Joshua J. Kaufman

Connect: Read more about Joshua J. Kaufman
Firm/Organization: Venable LLP
Blogs: All About Advertising Law, Political Law Briefing

Latest Articles

CFPB “mystery shoppers,” along with secret recordings, were part of the CFPB’s factual allegations in a recent mortgage discrimination settlement. The DOJ and CFPB announced a settlement with BancorpSouth Bank to resolve alleged violations of the Fair Housing Act and Equal Credit Opportunity Act (ECOA). The complaint alleges that from at least 2011 to 2013, BancorpSouth illegally redlined mortgage loan applicants, denied African Americans loans more often than white applicants, charged African American customers more…
What do the campaigns of Sarah Palin, John McCain, Ted Cruz, Donald Trump, Newt Gingrich, Rand Paul, Ralph Nader, Ronald Reagan, Mike Huckabee, Barack Obama, and Mitt Romney all have in common? They have all faced claims of copyright infringement for their use of music or other works of art. Candidates—and outside groups supporting or opposing them—often do not pay much attention to the copyright laws that apply to their activities, and sometimes use other…
Don’t know about you, but we’ve been dreaming about wrapping ourselves in a big cabled sweater, drinking a pumpkin-spiced beverage and cozying up to the Fall 2015 issue of Supervisory Highlights. Usually haiku is how we roll, but haiku really evokes spring, and in honor of everyone’s favorite season of decay, we’ve decided to give limericks a try this time. Let’s get started! There once was a bank from Nantucket . . .…
A federal judge has rejected the CFPB’s argument that the CFPA should incorporate a lower standard for “recklessness” than that to secondary liability under the Securities and Exchange Act of 1934 (“SEC Act”). On September 1, 2015, in one of the first decisions substantively interpreting standards for aiding and abetting under the CFPA, Consumer Financial Protection Bureau v. Universal Debt & Payment Solutions, LLC, No. 15 CV 00859 (N.D. Ga. Sept. 1, 2015), Judge…
On Wednesday, July 8, the CFPB announced its latest — and largest — settlement of claims of unfair and deceptive debt collection practices. The OCC and 47 State Attorneys General all were part of the overall settlement. The numbers are significant: $50 million in restitution and $166 million in penalties. The injunctive relief is extensive, with pages and pages of requirements that extend for several years even though the credit card issuer stopped the practices…
Break out the short shorts everybody: it’s summer! We know you could use a palate cleanser between the 50 Shades novels and Game of Thrones wikis you’re reading on the beach. Supervisory Haiku-lights to the rescue! The Summer 2015 issue of Supervisory Highlights includes supervisory observations on consumer reporting, debt collection, student loan servicing, mortgage origination, mortgage servicing, and fair lending. We’ve provided some highlights of the highlights, in haiku, of course, below. deleting trade…
Are servicemembers more financially vulnerable than the civilians they protect? Recent enforcement actions suggest that, in the CFPB’s view, they are. While the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act (SCRA) provides more financial protections to servicemembers than civilian consumers have, the Bureau has also begun to use the CFPA to assert “abusive” claims in cases involving alleged acts or practices affecting servicemembers. The “abusive” prong of the CFPA’s UDAAP provision provides that the Bureau can declare an act…
It’s been a rough couple of weeks for debt-relief services firm Morgan Drexen.  You may recall our previous post about the CFPB’s action against Morgan Drexen in the Central District of California and the alleged antics that ensued.  By way of quick recap, the case involves alleged violations of the Telemarketing Sales Rule (TSR) and the Consumer Financial Protection Act. While it looked like the action was trial-bound, the court disposed of the case on…
Spring has sprung, technically speaking, but Old Man Winter is dragging his feet on the way out here on the East Coast. Maybe he was hanging around waiting for the Winter 2015 edition of Supervisory Highlights, which came out right before the turn of the seasons. Spring is, of course, prime time for haikus, so we are gearing up for Sakura Matsuri by delivering some key takeaways from the CFPB’s supervisory observations in our favorite…
Despite loud industry objections and apparent impracticalities, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) has moved ahead with its plan to allow consumers submitting to its Consumer Complaint Database to go public with narrative descriptions of their complaints. On March 19, the Bureau announced the change and encouraged consumers to “lift their voices” into a potentially cacophonous chorus that could pose significant reputational challenges for consumer financial services companies. The new policy followed consideration of 137…