The LA Times report is here.
Yesterday, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau issued a Request for Information (RFI) on its consumer complaint database and handling of consumer complaints submitted to it: The Bureau is seeking comments and information from interested parties to assist the Bureau in assessing its handling of consumer complaints and consumer inquiries and, consistent with law, considering whether […]
Mulvaney's written testimony is here. InsideArm.com has detailed coverage here. The LA Times story is here. Excerpt: Mulvaney acknowledged that although the bureau had averaged opening one new enforcement action a week under Cordray, he had launched none since taking over. That triggered astonishment from Rep. Carolyn Maloney (D-N.Y.). "Are you telling me that every […]
Earlier this week, a payday pending group, the Community Financial Services Association of America, sued the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau to challenge the payday lending rule issued last fall. The complaint also claims that the CFPB's structure is unconstitutional. The suit was filed in federal court in Texas. The complaint is available here. The Washington […]
by Jeff Sovern According to Politico, here's what Mulvaney himself said about it: POLITICO’s Katy O'Donnell: “The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is planning for the likelihood that acting Director Mick Mulvaney will remain in place through the end of the year, Mulvaney said today at a banking industry conference. “‘If it takes a year and […]
by Jeff Sovern AP is running a story, Under Trump, a Voice for the American Consumer Goes Silent, making a point that this blog has frequently noted. Excerpt: A review of a CFPB database obtained by the AP through a Freedom of Information request shows that the bureau issued an average of two to four […]
by Jeff Sovern So Reuters reports here. This report is consistent with the view that businesses that behave properly suffer when competitors cut corners and so enforcement of consumer protection laws benefits not only consumers but companies with consciences.
by Jeff Sovern Lately, I've been thinking to myself about how so little has leaked out on what's going on at the Bureau, especially compared to the White House. But that didn't stop Acting Director Mulvaney today from attacking CFPB staff for leaking, according to Sylvan Lane in The Hill. Here's an excerpt: Mulvaney . […]
Law prof Benjamin Zipursky has written The Monsanto Lecture: Online Defamation, Legal Concepts, and the Good Samaritan. Here's the abstract: Federal and state courts around the country – aided by academics on almost all sides – have completely misread the Communications Decency Act [“CDA”] § 230(c). This widely cited provision was designed to protect Internet service […]
Law prof Jim Hawkins has written Protecting Consumers as Sellers. Here's the abstract (with a few words added at the end by me): When the majority of modern contract and consumer protection laws were written in the 1950s, 60s, and 70s, consumers almost always acted as buyers, and businesses almost always acted as sellers. As a […]