The next move in the major legal battle between the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and PHH belongs to PHH.
According to an update from Ballard Spahr, “The D.C. Circuit has entered an order directing PHH Corporation to file a response to the CFPB’s petition for rehearing en banc in CFPB v. PHH Corporation.”
This means that PHH now must file a response within 15 days from when the court filed on Nov. 23 to give its opinion for rehearing en banc.
The response is the next step for PHH after the CFPB appealed the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit ruling that declared the agency’s leadership structure unconstitutional. The ruling also vacated a $103 million increase to a $6 million fine levied against PHH.
The only other party who can comment on the matter is the Solicitor General in order to express the views of the United States. Unlike PHH, they are not required to respond and do not have a deadline for their response.
However, Ballard Spahr believes the Solicitor General will respond. “We expect the Solicitor General to support the CFPB’s petition and given the impending change in Administrations, to file a response promptly,” Ballard Spahr stated.
Once this is complete, the timeline is up in the air.
Compass Point Research & Trading analysts Isaac Boltansky and Fred Small recently stated that they expect a decision on whether the full court plans to rehear the case to come in early 2017. Until then, it’s business as usual for the CFPB.
The analysts say that the odds “slightly favor” the court granting the CFPB’s request, but that caution that the D.C. Circuit is not easily convinced to hear a case en banc.
