WASHINGTON—The BCFP has filed an order dismissing its case with PHH Corporation.
The lawsuit came from a 2015 fine levied by the Bureau on PHH Corp. over a Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act (RESPA) issue, but what significantly raised the case’s profile was the response by PHH challenging the very constitutionality of the Bureau.
The case largely concluded last month as PHH said it would not appeal a January ruling that upheld the constitutionality of the CFPB's single-director structure.
The January ruling by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit upheld the BCFP's constitutionality – reversing the court's panel opinion from 2016 regarding the constitutional question. However, the court did reinstate the October 2016 panel's decision regarding the RESPA issue, which held that former BCFP Director Richard Cordray's interpretation of RESPA was incorrect so the resultant $109 million penalty levied on PHH was invalid.
NAFCU filed an amicus brief in support of PHH in this case. The trade group, along with CUNA, continues to support a board to oversee the agency rather than a single director.