CFPB Subpoena Authority Upheld by Federal Court

Feb 17, 2017

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) scored another victory in court, this time in a case regarding its authority to issue a subpoena in a housing finance investigation.

According to a New York Times report, Judge Nancy G. Edmunds of Federal District Court in Detroit ruled that Harbour Portfolio Advisors of Dallas must comply with a CFPB administrative subpoena for documents and related information. The CFPB has been investigating whether the company violated federal laws through its sale of foreclosed homes to low-income buyers through installment payment plans known as contracts for deeds, but Harbor Portfolio claimed that the CFPB had no authority to demand this information.

“There are plausible grounds to believe that respondents may have information related to a violation,” the judge stated in her ruling, referring to such laws as the Truth in Lending Act, the Consumer Financial Protection Act and the Equal Credit Opportunity Act. Neither the CFPB nor Harbour Financial offered an immediate comment on the ruling.

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Phil Hall

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Feb 17, 2017

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