Business & Corporate
Discovering a Limit to Power: A Statute of Limitations Applied to the CFPB
The substantial powers of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) have recently received renewed attention following the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in Seila Law LLC v. CFPB.[1] That case held that the CFPB was unconstitutionally structured and that the director is removable at will by the President.[2] In making that determination, the Court discussed the CFPB’s authority to use “the coercive power of the state to bear on millions of private citizens and businesses, imposing potentially billion-dollar penalties through administrative adjudications and civil actions.”[3] That authority includes the enforcement of a broad prohibition on unfair, deceptive, or abusive acts or practices (UDAAP) in consumer finance transactions.[4] Although the Court reformed the President’s removal authority, the CFPB retains that immense power over vast segments of the economy.