The CFPB is responsible for implementing many federal laws that relate to consumer finance. Courts sometimes apply those same laws to resolve disputes between private parties. In some cases, we believe a court would benefit from hearing our views on what the law says.
The amicus program is how we share our views with to the court. (“Amicus” is shorthand for “Amicus curiae”, Latin for “friend of the court.”) Our amicus briefs provide the courts with the CFPB’s views on significant consumer financial protection issues and help ensure that consumer financial protection statutes and regulations are correctly and consistently interpreted.
The Bureau filed an amicus brief arguing that the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act prohibits the collection of pay-to-pay fees (also known as “convenience fees”) where neither the contract creating the debt nor a specific law expressly authorizes the collection of such fees.
The Bureau, the Federal Trade Commission, and the North Carolina Department of Justice jointly filed an amicus brief with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit arguing that Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act does not bar a private plaintiff's claims under the Fair Credit Reporting Act.
In response to the court’s invitation, the Bureau filed an amicus brief addressing how to interpret a servicer’s obligation under RESPA and its implementing regulation to respond to errors relating to the servicing of a borrower’s mortgage loan.
The Bureau filed an amicus brief addressing the Truth in Lending Act’s restriction on mandatory arbitration clauses in home loans and other agreements “relating to” home loans.
The Bureau filed an amicus brief arguing that the Fair Credit Reporting Act does not exempt “legal disputes” from its requirement that furnishers of information to consumer reporting agencies must reasonably investigate disputes about information they furnished.
We welcome your suggestions of cases that might make good candidates for the amicus program. We strongly recommend that you read our FAQs before submitting your request, especially if you are not an attorney.
