CPFB Issues Annual Report on FDCPA Activity

The CFPB has released its annual report on activities under the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act. You can read it here. The report summarizes consumer complaint data, the Bureau's new supervision program, amicus briefs, and enforcement actions (not much to report in that category), and significant enforcement and other actions taken by the FTC, among […]

Fourth Circuit opinion limits scope of preemption of consumer remedies

Yesterday's decision from the Fourth Circuit in McCauley v. Home Loan Investment Bank cabins the preemptive scope of the Home Owners' Loan Act and associated regulations to pre-Dodd Frank consumer claims (Dodd-Frank has changed the legal landscape going forward, but the old regulations still govern a number of cases arising out of the Great Recession). […]

American Banker: Car Dealers Fight Back Against CFPB Auto Financing Rule

by Jeff Sovern Here. The piece begins:  Auto dealership advocates are warning that costs will rise for borrowers if the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau presses banks to curtail auto loan markups determined by dealers. The warning followed the CFPB's bulletin this week that said banks are responsible for discrimination if their partner dealers mark up […]

A Disability-Rights Critique of the Digital Millenium Copyright Act

Over at Slate, Blake Reid has written "The Digital Millenium Copyright Act Is Even Worse Than You Think," which argues that the DMCA keeps e-books, online video, and other material inaccessible to people with disabilities. Here are some excerpts: The [cell-phone] unlocking furor is just the latest example of popular opposition to the DMCA’s dreaded […]

Justices Search for Limits on Preemption of Consumer Claims Based on Federal Transportation Deregulation Laws

Over at SCOTUSblog, I've got two posts up about Dan's City Used Cars v. Pelkey, an interesting preemption case that was argued before the U.S. Supreme Court this week. The case concerns whether transportation deregulation law preempts a suit under state consumer-protection law brought by a man whose car was towed away from his home […]

Yet another loss for access to the courts and for class actions under the Federal Arbitration Act

by Brian Wolfman The Second Circuit issued a decision yesterday enforcing arbitration in a Title VII employment discrimination case. It rejected an argument that requiring arbitration would undermine effective vindication of federal statutory rights.The decision is Parisi v. Goldman Sachs. To simplify a bit, here's what happened: Three plaintiffs brought a putative employment discrimination class […]