Businesses that place phone calls or send text messages to consumers may find some relief in a recent United States Supreme Court decision that limits the applicability of the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (“TCPA”). The TCPA prohibits any person from placing phone calls (including text messages) to a wireless number using an automated telephone dialing system (“ATDS” or an “autodialer”) or pre-recorded or artificial voice without the recipient’s prior express consent (or, for marketing calls,…

One of the great ironies of the Supreme Court’s decision in Seila Law v. CFPB, in which the Supreme Court held that the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s (CFPB) structure was unconstitutional, is that it effectively provided no relief to Seila Law, the party that took the case all the way to the Supreme Court. On remand, the Ninth Circuit held that the CFPB’s case against Seila Law could continue. Now, for the first time, a…

On Thursday (March 26, 2021), Senator Chris Van Hollen (D-MD) introduced a Congressional Review Act (CRA) resolution of disapproval to invalidate the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency’s (OCC) true lender rule. The resolution is co-sponsored by Senate Banking Committee Chair Sherrod Brown (D-OH) and Senators Jack Reed (D-RI), Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), Catherine Cortez-Masto (NV), Tina Smith (D-MN), and Dianne Feinstein (D-CA). Rep. Chuy Garcia (D-IL) participated in the introduction of the resolution, signaling…

On March 11, 2021, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (“CFPB” or “Bureau”) rescinded its January 24, 2020 Statement of Policy Regarding Prohibition on Abusive Acts or Practices (“Policy Statement”). The Acting Director of the CFPB, David Uejio, has been working quickly to reverse Kraninger-era policies, and the Policy Statement is the latest victim. Under the original Policy Statement, the CFPB said that it would: (1) generally rely on the abusiveness standard to address conduct only…

As expected, New York has broadened the reach of its new commercial financing disclosure law less than two months after its enactment. S.B. 5470 imposed a range of Truth in Lending-like disclosure requirements on a variety of commercial financing transactions. On February 16, 2021, New York Governor Andrew Cuomo signed S.B. 898 into law, clarifying and broadening the effect of the previous legislation. Read more about the changes that commercial financers should note in Mayer…

The CFPB announced today that it expects to propose a rule to delay the July 1, 2021 date to comply with the new Qualified Mortgage (“QM”) rule. The CFPB’s statement provides that the extension would allow lenders more time to make QM loans based on their debt-to-income ratio (and Appendix Q), or based on the fact that they are eligible for purchase by Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac. The CFPB’s goal is to “ensure consumers…

On February 22, 2021, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) filed its first lawsuit since the election and the resignation of former Director Kathy Kraninger. The lawsuit alleges that the defendant engaged in deceptive and abusive practices by charging detained immigrants large upfront and monthly fees to arrange for payment of immigration bonds securing the immigrants’ release. The complaint lays out a rather damning set of facts alleging that the defendant misrepresented the nature of…