2018 – Page 3 – Consumer Financial Services Watch

Cryptocurrency 2018: When The Law Catches Up With Game-Changing Technology

Jan 31 2018

By: David E. Fialkow, Edward J. Mikolinski, Jack S. Brodsky

Blockchain technology and the virtual currency, or cryptocurrency, that uses this technology are revolutionizing the way businesses function and deliver goods and services. Even as cryptocurrency becomes a widely debated topic, gaining the critical attention of regulators and policymakers, individuals and businesses are investing billions of dollars in cryptocurrency annually.

To understand how blockchain and cryptocurrency may impact you, your business, and your industry, it is important to understand what cryptocurrency is and how the underlying blockchain works. This article provides a brief introduction to these concepts as well as a primer on cryptocurrency legal issues.

Ninth Circuit Clarifies Amount in Controversy Standard Where Borrower Seeks Only “Temporary” Foreclosure Stay Pending Loan Modification Review

Jan 22 2018

By David D. Christensen and Matthew N. Lowe

The Ninth Circuit recently limited the availability of diversity jurisdiction for certain cases with claims involving mortgage loan modifications. Specifically, in Corral v. Select Portfolio Servicing, Inc., the Ninth Circuit held that, where the plaintiff-borrower “seeks only a temporary stay of foreclosure pending review of a loan modification application … the value of the property or amount of indebtedness are not the amounts in controversy.” — F.3d —-, 2017 WL 6601872, at *1 (9th Cir. Dec. 27, 2017). Rather, to satisfy the amount in controversy requirement in such cases, parties must demonstrate that the value of the temporary delay in foreclosure exceeds $75,000, “such as the transactional costs to the lender of delaying foreclosure or a fair rental value of the property during pendency of the injunction” (in addition to any compensatory damages plaintiffs may be seeking). Id. at *5.

Payday Loan Rule To Be Officially Reconsidered

Jan 17 2018

By Jennifer Janeira Nagle and Robert W. Sparkes

As we noted yesterday morning, January 16, 2018 officially marked the effective date of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s Payday Rule (see here).

Payday Loan Rule Is Officially A Go—Or Is It?

Jan 16 2018

By Jennifer Janeira Nagle and Robert W. Sparkes III

Today, January 16, 2018, officially marks the effective date of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s final rule targeting what it refers to as “payday debt traps” (the “Rule”). As outlined in our previous publications (found here and here), the Rule marks a significant change in the landscape for lenders offering short-term loans or longer-term loans with balloon payments, including payday and vehicle title loans. Looming large is the new requirement that lenders determine a borrower’s ability to repay prior to originating covered loans.

Standing to Sue under the Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act after Spokeo

Jan 12 2018

By: Andrew C. Glass, Gregory N. Blase, and Roger L. Smerage

After paying for groceries with a credit card or debit card, the clerk hands the receipt to the customer. In addition to the last four digits of the card number, it contains the first digit. Or perhaps it contains the first six digits. Or maybe the expiration date. Is this a concrete injury that provides the customer standing to sue the grocery store?

That is the question federal courts have grappled with since the Supreme Court decided Spokeo, Inc. v. Robins[1] in May 2016. The Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act (“FACTA”)[2] regulates retailers’ conduct in printing card number information on customers’ receipts and provides a private right of action for alleged violations. But, as discussed below, a customer may not have standing to sue in federal court or even in certain state courts just because a violation may have occurred.

Archive:2018