Court: No Immediate Injunction Blocking CFPB Credit Card Rule
Texas judge delivers stinging rebuke to trade groups
A Texas federal judge announced on Wednesday that he will not issue an immediate injunction halting implementation of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s credit card late fee final rule, delivering a stinging rebuke to trade groups who had requested immediate action.
Judge Mark T. Pittman of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas told the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, the American Bankers Association and state trade groups that his court has one of the busiest dockets in the country.
“Given these statistics, the Court does not have the luxury to give increased attention to certain cases just because a party to the case thinks their case is more important than the rest,” Pittman wrote, in denying the request. “There are simply too many cases that demand the Court’s full attention.”
The CFPB and government attorneys had argued that the banking and business groups had chosen Pittman’s court for a specific reason: Texas federal courts have tended to be more friendly to business interests. Pittman had asked the trade groups to explain why the case challenging the rule was filed in his court, noting that only one plaintiff has even a remote tie to Texas.
The groups had asked Pittman to issue the injunction while the venue issue was hammered out, saying that the judge did not have to be “troubled” by the venue issue. They added that if Pittman declined to issue the injunction, they would immediately appeal that decision.
Pittman was not pleased.
“While the Court appreciates Plaintiffs’ efforts to educate the Court on what they believe the Court does and does not need, the undersigned Judge has been a federal district Judge for almost five years and a judge generally for nearly a decade,” he wrote. “Based on experience, the Court has found that it can determine what briefing it may or may not need.”
The trade groups filed suit challenging the rule just weeks after it was issued. The rule would affect credit card issuers with at least one million open accounts. Most late fees would be capped at $8, although issuers could charge more if they can demonstrate that their costs exceed that amount.