As expected, a law firm fighting a Civil Investigative Demand from the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has petitioned the Supreme Court to hear its argument that the agency’s leadership structure is unconstitutional.
A copy of the petition can be accessed by clicking here.
The petition was filed last week. While there is currently no split at the Circuit Court level as to the question of whether the single director structure of the CFPB violates the constitution’s separation of powers, it has been a hot-button topic in legal circles for a number of years.
“The time for this Court to resolve the long-running de- bate about the constitutionality of the CFPB is now,” Seila wrote in its petition. “This case, which cleanly presents the question whether the CFPB is constitutional, is an ideal vehicle for the Court’s review. And the Court’s resolution of the question presented is urgently needed.”
In this case, the law firm in question — Seila Law LLC — is fighting against having to comply with a CID that it received from the CFPB in regards to possible violations of the Telemarketing Sales Rule while selling debt relief services to consumers. The CFPB issued a CID seeking answers to seven interrogatories and four requests for documents. The defendant refused to provide the information, leading the CFPB to file a petition with a District Court, which sided with the regulator. Seila Law appealed that ruling to the Ninth Circuit, which also sided with the CFPB.
The Ninth Circuit’s ruling mirrored a ruling from the Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia in the case of PHH Mortgage v. CFPB, which also determined that the single director structure who can only be removed for cause was constitutional.
