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Illinois District Court Enters Final Judgment Against For-Profit College to Resolve CFPB Litigation
On October 28, the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois filed a default judgment and order against a for-profit college company to resolve litigation with the CFPB. In a September 2014 lawsuit, the CFPB alleged that the company engaged in unfair and deceptive practices by making false and misleading representations to students to encourage them to take out private student loans. The CFPB also alleged that the company violated the FDCPA by taking aggressive and unfair action to collect on the loan payments when they became past due. The court order requires the company to pay approximately $531 million in redress to student borrowers, which the company is unable to pay because it has dissolved and its assets have been distributed in its bankruptcy case. The CFPB indicated that it will continue to seek additional relief for students affected by the company’s practices despite the company’s inability to pay the judgment.
CFPB Orders Auto Finance Company to Pay Over Three Million for Alleged Unfair Debt Collection Practices
On October 28, the CFPB filed an administrative order against an Ohio-based auto lender specializing in extending credit to servicemembers. The CFPB alleged that the company violated the CFPA by engaging in unfair, abusive, and deceptive debt collection practices, including: (i) contacting and threatening to contact servicemembers’ commanding officers to inform them of delinquencies and alleged military violations requiring discipline; (ii) exaggerating the potential disciplinary actions, such as demotion, loss of promotion, and discharge, that servicemembers may face if they failed to make payments; (iii) representing that the company could commence an involuntary allotment or wage garnishment without obtaining a court judgment; and (iv) threatening legal action when the company did not intend to take legal action at the time. Among other things, the consent order requires that the company: (i) refund or credit over $2 million to consumers; and (ii) pay a $1 million civil money penalty.
CFPB Sues World Law Group Over Illegal Fees and False Promises in Debt-Relief Scheme
On September 15, the CFPB announced a preliminary injunction obtained against World Law Group and its senior leaders for allegedly running a debt-relief scheme that charged consumers costly and illegal upfront fees. According to the CFPB, “the debt-relief scheme falsely promised consumers a team of attorneys to help negotiate debt settlements with creditors, failed to provide legal representation, and rarely settled consumers’ debts.” Specifically, the complaint alleges that defendants charged consumers upfront fees before providing debt-relief services in violation of the Telemarketing Sales Rule. The complaint also alleges that World Law Group falsely promised legal representation to consumers who did not receive the promised legal representation. The underlying lawsuit remains pending following the granting of the preliminary injunction.
CFPB Issues Consent Orders Regarding Debt Collection Practices
On September 9, the CFPB ordered the two largest U.S. debt buyers and collectors to pay a combined total of nearly $80 million in civil penalties and consumer restitution related to their debt collection practices. The CFPB alleged that both companies, among other things, engaged in robo-signing, sued (or threatened to sue) on stale debt, made inaccurate statements to consumers, and engaged in other illegal collection practices. In particular, the CFPB criticized the practice of purchasing debts without obtaining important documentation or information about the debt, or verifying to ensure the debts were accurate and enforceable before commencing collection activities. Under the consent orders, one company agreed to provide up to $42 million in consumer refunds, pay a $10 million civil money penalty, and cease collecting on a portfolio of consumer debt with a face value of over $125 million. The other company agreed to provide $19 million in restitution, pay an $8 million civil money penalty, and cease collecting on a consumer debt portfolio with a face value of over $3 million. In addition, both companies are also generally prohibited from reselling consumer debt. In prepared remarks announcing the enforcement action, CFPB Director Richard Cordray noted, “the terms of the orders will help reform and improve the tactics and approaches” within the debt collection market. The CFPB’s action comes as the industry anticipates the CFPB’s issuance of new debt collection rules.
Buckley Sandler Secures Major Victory on Behalf of Mortgage Servicer in Putative Class Action Suit
On August 25, BuckleySandler secured a substantial victory in a putative class action in the Northern District of Illinois. McGann v. PNC, No. 11-c-6894 (N.D. Ill. Aug. 25, 2015). The suit alleged that a major mortgage servicer failed to convert Home Affordable Modification Program (HAMP) Trial Period Plans (TPPs) into permanent modifications. The Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals, with jurisdiction over the Northern District of Illinois, has allowed similar claims to survive dismissal. See Wigod v. Wells Fargo Bank, N.A., 673 F.3d 547 (7th Cir. 2012). And the Ninth Circuit has allowed such claims to go forward on a classwide basis. See Corvello v. Wells Fargo Bank, N.A., Nos. 11-16234, 11-16242, 2013 WL 4017279 (9th Cir. Aug. 8, 2013).
Despite this potentially adverse precedent relevant to the pleadings stage, BuckleySandler secured summary judgment in its client’s favor following extensive discovery by extracting key admissions from Plaintiff. These admissions established that the servicer “repeatedly told her either that her application was being reviewed or that it had been rejected but would be reinstated. A promise to review or even to reinstate an application is not a promise that the application will result in a permanent loan modification . . . she still had to meet HAMP’s requirements. That was clear from the TPP agreement itself.” Opinion at 9. The Court further held that even if these statements led Plaintiff to a subjective belief that the loan would be modified, Plaintiff could not show any actions she took in reliance, nor that any reliance would be reasonable. Opinion at 11.
Finally, the Court also held that the servicer did not engage in any unfair conduct under Illinois’ UDAAP statute, the Illinois Consumer Fraud and Deceptive Business Practices Act. The plaintiff in the matter was not a borrower on the note, but rather a non-borrower mortgagor, for whom HAMP was not available during the time in question. The Court agreed the servicer complied with HAMP guidelines in denying the permanent modification. Opinion at 16-17. And the Court went on to hold that the servicer was entitled to summary judgment for the additional reason that the evidence in discovery established that the cause of the plaintiff’s injuries was her non-qualification for HAMP, her inability to pay the mortgage, and the resulting foreclosure of the home, none of which was proximately caused by any wrongful conduct of the servicer. Opinion at 15-16.
