BREAKING: D.C. Court Grants CFPB Petition for En Banc Hearing

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit has granted the petition by the CFPB for a rehearing en banc in the case of PHH Corporation, et. al., v. Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.

The court also ordered that the judgment filed October 11, 2016 would be vacated, and the oral argument before the en banc court will be heard on Wednesday May 24, 2017. 

The court requested that parties address the following in their briefs:

1. Is the CFPB's structure as a single-Director independent agency consistent with Article II of the Constitution and, if not, is the proper remedy to sever the for-cause provision of the statute?
2. May the court appropriately avoid deciding that consitutional question given the panel's ruling on the statutory issues in this case?
3. If the en banc court, which has today separately ordered en banc consideration of Lucia v. SEC, 832 F .3d 277 (D.C. Cir. 2016), concludes in that case that the administrative law judge who handled that case was an inferior officer rather than an employee, what is the appropriate disposition of this case?

insideARM has published extensively on the progress of this case, including the following:

• Feb 14, 2017 - Democrats and Consumer Groups Seek Reconsideration in PHH Case
• Feb 1, 2017 - PHH Files Supplemental Response to CFPB’s Rehearing petition; Opposes State AGs’ Motion to Intervene
• Jan 4, 2017 - Flurry of Activity in the PHH Corp. CFPB Constitutionality Case
• Dec 8, 2016 - Group of 10 Consumer Advocates File Amicus Brief in Case on Constitutionality of CFPB Structure
• Oct 12, 2016 - How the PHH Decision Could Limit CFPB's Enforcement Powers in Two Critical Ways
• April 19, 2016 - CFPB's Constitutionality and Director's Interpretation Challenged
• April 13, 2016 - Appeals Court Offers Sympathetic Ear to Argument that CFPB Structure is Unconstitutional
• Jan 25, 2016 - Federal Hearing Scheduled in Case Challenging CFPB Authority