The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau voluntarily dismissed its lawsuit with prejudice against a major retailer and a fintech company in the District of Minnesota.
One of the last actions filed during the Biden administration, the Bureau originally brought claims on December 23, 2024 under the Consumer Financial Protection Act ("CFPA"), the Electronic Fund Transfer Act ("EFTA"), and the Truth in Savings Act ("TISA") in connection with the retailer's delivery driver program. The complaint alleged that the retailer opened accounts with a fintech company in delivery drivers' names using their sensitive personal information such as social security numbers without knowledge or consent, predicating drivers' access to their earnings on consent to the fintech company's terms and conditions. The Bureau also alleged that the fintech company made misrepresentations about company's account capabilities, including capabilities for instant access to earnings or same-day pay, stop payments, and transfers; required some consumers to waive their rights under EFTA; and failed to provide required disclosures and notices, honor stop payment requests, investigate and resolve alleged errors, and maintain necessary records.
The dismissal follows the grant of Defendants' unopposed stay "to preserve the resources of the Court and the parties in light of the significant and well-publicized uncertainty surrounding Plaintiff Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's prosecution of this matter." Concerned that briefing would require them to "preview their arguments for dismissal," Defendants argued in their motion to stay that "the substantial resources Defendants are investing in their motions inevitably will be wasted if the Bureau simply seeks a stay of this action or dismissal of the complaint when it is compelled to respond to Defendants' motions to dismiss in the coming weeks—as the Acting Directors' recent directives, the Bureau's conduct in other cases, and its consent to a stay here suggests it may."
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