Ft. Lauderdale-based Partner, John Chiles and Ft, Lauderdale-based Attorney, Nicholas Agnellow were recently published in the Business Law Today with an article titled The First CFPB Administrative Appeal: RESPA, Kickbacks, and the Danger of De Novo Review.

As it enters its fourth year of operation, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) continues to flex its muscle in new and sometimes startling ways. The latest advance for the CFPB was unveiled in the decision of Director Richard Cordray (Director) in the case In the Matter of PHH Corp., et al. In that administrative proceeding, the Director heard and decided the appeals, by both the CFPB enforcement division and PHH Corporation, of an adverse decision by an administrative law judge (ALJ) ordering a $6.4 million disgorgement penalty and injunctive relief against PHH. The enforcement action alleged that PHH violated provisions of the Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act (RESPA) which prohibit kickbacks in the form of compensated referrals of settlement services.

 

To read the full article, click here.