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THE LATEST ON GOVERNMENT INQUIRIES AND ENFORCEMENT ACTIONS

Government Investigations and White Collar Litigation Group

Justin Opitz

Photo of Justin Opitz Justin handles complex commercial and business litigation. He represents national and local financial institutions, lenders, servicers, and secured creditors in individual lawsuits, class actions, and bankruptcy adversary matters. Justin’s practice routinely involves defending fraud, breach of contract, breach of fiduciary duty, unreasonable collection efforts, as well as federal and state statutory claims, including the Fair Credit Reporting Act, Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act, and Deceptive Trade Practices Act. Justin has obtained summary judgment or dismissals on behalf of his clients in over 50 matters throughout state and federal courts.

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Federal Court Clarifies Prejudgment Interest Rate Applicable to Texas Securities Act Claims

By Justin Opitz and Aaron F. Jaroff on Financial Institution Regulation
The U.S. District Court for the Western District of Texas recently clarified the applicable rate for the calculation of prejudgment interest under the Texas Securities Act (TSA). In FDIC v. Deutsche Bank Securities Inc., the FDIC, acting as receiver for Guaranty Bank, brought claims against the defendant bank under the TSA stemming from the sale… Continue Reading

CFPB Fails to State Case Against Payment Processor

By Justin Opitz and Government Investigations Group on Financial Institution Regulation
The United States District Court for the District of North Dakota recently dismissed the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s (CFPB) complaint against a payment processor, Intercept, in a case McGuireWoods has been monitoring.  The Court held that the CFPB failed to adequately plead an unfair, deceptive, or abusive act or practice under the Consumer Financial Protection… Continue Reading

CFPB’s 2017 Fair Lending Priorities

By Justin Opitz on Compliance, Financial Institution Regulation
The CFPB recently issued its Fair Lending Priorities for 2017.  According to its December blog post, the CFPB plans to increase its focus on the following three areas, which it describes as “presenting a substantial risk of credit discrimination for consumers.” Redlining: The CFPB “will continue to evaluate whether lenders have intentionally avoided lending in… Continue Reading

Tuesday’s GOP Wins May Put the Brakes on the CFPB’s Controversial Oversight of Auto Lending

By Justin Opitz on Compliance, Financial Institution Regulation
The CFPB’s imposition of its auto lending guidelines, and use of its admittedly flawed proxy-methodology to determine discriminatory lending in auto finance, may come to an end under the GOP controlled White House and Senate. The CFPB’s current guidance, published in a March 2013 Bulletin, has been largely criticized as limiting competition and increasing interest… Continue Reading

I Can’t Get No (Financial Product) Satisfaction: CFPB Complaint Database Exceeds One Million Complaints

By Justin Opitz on Compliance, Enforcement and Prosecution Policy and Trends, Financial Institution Regulation
On September 27, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) released its Monthly Complaint Report capturing a high-level snapshot of trends in consumer complaints.  In conjunction with releasing its September Report, the CFPB confirmed it has handled over one million consumer complaints.  The CFPB describes consumer complaints as “submissions that express dissatisfaction with, or communicate suspicion… Continue Reading

Payment Processor Challenges CFPB’s Allegation That It Engaged in Unfair Practices

By Justin Opitz on Compliance, Enforcement and Prosecution Policy and Trends, Financial Institution Regulation
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s (“CFPB”) lawsuit against payment processor Intercept Corporation remains pending, and recent briefing sheds light on what could result in broad implications for the payment processing industry and CFPB enforcement at large. We previously reported on the CFPB’s suit against Intercept, pending in district court in North Dakota.  The CFPB alleges… Continue Reading

CFPB Issues Safe Harbors under FDCPA for Mortgage Servicers

By Justin Opitz on Compliance, Financial Institution Regulation
On August 4, 2016, in conjunction with issuing the final mortgage servicing rule, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) issued an interpretive rule under the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA).  Although a mortgage servicer’s conduct is not always governed by the FDCPA, as the CFPB explains in the interpretive rule, servicers that acquire a… Continue Reading

CFPB Issues Final Mortgage Servicing Rules

By Justin Opitz and Government Investigations Group on Compliance, Financial Institution Regulation
On August 4, 2016, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) issued its long-awaited final mortgage servicing rule under the Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act (RESPA) and implementing Regulation X, and the Truth in Lending Act (TILA) and implementing Regulation Z.  The rule finalizes many of the proposed amendments that the CFPB issued in November 2014,… Continue Reading

