Judge wants to know why credit card late fee case was filed in Texas

Much to the consternation of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, the American Bankers Association, the Consumer Bankers Association and state business groups, a Texas federal judge appears suspicious about the reason a lawsuit challenging the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s final credit card rule was filed in the Lone Star State.

“The Court is weary [sic] that there appears to be an attenuated nexus to the Fort Worth Division, given only one plaintiff of the six in this matter has even a remote tie to the Fort Worth Division,” Judge Mark T. Pittman of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas wrote in ordering the business groups to explain why they filed suit in Texas.

In an earlier filing, the government attorneys defending the CFPB rule accused the plaintiffs of forum shopping, pointing out that there was not much of a link between the plaintiffs and Texas. Traditionally, Texas federal courts have been more friendly to business groups than courts in other areas of the U.S.

Judge Pittman invited federal government attorneys to file for a transfer to a more relevant court and the government attorneys did just that.

 

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