NEW ORLEANS–In what is a setback for the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, the Fifth U.S. Circuit of Appeals has ruled a challenge to its cap on credit card late fees can remain in a Texas court and not be sent to Washington.
As CUToday.info has been reporting, the case against the CFPB’s $8 cap on such fees has been volleying between courts in Washington (considered more friendly to the CFPB) and Texas (considered more hostile to the CFPB).
The three-judge panel of the Fifth U.S. Circuit ruled it can remain in Fort Worth.
The CFPB had has been fighting for months to move the case to Washington and out of Texas, where two active judges are Republican appointees.
As CUToday.info further reported, one of those judges, U.S. District Judge Mark Pittman, who was appointed by former President Donald Trump, in May halted implementing the rule at the request of groups that included the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and American Bankers Association.
‘Too Many Cases’
But Pittman did so only after the 5th Circuit stymied his earlier attempt to transfer the case to a judge in Washington, where those two trade associations and the agency are based, noted Reuters, with Pittman having earlier stressed that his court had too many cases demanding his attention.
Pittman had ordered the case be moved a second time on May 28, saying it primarily involves out-of-state plaintiffs challenging actions of government officials in Washington and that the only local connection was the Fort Worth Chamber of Commerce.
Decision Vacated
But the appeals court has ordered Pittman to vacate that decision. In its ruling, U.S. Circuit Judge Don Willett, a Trump appointee, wrote that a challenge to an agency's rule that is set to affect credit card issuers and customers nationwide is not the type of case that only Washington residents had an interest in.
"Therefore, this case is not one where Fort Worth citizens have a lesser stake in the litigation than D.C. citizens," he wrote, according to Reuters.
His opinion was joined U.S. Circuit Judges Kyle Duncan and Catharina Haynes, both appointees of Republican presidents.
Venue Shopping
“This is a very much like watching a tennis match,” said John McKechnie, a credit union Hill advocate in Washington. “The ball keeps going back-and-forth over the net. Both sides accuse the other of venue shopping, which is fair because both sides do it--a lot.”
How to Sign Up For the Best Daily News Email in Credit Unions? (It’s Free!)
Every workday CUToday.info delivers the most comprehensive, freshest daily newsletter with the day’s news headlines, including links to the related articles. The Fresh Today newsletter is the most timely, relevant and widely-read source of news and information in the CU community. And it’s free!
If you haven’t yet signed up for the new email solution on which CUToday.info has partnered with ResponseGenius, you can do so here. Signing up requires less than one minute of your time—and it’s free!
Please note that after signing up you may need to go to your Spam/Junk folder and mark the morning headlines email as safe. CUToday.info does not provide its list of readers and emails to outside parties,
And did we mention it’s free?