WASHINGTON (Legal Newsline) – A community group can’t sue over “pure speculation” of what the consequences will be if a federal agency is allowed to repeal a 2017 rule regarding short-term loans.
That’s according to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, which was sued last year by the National Association for Latino Community Asset Builders. In a Jan. 8 motion to dismiss, attorneys at the CFPB say the NALCAB lacks standing to bring suit.
At issue in the case is the CFPB’s 2020 Repeal Rule, which revokes a 2017 measure that prohibited short-term loans at high interest rates like payday and auto-title loans.
The CFPB failed to consider the harms this will inflict on the public, the lawsuit says.
“NALCAB’s suggestion that either it or any of its members will be injured by the rule is pure conjecture,” the motion says. “Neither NALCAB nor any of its members are directly subject to the rule at issue.
“Absent any direct injury, NALCAB is left to allege that the rule will trigger a cascade of events that will ultimately culminate in a strain on its resources or the resources of one of its members. Yet, NALCAB does not provide any specific facts or detailed allegations in support of its guesswork.”
Even if NALCAB’s predictions come true, they will not create concrete and demonstrable injuries that would give the group Article III standing to sue, the motion says.
“The Complaint makes clear that whether or not the challenged rule is in effect, both NALCAB and its member organization will continue to conduct the same sort of activities (financial coaching and public education related to consumer finance) that they have always conducted. And they will expend the same resources doing so,” the motion says.