Litigation

Many experts think the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's funding through the Federal Reserve could be the fatal flaw in the Dodd-Frank Act that created the agency, but differentiating the CFPB's structure from others may be tricky.

The case involved a customer who was charged $100,000 in legal fees when he tried to pay off a commercial mortgage early. After the borrower waged a nearly decadelong legal fight, a Florida court ordered the bank to reimburse a portion of the fees.

Legal experts are gaming out the various options for the CFPB after a three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit ruled on Oct. 19 that the bureau's funding is unconstitutional.

An appeals court ruling last week found that the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's funding structure violates the Constitution, but another court filing shows how the agency might fight back.

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit overturned a lower court's ruling, declaring the agency's funding structure and its 2017 payday lending rule invalid.

The class-action lawsuit was brought on behalf of mortgage borrowers who were allegedly placed into forbearance during the early days of the pandemic without their consent.

A federal judge found last year that a credit reporting dispute did not have to be investigated because the consumer's complaint was frivolous. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and the Federal Trade Commission argue that the decision undermines a key purpose of the Fair Credit Reporting Act.

The Conference of State Bank Supervisors abandoned a lawsuit against the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency that had challenged the San Francisco fintech's effort to become a national bank without deposit insurance. The company recently amended its application to drop that controversial element.

Mary Mack testified last week about the cultural problems she encountered after joining the bank's consumer unit in 2016. Recalling small group meetings she held with employees, she said: "People would stand up, and they were fearful."

The bureau said two rules related to communications with debtors will go into effect as originally planned on Nov. 30. The agency had previously proposed an extension to consider consumer advocates' concerns about the regulations.