CFPB & NYDFS File Suit Against Two Pension Advance Lenders Over Misleading Consumers Related to Costs, Risks Associated to Advance Payments
On August 20, the CFPB, along with the New York Department of Financial Services (NYDFS), filed a joint complaint in federal court against two pension advance lenders and three of their managers for allegedly misleading consumers regarding the costs and risks associated with the companies’ pension advance loans. The CFPB and NYDFS contend that both companies coerced consumers into borrowing against their pensions by marketing the product as a sale rather than a loan, and misrepresented or failed to disclose interest rates and fees on lump-sum cash advances offered for agreeing to redirect the full or partial amount of the consumer’s pension payments over an extended period. In separate allegations, the NYDFS contends that both companies violated New York state specific laws related to usury and deception, and unlawfully transmitted money without a proper license. The complaint follows guidance issued earlier this year highlighting three business practices consumers should avoid when conducting business with pension advance lenders.
CFPB Orders Mortgage Servicer to Pay $1.6 Million over Servicing Practices
On July 30, the CFPB ordered a Texas-based mortgage servicer to pay $1.5 million in restitution and $100,000 in civil money penalties for allegedly engaging in faulty servicing practices, according to a settlement announced by the CFPB. The CFPB alleged that, beginning in 2009, the mortgage servicing firm failed to honor “in-process” modifications—trial modifications that were pending when a loan was transferred to the company—until it determined that the prior servicer should have agreed to the trial modification. In addition, the CFPB alleged that the servicing firm provided inaccurate account statements to borrowers related to their loan balance, interest rates, payment due dates, and the amount available in escrow accounts. The CFPB further contends that, in certain instances, the servicing firm coerced consumers into waiving certain legal protections as a condition to being allowed to pay off delinquent payments in installments. Under the terms of the consent order, the servicing firm agreed to, among other things, (i) provide $1.5 million in restitution to consumers whose loan modifications were not acknowledged; (ii) pay a $100,000 civil money penalty; (iii) mitigate the impact of its allegedly unlawful practices by, for example, converting “in-process” loan modifications to permanent modifications and stopping foreclosure processes for certain borrowers; and (iv) honor loss-mitigation agreements entered into by prior servicers and “in-process” loan modifications and engage in outreach to contact borrowers and offer them loss-mitigation options.
CFPB Reaches $700 Million Settlement to Resolve Credit Card Ancillary Products Investigation
On July 21, the CFPB announced a nearly $700 million settlement against a leading financial institution and its subsidiaries. According to the consent order, the Bureau alleges that the entities engaged in deceptive marketing, billing, and collection practices related to various credit card ancillary products, including debt protection and credit monitoring services. Specifically, the Bureau alleges that the institution or its vendors marketing practices, consisting of telemarketing calls, online enrollment, point-of-sale application, and direct enrollment at retailers, mislead consumers into enrolling for certain ancillary products. The Bureau further alleges that, in some instances, telemarketers failed to accurately disclose the cost and fees associated with the ancillary products. With respect to the unfair billing allegations, the Bureau contends that the institution or its vendors improperly charged consumers, without authorization, for services that were not rendered, and failed to provide full product benefits of the services marketed to consumers. In addition, the Bureau alleges that the institution misrepresented payment fee information to consumers by failing to disclose the actual purpose of the fee associated with making payments by phone on delinquent credit card accounts. Under terms of the settlement, the institution and its subsidiaries agreed to (i) provide $479 million in consumer relief related to its marketing practices; (ii) pay roughly $220 million in restitution related to its payments collection practices and for consumers not receiving the full benefits of services promised; and (iii) pay a $35 million civil money penalty.
In a parallel enforcement action, the OCC imposed a separate $35 million civil money penalty against the institution for engaging in similar practices, and requires the institution to strengthen its oversight of third-party vendors and develop a comprehensive risk management program for ancillary products marketed or sold by the bank.
CFPB Tackles Credit Card Vendors For Alleged Unfair Billing of Ancillary Products
Today, the CFPB filed proposed consent orders against two credit card add-on product vendors for allegedly billing consumers for credit monitoring and identity theft protection services they did not receive. Under the proposed consent orders, one vendor will provide nearly $7 million in restitution to the holders of approximately 73,000 accounts, and pay a $1.9 million civil money penalty. The other vendor will provide almost $55,000 in restitution to consumers who were incorrectly billed for identity theft or credit monitoring services, and pay a $1.2 million civil money penalty. The Bureau specifically noted that today’s announcement is the “first time the Bureau has brought actions directly against the companies” that market or administer ancillary products.
Mobile App Developer Settles with FTC and New Jersey AG Over Virtual Currency Mining
On June 29, a mobile app developer entered into an agreement with the FTC and the New Jersey AG to settle allegations that the developer engaged in deceptive and unfair practices by marketing its rewards app, called “Prized,” as being free of malicious software, also known as “malware.” However, according to the FTC, the true purpose of the mobile app was to uploaded malware onto consumers’ mobile devices capable of mining virtual currencies for the software developer. This process allegedly reduced the battery life of consumers’ devices and caused consumers to burn through their monthly data plans. Under terms of settlement, the developer and accompanying mobile app are (i) prohibited from creating and distributing malicious software, and (ii) required to pay $50,000 to the state of New Jersey, with $5,200 due immediately, and the remaining $44,800 payable if the developer fails to comply with the terms of the consent order or the New Jersey Consumer Fraud Act within three years of the order.