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  • District Court grants preliminary approval to national bank's auto lending settlement

    Courts

    On August 5, the U. S. District Court for the Central District of California granted preliminary approval and class certification to a settlement of at least $393.5 million to resolve multidistrict allegations that a national bank added force-placed auto insurance to auto loans that may have been unnecessary and without borrowers’ consent. Under the terms of the settlement, the auto insurance underwriter will pay an additional $7.5 million. The allegations stem from a 2017 lawsuit in which borrowers claimed the bank charged them for unnecessary collateral protection insurance. The settlement also requires the bank and the underwriter to pay up to $36 million in attorneys’ fees for the borrower class and up to $500,000 in litigation expenses. However, the court scheduled a settlement fairness hearing for October to examine the fees before granting final approval of the settlement. This settlement follows a 2018 settlement reached between the bank and the CFPB and the OCC concerning a similar set of allegations over the purported billing of force-placed insurance premiums that may not have been required. (See previous InfoBytes coverage here.)

    Courts Auto Finance Force-placed Insurance

  • Hawaii amends motor vehicle service contract definition

    State Issues

    On July 2, the Hawaii governor signed HB 154, which clarifies that motor vehicle service contracts regulated by the Insurance Commissioner include contracts for certain motor vehicle repair and replacement services. The bill amends the law’s definition of “service contract” to include a specified list of repair or placement activities related to motor vehicles. The amendments are effective on July 1, 2020.

    State Issues State Legislation Auto Finance Service Contracts

  • National bank settles alleged SCRA violations

    Courts

    Recently, the U.S. District Court for the District of Kansas granted a plaintiff’s motion for final approval of a class action settlement resolving allegations that a national bank violated the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act by incorrectly repossessing vehicles owned by certain servicemembers. The bank, which denied all claims and allegations of wrongdoing, entered into the settlement agreement to avoid further uncertainties and expenses. The approximately $5.1 million settlement fund will go to affected servicemembers who have not, as of the effective date, already accepted payments in accordance with settlement agreements reached between the bank and the DOJ and OCC in 2016. (Covered by InfoBytes here.)

    Courts Servicemembers SCRA Auto Finance

  • FTC shares 2018 enforcement report with the CFPB

    Federal Issues

    On June 6, the FTC announced that it submitted its 2018 Annual Financial Acts Enforcement Report to the CFPB. The report—which the Bureau requested for its use in preparing its 2018 Annual Report to Congress—covers the FTC’s enforcement activities regarding Regulation Z (the Truth in Lending Act or TILA), Regulation M (the Consumer Leasing Act or CLA), and Regulation E (the Electronic Fund Transfer Act or EFTA). Highlights of the enforcement matters covered in the report include:

    • Auto Lending and Leasing. The report discusses two enforcement matters related to deceptive automobile dealer practices. The first, filed in August 2018, alleged that a group of four auto dealers, among other things, advertised misleading discounts and incentives in their vehicle advertisements, and falsely inflated consumers’ income and down payment information on financing applications. The charges brought against the defendants allege violations of the FTC Act, TILA, and the CLA. The FTC sought, among other remedies, a permanent injunction to prevent future violations, restitution, and disgorgement. (Detailed InfoBytes coverage of the filing is available here.) In the second, in December 2018, the FTC mailed over 43,000 checks, totaling over $3.5 million, to consumers allegedly harmed by nine dealerships and owners engaged in deceptive and unfair sales and financing practices, deceptive advertising, and deceptive online reviews. (Detailed InfoBytes coverage is available here.)
    • Payday Lending. The report covers two enforcement matters, including the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit’s December 2018 decision upholding the $1.3 billion judgment against defendants responsible for operating an allegedly deceptive payday lending program. The decision is the result of a 2012 complaint in which the FTC alleged that the defendants engaged in deceptive acts or practices in violation of Section 5(a) of the FTC Act by making false and misleading representations about costs and payment of the loans. (Detailed InfoBytes coverage is available here.) The report also indicates that, in February 2018, the FTC issued over 72,000 checks totaling more an $2.9 million to consumers stemming from a July 2015 settlement, that alleged that online payday operators used personal financial information purchased from third-party lead generators or data brokers to make unauthorized deposits into and withdrawals from consumers’ bank accounts, regardless of whether the consumer applied for a payday loan. (Detailed InfoBytes coverage is available here.)
    • Negative Option. The report covers six enforcement matters related to alleged violations of the EFTA and Regulation E for “negative option” plans, including three new filings against online marketers for allegedly advertising “free trial” offers for products that enrolled consumers in expensive, ongoing plans without their knowledge or consent. The report notes that, in 2018, the FTC reached a settlement with one entity and obtained a court judgment against another, both resulting in injunctive relief and monetary settlements (which were suspended due to the defendants’ inability to pay). The report also notes that the FTC mailed 2,116 refund checks totaling more than $355,000 to people who bought an allegedly deceptive “memory improvement” supplement.

    Additionally, the report addresses the FTC’s research and policy efforts related to truth in lending and leasing, and electronic fund transfer issues, including (i) a study of consumers’ experiences in buying and financing automobiles at dealerships; and (ii) the FTC’s Military Task Force’s work on military consumer protection issues. The report also outlines the FTC’s consumer and business education efforts, which include several blog posts warning of new scams and practices.

     

    Federal Issues FTC FTC Act TILA EFTA Enforcement CFPB Consumer Education Auto Finance Military Lending Act

  • 9th Circuit upholds rejection of consumer’s class action against auto finance company

    Courts

    On May 30, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit affirmed summary judgment in favor of an auto finance corporation and various dealerships (collectively, “defendants”) in a putative class action alleging the defendants failed to provide add-ons the plaintiff purchased with the vehicle. The case, which was originally brought in Washington state superior court, was removed to federal court over the consumer’s objection, where the consumer amended the complaint to include a federal TILA claim. 