CFPB’s Supervisory Highlights Regarding Auto Lending

By Alec Covington and Justin Opitz on Compliance, Enforcement and Prosecution Policy and Trends, Financial Institution Regulation
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (“CFPB”) recently issued its Supervisory Highlights – Issue 12, Summer 2016 report, addressing, among other industries, automobile origination.  The report reflects supervisory activity generally completed between January 2016 and April 2016 and makes it clear that there is increased scrutiny and consumer complaint activity in the auto lending industry.  The… Continue Reading

CFPB Proposes Rule on Small Dollar Lending

By Justin Opitz on Compliance, Financial Institution Regulation
On June 2, 2016, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (“CFPB”) released its proposed rule on small dollar lending during its scheduled field hearing in Kansas City, Missouri. The controversial proposed rule will affect payday loans, single-payment vehicle title loans, deposit advance products, and certain-high cost loans. Under the proposed rule, lenders would be responsible for making… Continue Reading

CFPB Sues Payment Processor for Facilitating Fraudulent Transactions

By Justin Opitz on Financial Institution Regulation
The CFPB sued payment processor Intercept Corporation, its owner, and its CEO on June 6, 2016, for allegedly enabling unauthorized withdrawals and other illegal activities of Intercept’s clients.  The complaint, filed in district court in North Dakota, accuses Intercept of processing transactions for its clients that it knew or “consciously avoided knowing” initiated fraudulent or… Continue Reading

CFPB’s Vehicle Title Loan Report Signals Future Proposed Rule

By Justin Opitz on Financial Institution Regulation
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) recently released a 23-page report claiming that single-payment vehicle title loans result in vehicle repossessions for nearly one in five borrowers. While this report has been questioned, it also claims that the average annual percentage rate for such loans is approximately 300 percent. These findings are based on a… Continue Reading

CFPB Announces Plan to Promulgate Key Mortgage Disclosure Rule

By Justin Opitz on Compliance, Financial Institution Regulation
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) Director Richard Cordray recently informed several banking and other industry groups that the Bureau plans to introduce a proposed rule to address concerns related to CFPB mortgage disclosure requirements. In an April 21, 2016 letter to several key industry groups, Cordray stated that the CFPB received feedback on the Know… Continue Reading

CFPB’s Proposal Marks Government’s Latest − and Largest − Step Regulating Arbitration Clauses

By Justin Opitz and Government Investigations Group on Compliance, Financial Institution Regulation
Last week at a field hearing in Albuquerque, New Mexico, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) announced a proposed rule that would prohibit providers of certain consumer financial products and services from including arbitration provisions in consumer contracts that bar the consumer from filing or participating in a class action with respect to the product… Continue Reading

Marketplace Lenders May Be Supervised by CFPB in 2017

By Ashley B. Matthews and Justin Opitz on Compliance, Financial Institution Regulation
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) plans to begin supervising online “peer-to-peer” or “platform” lenders as soon as late 2017, according to the Wall Street Journal. The Journal reported that this oversight is part of the agency’s previously announced intent to monitor the largest lenders offering small-dollar loans and lenders that offer loans secured by… Continue Reading

Senators Take Steps to Ban Arbitration Clauses in Telecommunications Contracts

By Justin Opitz on Compliance, Financial Institution Regulation
On Thursday, April 28, 2016, Senators Al Franken (D-Minn.) and Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) proposed legislation that would ban arbitration clauses in telecommunication service contracts. The proposed bill, the Justice for Telecommunications Consumers Act of 2016, would invalidate “any agreement to arbitrate a dispute that has not yet arisen at the time of the making of… Continue Reading

45 Day Warning: A Brief Overview of the New TRID Disclosure Requirements in Advance of the October 3, 2015 Implementation

By Justin Opitz on Compliance, Financial Institution Regulation
With the new TILA-RESPA Integrated Disclosures (TRID) going into effect Saturday, October 3, 2015, it is important for lenders and consumers alike to review the new forms and understand the timelines which will soon govern most consumer lending transactions secured by real property. Effective October 3, 2015, TRID disclosure requirements will apply to the majority… Continue Reading

CFPB Targets Real Estate Developer in Recent Enforcement Action

By Justin Opitz and Jodie Herrmann Lawson on Enforcement and Prosecution Policy and Trends, Financial Institution Regulation
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) recently entered into a consent order against International Land Consultants, Inc. (ILC), a real estate development company, and four of its employees involved in the marketing, development and sale of real property in Tennessee.  The enforcement action was based upon violations of the Interstate Land Sales Full Disclosure Act,… Continue Reading

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