The online version of NCLC’s Collection Actions treatise has added an all-new chapter 10a on representing consumers with criminal justice debt—too often overlooked, but a major problem for millions of Americans. This article describes the chapter’s highlights.

This article highlights steps to take to prepare for the end of HAMP and other Making Home Affordable programs that sunset at the end of 2016. Reference can also be made to Treasury Supplemental Directive 16-02 and 16-03.

The DC Circuit’s October 11 decision in PHH Corp. that the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is unconstitutional will have far more limited impact on the agency than one might presume, as explained in this article.

Not just the UCC anymore. As described in this article, CFPB, FTC, Treasury, NACHA, other rules are catching up to today’s novel ways payments are made to and from consumers: payroll, prepaid, gift, college, debit, Direct Express, and EBT cards, mobile wallets, P2P transfers, remittances, EFT, and much more.

A Mississippi federal court on November 7 preliminarily enjoined a new federal rule that would have banned arbitration clauses in nursing home and other long-term care contracts, as described in this updated article.

Effective October 3, Department of Defense rules limit interest rates to 36%, prohibit arbitration, and provide strong private remedies for all non-purchase money, closed end credit offered to the country’s 3 million servicemembers and their dependents, as described in this article.

Ninth Circuit’s July 20 Decision Important Step in Resolving Split Among the Courts In a comprehensive opinion in Hernandez v. Williams, Zinman & Parham PC, 2016 WL 3913445 (9th Cir. July 20, 2016), the Ninth Circuit held that “…the FDCPA unambiguously requires any debt collector—first or subsequent—to send a § 1692g(a) validation notice within five days of its first communication with a consumer...

In evaluating whether to file a court action for violations of the RESPA Reg. X loss mitigation rule, determine if the servicer evaluated any of the client’s earlier loss mitigation applications. Reg. X, 12 C.F.R. § 1024.41(i) provides that a servicer is "only required to comply with the requirements of this section for a single complete loss mitigation application for a borrower’s mortgage loan...

A new Department of Education rule, effective July 1, limits fees for campus prepaid cards used to dispense financial aid credit, preventing schools from profiting from students’ access to their financial aid benefits, as described in this article.

Fair Debt Collection Practice Act litigation is one of the most active types of consumer litigation in the federal courts. This article summarizes four FDCPA circuit court decisions, from this May and June.

As described in this article, effective June 13, the FTC has banned the use of telechecks, other remotely created orders, “cash-to-cash money transfers,” and “cash reload mechanisms” when goods or services are sold to consumers using the telephone.

New features have just been added to our online treatises—the option to view search results ordered by section number (instead of by relevance) and flags to help you pinpoint just updated sections and significant law changes. This article contains tips on using these new features.

This article details not only the CFPB’s June 2 proposed rule covering payday lending, auto title, and installment loans, but also links to practice tips on representing clients with these predatory loans and links to state-by-state analyses of applicable law.

The Seventh Circuit on May 26 ruled that the National Labor Relations Act prohibits enforcement of class waivers against employees. This article explains the case and its implications for challenges to arbitration of both employment and consumer disputes.

Analyses and briefs to facilitate individual rights representation, addressing standing challenges based on the Supreme Court’s May 16, 2016, decision in Spokeo v. Robins: Statute-Specific Spokeo Analyses Telephone Consumer Protection Act Spokeo analysis: For subscribers to Federal Deception Law For non-subscribers Truth in Lending Act Spokeo analysis: For subscribers to Truth in Lending General...

One of today’s hottest litigation issues is standing in federal cases seeking statutory damages, in light of this term's Supreme Court’s Spokeo decision. As explained in this continually updated article, NCLC provides ongoing Spokeo analysis, briefs, and over 40 new case citations, for subscribers and even non-subscribers.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau on May 5 released its proposed rule that would largely eliminate mandatory arbitration of financial services class actions. A summary of the proposal and a listing of other limits on mandatory arbitration is found here.

In Evankavitch v. Green Tree Servicing, L.L.C., 793 F.3d 355 (3d Cir. 2015), the Third Circuit holds that the mortgage servicer had the burden of persuasion with the jury that the servicer’s call to a third party was permitted by the § 1692b(3) exception. That exception allows follow-up calls to a third party for location information if “...the debt collector reasonably believes that the earlier...

On April 14, 2016 the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) announced what it described as its final loss mitigation initiative of the foreclosure crisis, a “Principal Reduction Modification Program.” The Program will apply to a limited number of loans owned or insured by Freddie Mac or Fannie Mae. Borrowers will not be able to apply for these modifications. Instead, during the latter half of 2016...

On March 22, the Supreme Court ruled, despite differences among class members, that representative and statistical evidence could be the basis for a class certification ruling. The case is described more fully in this article.