The Biden-Harris Administration today announced the approval of more than $6.1 billion in automatic student loan relief to nearly 317,000 borrowers who enrolled at any Art Institute campus on or after Jan. 1, 2004, through Oct. 16, 2017. The U.S. Department of Education (Department) found that The Art Institutes and its parent company, Education Management Corporation (EDMC), made pervasive and substantial misrepresentations to prospective students about postgraduation employment rates, salaries, and career services during that time.
The Federal Trade Commission, the Department of Justice’s (DOJ) Antitrust Division, and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) are extending the deadline by 30 days for the public to comment on a tri-agency Request for Information (RFI) examining private-equity and other corporations’ increasing control over health care markets. The new deadline is now June 5, 2024.
In mid-2023, the Florida legislature amended the state’s Consumer Collection Practices Act. One of the changes it made was to prohibit any debt-collection communication between the hours of 9 p.m. and 8 a.m.
Quick analysis: Mixed March, YTD Numbers Still Riding High It has been a robust Q1 in the world of consumer complaints. Similar to February, the consumer complaint/litigation numbers are mixed for March (TCPA +1.5%, FDCPA -13.1%, FCRA -30.6%), but the year to date numbers are all still way up in the double digits over the same period last year (TCPA +26.6%, FDCPA +12.9%, FCRA +28.4%). CFPB complaints were up both in March (+36%) and YTD (a dramatic +60.4%).
On April 26, 2024, Plaintiffs filed their response to the CFPB’s Petition for a Panel Rehearing with the Fifth Circuit in the lawsuit challenging the CFPB’s credit card penalty fees rule (Rule). On the same date, the Plaintiffs also filed their brief in support of their motion for a preliminary injunction with the Fifth Circuit.