Biden Administration: Opposition seeking friendly judge to block credit card rule

The Biden Administration says the U.S. Chamber of Congress, the American Bankers Association, the Consumer Bankers Association, and state business groups, sought a friendly court when they filed a lawsuit challenging the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s final credit card late fee rule.

Texas federal courts have a decidedly conservative bent and generally are not fans of strict regulatory regimes. Referring to the case, filed in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas, the CFPB and Justice Department attorneys said that the case was filed “by an assortment of industry associations, many of which are located more than a thousand miles away, in Washington, D.C.”

The government attorneys wrote that one of the plaintiffs, the Fort Worth Chamber of Commerce in Texas, claims to represent a Utah bank. “Far-flung entities cannot just pay membership fees to an association in their venue of choice to gain access to that venue,” the government attorneys argued.

Summarizing their arguments, the government attorneys wrote, “In short, Plaintiffs are not likely to succeed on the merits because their apparent attempt at forum shopping fails and this case should be dismissed for improper venue.”

 

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