Author Archives: Allison Zieve

“Debt relief” company pushes back against CFPB

The Blog of LegalTimes reports: When Morgan Drexen Inc. found itself in the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's crosshairs, the company, which works with law firms to provide debt relief services to consumers, initiated a response that's proving to be both unusually aggressive and public. The CFPB filed suit against the company earlier this week in […]

Justice Dep’t Investigating Online Payday Lenders

The Washington Post reports that the Justice Department "has issued subpoenas to banks and other companies that handle payments for an array of financial offerings, ramping up an investigation that has been under way for several months." The investigation reportedly is focusing on companies that process payments for online payday lenders. Read the full story.

U.S. Sues BofA over Sale of Mortgage-backed Securities

The Washington Post reports today: Traders at Bank of America willfully misled investors about the quality of the residential mortgages tucked into the securities the bank sold at the start of the financial crisis, according to separate lawsuits filed Tuesday by the Justice Department and the Securities and Exchange Commission. . . . Justice claims […]

Richmond, CA May Use Eminent Domain to Prevent Foreclosures

The New York Times reports today that the City of Richmond, California is considering using eminent domain to buy mortgages and reduce homeowner debt. The banks don't like the idea. The article explains: [R]oughly half of all homeowners with mortgages in Richmond are underwater, meaning they owe more — in some cases three or four […]

Regulatory matters in progress at CFPB and FTC

Federal agencies recently published their agendas of regulatory matters on which they expect to work from May 2013 through May 2014. (The July 3 publication is actually a delayed "spring" regulatory agenda.) The agenda of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is available here. It lists 8 regulations that the agency expects to finalize during the […]

FTC Testifies Before Senate about Unlawful Debt Collection

From today's FTC press release: The Federal Trade Commission told a U.S. Senate subcommittee that it continues to crack down on unlawful debt collection practices through an active program of vigorous law enforcement, education and public outreach, and research and policy initiatives. Testifying on behalf of the FTC before the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, […]

FTC curbs abuses by major debt collector

The FTC announced yesterday that the "world’s largest debt collection operation, Expert Global Solutions and its subsidiaries, has agreed to stop harassing consumers with allegedly illegal debt collection calls and to pay a $3.2 million civil penalty – the largest ever obtained by the Federal Trade Commission against a third-party debt collector." The FTC's press […]

Alabama Supreme Court grants rehearing on whether brand-name drug co. can be held liable for inadequate labeling when patient’s Rx was filled with generic drug

In a blog post last June, we noted an Alabama Supreme Court ruling that a patient who took a generic version of a drug may sue a brand-name drug manufacturer for failing to warn about a drug’s risks. The court had reasoned that the brand-name manufacturer could have foreseen that a physician prescribing the brand-name […]