CFPB Issues Final Rules Governing Enforcement Actions At The Bureau

This past Wednesday, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau ("CFPB" or the "Bureau") issued Final Rules which provide greater clarity into the process by which it will adjudicate consumer protection provisions set forth in Title X of the Dodd-Frank Act. The Bureau summarized its primary goal of "creat[ing] an adjudicatory process that provides for the expeditious resolution of claims while ensuring that parties who appear before the Bureau receive a fair hearing." The Bureau modeled its process after that of the Federal Trade Commission and the Securities Exchange Commission; processes that were previously implemented with a similar stated purpose.

Under the process set forth in the Final Rule, a hearing officer will recommend a decision in each administrative adjudication. Any party will then have a right to contest the recommended decision "by filing a notice of appeal and perfecting the appeal by later filing an opening brief." In the event that an appeal is not