    According to the opinion, plaintiff alleged that his purchased vehicle did not come with three add-ons listed in the “Dealer Addendum,” which was a sticker affixed to the car. At the time of purchase, the customer was not aware of what the add-ons were, nor were they explained to him; the add-ons were only listed in the addendum. Plaintiff  argued that if he had known what the add-ons were, he would have declined them and paid a lower price for the vehicle. The district court rejected plaintiff’s arguments and granted summary judgment for the defendants on all claims.

    On appeal, the 9th Circuit upheld the entirety of the district court’s ruling, concluding the consumer offered no evidence that the add-ons identified in the Dealer Addendum were made part of the vehicle purchase transaction. Moreover, the appellate court upheld the district court’s decision not to remand the case back to state court, determining that while the district court did not have subject-matter jurisdiction at the time of removal, it had subject-matter jurisdiction at the time it rendered its final decision, due to the consumer’s voluntary addition of the TILA claim to the complaint. The appellate court also found that the district court did not abuse its discretion in denying the consumer’s request for additional discovery based on plaintiffs failure to “identif[y] the specific facts that further discovery would have revealed or explained[ed].”

    Courts Appellate Ninth Circuit Auto Finance Class Action

  • Oregon removes sunset on GAP waiver statutes

    State Issues

    On May 24, the Oregon governor signed SB 366, which repealed the sunset provision on statutes establishing the conditions under which creditors can offer guaranteed asset protection (GAP) waivers in connection with the sale of an automobile. Chapter 523, Oregon Laws 2015 allows creditors to offer GAP waivers to consumers outside of the regulation of the Insurance Code while specifying certain requirements for offering the waivers. Section 11 of Chapter 523, would have repealed these GAP waiver provisions on January 2, 2020. The bill repeals Section 11, allowing for the GAP waiver provisions to remain in effect. The bill is effective January 1, 2020.

    State Issues State Legislation GAP Waivers Auto Finance

  • District court rules customers bound by arbitration agreement in credit inquiry dispute

    Courts

    On May 28, the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida ruled that customers who financed a vehicle through a Florida car dealership were bound by the arbitration provision contained within a signed purchase order and retail installment sale contact. The customer plaintiffs contended that the defendant car dealership violated the FCRA and state law when it ran a “hard” credit inquiry on them instead of the “soft” credit inquiry they had authorized on a pre-approval financing form completed on the defendant’s website. As a result, the plaintiffs’ credit scores were affected. Based on the arbitration provisions contained in the purchase order and retail sale installment contract, the defendant filed a motion to compel arbitration. The plaintiffs argued that they were not bound by the arbitration agreements because they were signed a few days after the dealership ran the unauthorized credit check. However, the court held that it did not matter when the agreement was signed, stating that the “[p]laintiffs’ sole argument is that the [hard credit report check], does not in any way ‘relate to’ the purchasing documents which contain the arbitration clauses, and thus the arbitration clauses cannot be applied retroactively to encompass disputes arising from that transaction. The [c]ourt disagrees.” In granting the motion to compel arbitration, the court explained that the plaintiffs’ argument was “essentially one relating to scope and arbitrability, issues that the parties clearly and unmistakably agreed to arbitrate.”

    Courts Arbitration Class Action Auto Finance

  • Iowa amends licensing requirements for service companies

    State Issues

    On May 16, the Iowa governor signed SF 619, which, among other things, amends the state’s service contract provider provisions to require any provider that issues, offers for sale, or sells motor vehicle service contracts in the state to be licensed as a service company. Persons who provide support services or work under the direction of a licensed service company, including those who provide marketing, administrative, or technical support, are not subject to the licensure requirements. In addition, SF 619 also prohibits a licensed service company that offers motor vehicle service contracts from making certain false, deceptive, or misleading statements regarding (i) the service company’s affiliations with a manufacturer or importer; (ii) a warranty’s validity or expiration date; or (iii) whether a contract holder must obtain a new service contract in order to maintain coverage under an existing contract or warranty. Furthermore, SF 619 prohibits a lending institution from requiring “the purchase of a motor vehicle service contract or residential service contract as a condition of a loan or the sale of any property or motor vehicle.” The amendments are effective immediately.

    State Issues State Legislation Licensing Service Contracts Auto Finance

  • Indiana amends towing notification laws

    State Issues

    On May 6, the Indiana governor signed HB 1183, which amends the state statute concerning the release of an abandoned motor vehicle that has been towed to a storage yard or towing facility. Among other things, the bill revises notification requirements for towed vehicles, providing that a public agency or towing service must conduct a search of the National Motor Vehicle Title Information System or an equivalent database to attempt to obtain the name of the person who owns or holds a lien on the vehicle and contact that person within three days regarding charges and the potential to auction the vehicle if not claimed. The bill also provides inspection rights for owners and lienholders of vehicles and allows for a towing service or storage yard to charge an inspection fee for inspections or retrievals from the vehicle. The bill is effective July 1.

    State Issues State Legislation Auto Finance Debt Collection Repossession

  • Arizona exempts GAP waivers from insurance laws

    State Issues

    On April 22, the Arizona governor signed HB 2674, a bill defining the term “guaranteed asset protection waivers” (GAP waivers) and clarifying that GAP waivers are not insurance and are thus exempt from the state’s insurance laws. The Act is effective 90 days after the state’s legislative session adjourns sine die.

    State Issues State Legislation GAP Waivers Auto Finance

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