| Update Jan. 26 Mortgage Daily originally reported that a “federal appeals court has ruled that President Barack Obama’s appointment of the director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau was unconstitutional.” Mortgage Daily should have instead reported that the ruling means that the CFPB appointment was unconstitutional. This important ruling is being researched this weekend by Ballard Spahr LLP, and an alert on the ruling is expected Monday from the Washington, D.C.-based firm. The alert is expected to focus on “the validity of the mortgage regs and the remittances regulation,” according to Alan Kaplinsky, a Ballard Spahr partner who was interviewed for the Mortgage Daily story. A CFPB statement provided to Mortgage Daily after the publication of the story said, “The bureau is not a party in the case decided today, and the court’s ruling has no direct effect on the bureau. Going forward, we will continue our essential work to protect American consumers.” A newsletter Friday from Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr LLP said that although CFPB Director Richard Cordray’s “recess appointment was not directly challenged in this case, the DC circuit’s reasoning would appear to apply equally to his appointment.” The law firm, which operates dual headquarters in Boston and Washington, D.C., noted that Cordray’s appointment is already being challenged in U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, and the “decision thus has significant ramifications for the legality of the actions of Mr. Cordray and the bureau.” |
