The Federal Trade Commission joined with the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau in an amicus brief filed with the United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit in Louis v. Bluegreen Vacations Unlimited, Inc. The brief asks the Eleventh Circuit to overturn the district court’s holding that an active servicemember and his wife lacked standing to sue their lender for violations of the Military Lending Act (MLA). The plaintiffs alleged that their loan agreement violated the MLA because it contained an illegal mandatory arbitration clause and failed to provide required disclosures regarding the annual percentage rate of interest for the loan (known as the Military Annual Percentage Rate). A loan that violates the MLA is void from its inception. Nevertheless, the district court held that the plaintiffs lacked standing to sue because the alleged violations did not cause them any “concrete harm.” The brief argues that the district court erred because the plaintiffs alleged that they are subject to and made payments under an illegal loan, which is a quintessential form of concrete harm. The brief also argues that the district court’s decision undermines enforcement of the MLA, a statute that protects servicemembers from predatory lending and seeks to preserve military readiness and morale.
Date
Matter Number
P082105