Fraudulent USDA Guarantees for Business & Industry Loans

By Grant A. Premo

November 21, 2016

A Wisconsin federal court recently held that forged USDA loan guarantees did not trigger coverage under a bankers blanket bond held by Wisconsin-based Citizens Bank, resulting in a $15 million loss to the bank. Atlantic Specialty Insurance Co. issued the bankers blanket bond to provide coverage for losses stemming from certified securities or corporate, partnership or personal guarantees that were fraudulent, but the court determined that the bond did not cover counterfeit government-backed guarantees. In…

Financial Services Perspectives

CFPB Releases FDCPA Annual Report

By Grant A. Premo

April 12, 2016

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 activities Active enforcement actions from 2015 The CFPB’s education activities The CFPB’s rule making activities In addition to summarizing the…

Grant A. Premo

Eleventh Circuit Endorses Narrow Definition of TCPA Autodialer Creating Circuit Split

NCUA’s Appraisal Threshold Increase to $1 Million for Commercial Real Estate Loans Set to Go into Effect

State Law Claims Based on Student Loan Servicer’s Loss Mitigation Representations Not Preempted by the HEA, Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals Holds

Fourth Circuit Strikes Down TCPA Exemption for Collection of Government Debt, Putting Loan Servicers and Debt Collectors at Risk

Student Loan Servicers’ Fight over Federal Preemption of State Regulation May End Up in the Supreme Court

CFPB Student Loan Ombudsman Abruptly Resigns in Protest

D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals’ TCPA Ruling Is a Mixed Bag

Trump’s New FCC Chairman Ajit Pai May Drain the TCPA Swamp

Commercial Lenders Take Note: Insurance May Not Cover Fraudulent USDA Guarantees for Business & Industry Loans

CFPB Releases FDCPA Annual Report

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