Things are about to start getting interesting in the Buckeye State.
A jury was selected yesterday at a courthouse in Cleveland to kick off a lawsuit filed by the Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection against Weltman Weinberg & Reis, in the state where former CFPB director Richard Cordray is campaigning for governor. Meanwhile, a judge ruled yesterday that the defendant can call Cordray as a witness, even though the CFPB had filed a motion seeking to block him as a witness for the defense.
On top of all the legal buzz, the Democratic primary for governor is next Tuesday, meaning Cordray is in the home stretch to be his party’s nominee for the state’s top government position.
The CFPB filed a lawsuit against Weltman last April for allegedly violating the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act and the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act by sending collection letters that made it appear as though they came from a lawyer and calling consumers and falsely misrepresenting that a lawyer was involved. Weltman had vowed to defend the lawsuit, saying it was filed after the firm refused to be “strong-armed” into signing a consent order with the regulator.
Cordray left the CFPB last November to run for the governorship of Ohio.
The CFPB argues it was misleading for the firm to send out collection letters making it appear as though attorneys were involved with an account, even though no attorney reviewed a file before sending out a letter. A lawyer representing Weltman told the jury they “will see no evidence that shows the firm said anything untruthful or hear from debtors that felt they were wronged.”
While the CFPB has not said how much it is looking for in terms of a financial penalty should it win the suit, Weltman’s lawyer said it would be enough to put the firm out of business.
