This past Friday, the CFPB filed a declaration with the Fifth Circuit in which Director Kraninger stated that she has ratified the Bureau’s enforcement action against All American Check Cashing.

On July 10, the CFPB filed a similar declaration with the Second Circuit in RD Legal Funding, another circuit court case involving a challenge to the Bureau’s constitutionality that was put “on hold” pending the Supreme Court’s decision in Seila Law.  In that declaration, Director Kraninger stated that she has ratified the Bureau’s decisions to file the enforcement action against RD Legal and to appeal from the district court’s dismissal of the action.

It bears noting that in both All American Check Cashing and RD Legal, the CFPB had argued that any constitutional defect was cured by former Acting Director Mulvaney’s ratification of the two enforcement actions.  The CFPB’s ratification argument was not ruled on by the district court in All American Check Cashing and was rejected by the district court in RD Legal Funding.  The Second Circuit has proposed to calendar oral argument in RD Legal Funding during the week of October 5, 2020.  The Fifth Circuit has tentatively calendared en banc oral argument in All American Check Cashing during the week of September 21, 2020 and has ordered the parties to file supplemental briefs.

In Seila Law, the Supreme Court remanded the case to the Ninth Circuit to consider the CFPB’s argument that former Acting Director Mulvaney had ratified the civil investigative demand issued to Seila Law by the CFPB.  Assuming the CFPB intends to continue its effort to enforce the CID, we would expect the CFPB to now file a declaration with the Ninth Circuit that Director Kraninger has ratified the issuance of the CID to Seila Law.