b'invalidated the Obama-era indirect auto lending bulletinchambers changed hands, and no attorney general that sought to hold lenders responsible for disparateoffices changed party control as a result of the 2020 impact resulting from the discretionary pricing practiceselections. Yet, once the pandemic is in the rear-view of auto dealers. Finally, the Biden administration ismirror, a more aggressive federal enforcement partner keen to implement student loan reform, which couldmay spur state action, either individually or jointly take the form of at least partial debt forgiveness,with the federal government. How companies treated further collection suspensions on federal studentconsumers during the pandemic may also provide state loans, and/or income-based repayment ceilings.enforcement agencies reason to launch investigations Rohit Chopra, President Bidens nominee for CFPBand enforcement actions, particularly in states known Director, is likely to play a key role in both shaping andfor aggressive enforcement such as California and New implementing these policies. Mr. Chopra previouslyYork. Finally, the new California DFPI has likely assumed served as an assistant director of CFPB under Directorthe mantle as the most powerful and prominent Cordray, as student loan ombudsperson, and comesstate-level enforcement actor going forward, and all most recently from the FTC, where he has servedindications are that the enforcement arm of the DFPI as a Commissioner since 2018. Mr. Chopra will haveintends to hit the ground running. a profound impact on the CFPBs regulatory andWe also expect that the number of private lawsuits will enforcement agenda. He has been a zealous advocateincrease, particularly class action litigation related to of more aggressive enforcement of consumer financethe pandemic. So far, the number of pandemic-related laws, particularly in the student lending and servicingclass action lawsuits filed against consumer finance and indirect auto lending spaces. We further expectcompanies has been small. The industry should expect Mr. Chopra to reinvigorate enforcement of fair lendingmore litigation as the pandemic fades and companies laws, which is an area that many believe to have beenbegin unwinding both voluntary and mandatory relief de-prioritized by Director Kraninger. The size and scopeprovided to consumers because of the pandemic. of the CFPBs investigations and enforcement initiativesFinally, the industry awaits the outcome of several is also likely to change. During Director Kraningersimportant appellate matters. The Second Circuit is likely tenure, the CFPB focused on pursuing what it viewedto issue its decision in Lacefield v. OCC, No. 19-4271, as clear-cut instances of direct and tangible consumeracase that will determine the fate of the OCCs harm, and prioritized restitution and consumer redressFintechCharter. In addition, in 2021 the Supreme over civil money penalties. In fact, in many instances,Court will issue its decisions in Facebook v. Duguid, No. the CFPB secured only nominal penalties (e.g., $1),19-511, and Collins v. Mnuchin, No. 19-422. Facebook although in some cases, this was due to companiesis likely to resolve a circuit split on the issue of what inability to pay. Mr. Chopras record and publicconstitutes an ATDS under the TCPA. If the Court statements reflect a much different agenda, however.interprets the term narrowly, as the industry has urged, Where consumer harm is identified, we expect athat could severely limit class-action plaintiffs ability to Chopra-led CFPB to pursue all relevant actors whouse the TCPA against the consumer finance industry. benefited from the alleged harmincluding third-partyFollowing on the heels of Selila Law LLC v. CFPB, No. service providers, investors, and other actors targeted19-7, the Court will decide in Collins whether the FHFAs less often by the CFPB. During his FTC tenure, Mr.structure violates the separation of powers, and, if so, Chopra criticized what he believed to be settlementthe impact that has on the validity of a 2012 agreement terms that were too favorable to the industry. Thus,through which the Treasury Department acquired we also anticipate that the terms by which industryshares of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. Decisions in participants seek to resolve any resulting enforcementboth cases are expected by early summer.actions will be more costly, onerous, and heavily publicized by the CFPB. Given these dynamics, it would be unsurprising to see more contested litigation matters involving the CFPB going forward. Finally, we expect to see more collaboration and joint enforcement initiatives between the CFPB and other federal and state agencies, given Mr. Chopras past tenure as the CFPBs student loan ombudsperson. State enforcement is likely to remain relatively stable in 2021 across the majority of states. In 2020, the anticipated Blue Wave never materialized at the state level: only one governorship and four state legislative 13'