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Amicus program

The CFPB is responsible for implementing many federal laws that relate to consumer finance. Courts sometimes apply those same laws to resolve disputes between private parties. In some cases, we believe a court would benefit from hearing our views on what the law says.

The amicus program is how we share our views with to the court.  (“Amicus” is shorthand for “Amicus curiae”, Latin for “friend of the court.”) Our amicus briefs provide the courts with the CFPB’s views on significant consumer financial protection issues and help ensure that consumer financial protection statutes and regulations are correctly and consistently interpreted.

Recently filed amicus briefs

Date filed

Franklin Savings Bank v. Bordick

The Bureau and the State of Maine filed an amicus brief with the Maine Supreme Judicial Court addressing the scope of the Truth in Lending Act (TILA), which generally applies to consumer-purpose loans. The brief argues that determining whether a loan has a covered purpose requires assessing the transaction as a whole and that language in the loan documents describing the loan’s purpose does not control that inquiry.
Date filed

Belair v. Holiday Inn Club Vacations Inc.

The Bureau filed an amicus brief with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit arguing that the Fair Credit Reporting Act requires an entity that furnishes credit information to a consumer reporting agency (CRA) to perform a reasonable investigation when a consumer disputes the accuracy of information furnished to the CRA, even if the dispute could be characterized as a legal, rather than factual, dispute.
Date filed

Connolly & Mott v. Lanham et al.

The CFPB and DOJ filed a joint Statement of Interest in the U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland explaining that mortgage lenders violate the Equal Credit Opportunity Act if they rely on an appraisal that they knew, or should have known, was discriminatory when assessing the creditworthiness of an applicant.

Suggest a case

We welcome your suggestions of cases that might make good candidates for the amicus program. We strongly recommend that you read our FAQs before submitting your request, especially if you are not an attorney.

Learn more about suggesting a case