CBA is preparing an amicus brief to be filed with the California Supreme Court in Yvanova v. New Century Mortgage Corp, to address whether a residential mortgage borrower in default has standing to sue a trustee to invalidate a foreclosure action on the basis of alleged defects in the prior assignment of the note.

Published Regulatory Compliance Bulletins on:

• The California Supreme Court’s decision in Iskanian v. CLS Transportation Los Angeles, LLC, in which the Court upheld the enforceability of a class arbitration waiver in the employment context. 
• A new California law, AB 1522, requiring employers to provide paid sick leave to employees who work for at least 30 days from the commencement of employment within a year, to be accrued at a rate of at least one hour for every 30 hours worked.  

• A new California law, AB 1770, that enhances the process by which home equity lines of credit are paid off at or prior to close of escrow when the secured property is sold or a loan is refinanced.

• A new California law (CBA-sponsored AB 1393) that extends state tax relief for the 2013 tax year to residential borrowers who are the beneficiaries of forgiven residential mortgage debt.
• A new California law, SB 898, allowing banks to divulge to the State Treasurer’s Office, upon request, certain information related to accounts held by state agencies and departments.
• A new California law, CBA-sponsored AB 1858, providing that a UCC financing statement is effective if it identifies the debtor by his or her name as shown in a driver’s license or a DMV-issued personal identification card. 
• The CFPB’s revisions to its remittance transfer rule, which governs disclosure and other requirements associated with consumer-initiated foreign remittance transfers.
• The City of San Francisco’s ordinance restricting inquiries about the conviction history of any employee or job applicant. The ordinance applies to an employer that is located or doing business in San Francisco that employs 20 or more persons regardless of location.
• A recent court decision, De La Torre v. CashCall, affirming the lender’s liability for placing a condition on the extension of consumer credit on repayment by preauthorized electronic fund transfer.    
• A decision, Cochran v. Schwan’s Home Service Inc., in which an employer was required to reimburse employees for a reasonable percentage of their cell phone bills because they were required to use their personal phones on the job. 
• The CFPB’s consent order against ACE Cash Express Inc. for violating the “abusive” standard under UDAAP. The order, based on the payday lender’s collection activities, indicated it was abusive that collectors created an artificial sense of urgency to induce delinquent borrowers to take out new ACE loans even though consumers demonstrated an inability to repay their existing loans. 
• A new California law, AB 129, removing a legal prohibition against the issuance of any money other than the “lawful money of the United States.”  The bill seeks to remove legal barriers that might hinder the development and use of alternate currencies.

CBA is working with the City of San Francisco to try to modify a proposal that requires “formula retail” outlets that have part time employees, among other things, to offer additional hours of work to those employees before they can make new hires. These are businesses that have 11 or more outlets in the U.S. that share some common identity, which would include a bank branch.