On June 21, 2018, the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York (“the Court”) issued an opinion in the matter of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, Et al. v RD Legal Funding, LLC, Et al. The Defendants raise question the constitutionality of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (“the Bureau”); specifically, they assert that the Bureau “is unconstitutionally structured and therefore lacks the authority to bring claims” under the Consumer Financial Protection Act.

The Court agreed. Acknowledging the contrary opinion of the majority in PHH Corporation v CFPB, the Court instead adopted portions of the dissenting opinions of both Judges Brett Cavanaugh, and Karen LeCraft Henderson. See 881 F.3d 75 (D.C. Cir. 2018). Concluding that the Bureau, “is unconstitutionally structured because it is an independent agency that exercises substantial executive power and is headed by a single Director”, the Court notes that they simply cannot sever or amend the statute. Thus, the Court’s remedy was to strike Title X entirely.

Click here for a link to the full opinion.