As it approaches its one-year anniversary, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (“CFPB”) announced plans for overhauling the home mortgage market as a first step toward improving its fairness and clarity. The CFPB was created through the 2010 Dodd-Frank Act with a mission of helping ensure clarity and fairness in the […]
Category: General
Abbott Laboratories to Pay $1.6 Billion to Settle Deceptive Marketing Claims
Abbott Laboratories (“Abbott”) recently announced that it will pay $1.6 billion to settle various federal and state claims that it improperly marketed the prescription drug Depakote for off-label uses. Abbott will pay $800 million to resolve civil claims brought by the federal government and states, $700 million in criminal penalties, […]
NC Hospital Pays $1.9 Million to Settle Whistleblower Lawsuit
Rex Hospital, based in Raleigh, North Carolina, has agreed to pay the federal government $1.9 million to settle Medicare fraud charges. The qui tam (or “whistleblower”) lawsuit alleged that hospitals were keeping Medicare patients overnight unnecessarily following a back procedure known as “kyphoplasty.” The action alleged hospitals encouraged overnight stays […]
CFPB Proposes New Rule Requiring Transparent Mortgage Disclosures
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (“CFPB”) has submitted a proposed rule to the Federal Register that would create plain-English, more transparent mortgage disclosures. The proposal follows more than a year of research and analysis of mortgage disclosures and the best ways to ensure that customers receive needed information to make […]
Whistleblowers Help Us All
In a time when it gets increasingly difficult for politicians to agree on regulations, reign in the cost of healthcare or control financial institutions, one strong person can make a difference. Under the False Claims Act any person, business or entity that defrauds the federal government of the American taxpayers’ […]
American Banker Reports on Challenges to Lenders’ Force-Placed Insurance Practices
American Banker, the nation’s leading publication dealing with the banking industry, reported on mounting challenges to lenders’ alleged self-dealing with force-placed hazard or homeowner’s insurance. In addition to a number of lawsuits filed against banks and mortgage servicers across the country, regulatory authorities are now investigating whether banks are unfairly […]
Class Certification Granted for Florida Homeowners
American Banker reported on a win for homeowners in a Florida class action against Wells Fargo & Co. and QBE Insurance, Inc. over their practices with force-placed insurance. In the force-placed insurance case, a Florida district court judge granted the plaintiffs’ motion for class certification for a class of Florida […]
Bank of America Sued Over Force-Placed Insurance Costs
According to Bloomberg, Bank of America was sued in federal court in Florida over abusive practices with force-placed homeowner’s insurance. The named plaintiff was charged nearly $4,500 for force-placed hazard insurance even though he already had that homeowner’s coverage on his home. The force-placed policy, which covered only wind and […]
New York Department of Financial Services Investigates Force-Placed Insurance Schemes
The New York Department of Financial Services is investigating whether two insurers, Assurant and QBE Insurance, which control about 90 percent of the market for force-placed insurance, obtained their dominant market positions by paying improper kickbacks to banks. The department is considering whether the illicit relationships between banks and the […]
US Banks to be Examined Regarding Overdraft Fees
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) recently announced that it is reviewing bank practices to determine whether regulations aimed at curbing abuses with overdraft fees went far enough. The agency plans to decide by the end of the year whether additional rules and restrictions are needed to protect consumers. In […]