Class Action Settles Alleged Kickback Scheme with PHH Corp. for $17 Million
A California class action against PHH Corp. and Realogy alleging an elaborate kickback scheme to funnel referrals to subsidiaries in violation of the Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act has settled for $17 million. The settlement does not include an admission of...
Federal Court Dismisses Credit Reporting Case Against Tribal Lender
A federal magistrate judge in the Eastern District of Virginia dismissed a lawsuit this month against Plain Green, LLC, a tribal lending entity (TLE) wholly owned and operated by the Chippewa Cree Tribe of Rocky Boy Reservation, on the grounds that the tribe’s...
Occupational Hazard: How State Licensing Is Invading Tribal Sovereignty
States license more than 1,100 occupations in America, including professions as diverse as boxing in Nevada, hearing aid sales in Michigan, and talent agents in Connecticut. For small dollar lending, some states, like Washington, require a consumer loan license to...
CFPB Mum On Small Dollar Rule in New Regulatory Agenda
On August 24th the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) published its semiannual regulatory agenda. The agenda covers a period from May 1, 2017 to April 30, 2018. The purpose of the agenda is to provide notification to the public of the various regulatory...
Experienced tribal advocate and attorney Joe Sarcinella joins NAFSA
Sarcinella, who was most recently at Department of Defense, is NAFSA’s new COO and General Counsel WASHINGTON, DC – Joe Sarcinella has joined the Native American Financial Services Association (NAFSA) as its Chief Operations Officer and General Counsel. Mr. Sarcinella...
ABA Finds Fault with CFPB Discourse On Overdraft Fees
In a letter this week to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), the American Bankers Association (ABA) criticized the consumer agency for relying on outdated and insufficient data in formulating the CFPB’s new overdraft disclosure forms. The ABA wrote, “the...
OCC Distances Itself from Operation Chokepoint
The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency’s (OCC) acting director, Keith Norieka, informed House Financial Services Committee Chairman Rep. Jeb Hensarling (R- TX) on August 18th that the OCC was never involved in Operation Chokepoint (OCP), a federal policy that...
California Pursues Its Own Arbitration Rule
Similar to the final arbitration rule recently published by the federal Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), Democrats in the California State Senate have advanced their own arbitration law (California Senate Bill 33) to the General Assembly for a vote....
