Author Archives: Jeff Sovern

Norm Silber on the 50th Anniversary of Caplovitz’s The Poor Pay More

Norman I. Silber of Hofstra has written Discovering that the Poor Pay More: Race Riots, Poverty, and the Rise of Consumer Law, 44 Ford.Urb.L.J. 1319 (2017).  Here is the abstract: David Caplovitz is remembered primarily for his book The Poor Pay More and his writing about poor consumers. This article addresses why this work propelled the reconstruction […]

Mulvaney Pushed the Envelope by Misquoting Cordray in Memo Saying the Bureau Has Pushed Its Last Envelope

by Jeff Sovern Allied Progress has the story. It seems that Mulvaney incorrectly attributed to his predecessor a statement that the Bureau pushed the envelope. That is according to Michael Grunwald, the author of the Politico article containing the original statement about pushing the envelope. Mulvaney's memo is available here. Update: The WSJ, which had […]

CFPB Has No Update on Enforcement Freeze After Not Announcing Enforcement Action in More Than 2 Months

by Jeff Sovern In response to my inquiry, a CFPB representative, Brenda Muniz, informed me today that "There are no updates with respect to the freeze on enforcement actions or the issuance of CIDs," and that the CFPB has not announced an enforcement action since its November 21 announcement about Citibank. Though the Bureau's press […]

Mulvaney Claims He Is Not Trying to Destroy the CFPB (But What Else Would He Say?)

by Jeff Sovern According to Evan Weinberger, writing in Law360: Office of Management and Budget Director Mick Mulvaney, who is leading the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau on a temporary basis despite a court challenge from the bureau's deputy director, insisted Friday that he is not trying to destroy the federal watchdog from within. Mulvaney, who has been […]

Loonin/Morgan Article: We Need to Know More to Solve the Federal Student Aid Problem

Deanne Loonin of Harvard University – Hale and Dorr Legal Services Center and Julie Margetta Morgan of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation have written Federal Student Aid: Can We Solve a Problem We Do Not Understand?, forthcoming in the Utah Law Review. Here is the abstract: Americans currently owe over $1.3 trillion in student loans, […]

House Financial Services Committee Markup of Bill to Exclude Lawyers Litigating Debt Collection Cases from FDCPA Deferred Until March

by Jeff Sovern Earlier this week we linked to an op-ed by Mary Spector (SMU), Genevieve Hebert Fajardo (St. Mary’s) and Neil L. Sobol (Texas A&M) criticizing a debt collection bill pending in the House, HR 4550, which would exclude from the FDCPA's coverage attorneys to the extent they are engaging in litigation. Though the bill […]

Ohio State Representative Jonathan Dever Seen as a Top Candidate for CFPB Director

by Jeff Sovern So reports Ian MacKendry in the American Banker. The article says that Dever's candidacy is being pushed by Rep. Steve Stivers, R-Ohio, a member of the House Financial Services Committee and the National Republican Campaign Committee. As is usual in such matters, no sources are identified, though a couple of administration insiders […]