Author Archives: Jeff Sovern

LA Times’s David Lazarus: Trump wants to deny nursing-home residents and their families the right to sue

Here.  It's another excellent column.  Excerpt: Let’s say your elderly parent was neglected or abused in a nursing home. In the past, your only recourse might have been arbitration, rather than going to court. But thanks to a rule put in place last fall by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, nursing homes that receive federal funding — […]

SCOTUS Rules Unanimously: Debt Buyers Not Debt Collectors Under FDCPA

by Jeff Sovern The decision in Henson v. Santander is here.  A debt buyer could still qualify as a debt collector under the FDCPA if debt collection is the "principal purpose" of its business, under 1692a(6), but if collections is not the principal purpose of its business, as is true of Santander, it will not be […]

Prentiss Cox et al Op-ed: Why we must not gut consumer protections

Here, in Minnesota's Star-Tribune. Prentiss wrote it with two other original members of the Bureau's Consumer Advisory Board, Jose Quinonez and William Bynum. Excerpt:  Have you ever been an eyewitness to an event and later seen it written about in a way that directly contradicts your experience? As three people who witnessed close-up the Consumer […]

WSJ: Treasury Report to Call for Curbs on CFPB, CRA

Here. Excerpt: [The report] is harshly critical of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and recommends that the bureau be stripped of its authority to examine financial institutions, people familiar with the matter said. By law, the bureau has the authority to enforce consumer laws as well as to examine individual firms on a continuing basis. […]

Law360’s Evan Weinberger: CFPB Could Avoid Fight With New Debt Collection Plan

Here.  We reported on the plan to separate debt collection regulation into two rules on Thursday. Weinberger reports on speculation on the Bureau's motivation in proceeding in that fashion: But doing the less controversial update of debt collection communications and disclosures first could also potentially allow the CFPB to avoid any rule getting invalidated by […]

CFPB Alters Plan for Debt Collection Regs

by Jeff Sovern Last summer, the CFPB issued a document indicating its tentative plan for third-party debt collector regulation, and saying that it was going to move forward on first-party debt collectors separately. Today, CFPB Director Richard Cordray gave a speech saying that in light of feedback the Bureau had received, it has: now decided to […]

House Financial Services Committee Democrats Reply to Staff Report About Cordray

Yesterday, Allison wrote about the House Financial Services Committee staff report threatening CFPB Director Richard Cordray with contempt charges.  Democrats on the Committee replied here.  Excerpt: Debunking Republicans’ Alternative Facts: Fiction: “Wells Fargo has cooperated in full with the Committee’s investigation to date.”  Fact: Wells Fargo has not responded to Democrats’ multiple requests to provide Democratic staff the same […]