The Texas Supreme Court Has Spoken: Mortgage Servicers May Rewind and Restart the Statute of Limitations Clock Within the Same Letter

Last week, the Texas Supreme Court answered the Fifth Circuit’s certified question as to whether simultaneous rescission and reacceleration can reset the limitations period under Texas Law by holding that “a rescission that complies with the statute [Tex. Civil Practice and Remedies Code Section 16.038] resets limitations even if it is combined with a notice of reacceleration.” Moore v. Wells Fargo Bank, N.A., No. 23-0525, 2024 Tex. LEXIS 156, at *2 (Feb. 23, 2024). More ›

CFPB Revises the Supervisory Appeals Process for Financial Institutions

On February 16, 2024, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) issued its revised rule addressing how financial institutions can appeal their compliance ratings or adverse material findings by the Bureau. The rule is an update to the Bureau's November 2015 revisions. More ›

A World Without Chevron? U.S. Supreme Court Hears Oral Arguments in Cases that Could Overturn 40-Year-Old Doctrine of Statutory Interpretation

On January 18, 2024, the United States Supreme Court heard oral arguments in two cases challenging the Chevron doctrine of statutory interpretation, Loper Bright Enterprises, et al., v. Gina Raimondo, Secretary of Commerce (Loper-Bright) and Relentless, Inc. v. Department of Commerce (Relentless). Under the Chevron doctrine, courts are supposed to grant deference to an agency's reasonable interpretation of an ambiguous statute. More ›

Louisiana Private Education Lender Registration Added to the Nationwide Multistate Licensing System and Registry

As of January 1, 2024, the Louisiana Office of Financial Institutions (OFI) is accepting registration of private education lenders. This registration requirement is applicable to nonexempt businesses making or holding private education loans and is the result of the passage of the Louisiana Private Student Loan Registry law. More ›

Maine Supreme Court Revisits Reverses its Controversial 2017 One-and-Done Foreclosure Decision

A highly contested and controversial legal defense to residential foreclosures in Maine resurfaced earlier this month with the Maine Supreme Judicial Court's decision in Finch v. U.S. Bank, N.A.

Finch renewed the legal question of whether a mortgage lender is barred from pursuing a second judicial foreclosure action after a trial court dismissed the first action on the grounds that the lender's pre-foreclosure notice of right to cure failed to comply with Maine statutory law, specifically Section 6111. More ›

California Licensed Debt Collectors Required to Submit Annual Reports to DFPI by March 15, 2024

In its December 2023 Bulletin, the California Department of Financial Protection and Innovation ("DFPI") announced that debt collectors licensed prior to January 1, 2024, will be required to file an annual report by March 15, 2024, through the DFPI portal. More ›

New York City Department of Consumer and Worker Protection Issues Proposed Amendments to its Rules Relating to Debt Collectors

In September, the New York City Department of Consumer and Worker Protection (DCWP) requested comment on proposed amendments to its rules relating to debt collectors, which could significantly change the requirements and procedures concerning debt collection with New York City consumers. DCWP had previously proposed amendments in November 2022, which were not finalized. More ›

How Much Is Too Much? Oral Arguments in Much Anticipated CFPB Funding Case Leave Justices Wondering

Early in October, the Supreme Court heard oral arguments in Consumer Financial Protection Bureau v. Community Financial Services Association of America Ltd (CFPB v. CFSA). The appeal stems from a 2021 Western District of Texas ruling upholding the Payday Lending rule and the CFPB's funding structure, which the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals later partially reversed. The Fifth Circuit held the CFPB's entire funding structure unconstitutional because "Congress's cession of its power of the purse to the Bureau violates the Appropriations Clause and the Constitution's underlying structural separation of powers[,]" and thereby vacated the Pay Day Lending Rule. More ›

Rhode Island Supreme Court Continues to Strictly Interpret "Clear and Unforgiving" Statutory Language Regarding Court-Approved Redemptions from Tax Sale Proceedings

In Westconnaug Recovery Co., LLC v. U.S. Bank N.A, the Rhode Island Supreme Court has continued to rule against redemption and in favor of strict application of the Rhode Island's Tax Title Act. Specifically, an interested party must assert a statutory right to redemption under § 44-9-29 even if initially contesting the validity of tax title under § 44-9-31 in response to a foreclosure proceeding. More ›

Sixth Circuit Applies Recent SCOTUS Tax-Taking Decision to Affirm an Owner’s Right to Net Tax Lien Foreclosure Proceeds

We previously reported on the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision, Tyler v. Hennepin County, where the court concluded that the State of Minnesota violated a property owner’s constitutional rights by keeping the excess sale proceeds from a tax lien sale. Following Tyler v. Hennepin County, the Sixth Circuit, in Freed v. Thomas, affirmed a lower court’s holding that a Michigan county similarly violated the Fifth Amendment's Takings Clause. Freed owed the County roughly $1,100 in property taxes. The County foreclosed its tax lien and sold Freed’s property at public auction for $42,000 in accordance with Michigan’s General Property Tax Act. The County refused to pay Freed the roughly $40,000 over and above his tax debt. Freed sued the County, claiming that retaining the excess proceeds was an unconstitutional taking in violation of the Fifth Amendment and an excessive fine in violation of the Eighth Amendment. More ›