Strubel v. Capital One Bank (USA), N.A.

179 F. Supp. 3d 320, 2016 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 41487, 2016 WL 1271067
CourtDistrict Court, S.D. New York
DecidedMarch 29, 2016
Docket14-cv-5998 (AJN)
StatusPublished
Cited by2 cases

This text of 179 F. Supp. 3d 320 (Strubel v. Capital One Bank (USA), N.A.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, S.D. New York primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Strubel v. Capital One Bank (USA), N.A., 179 F. Supp. 3d 320, 2016 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 41487, 2016 WL 1271067 (S.D.N.Y. 2016).

Opinion

MEMORANDUM & ORDER

ALISON J. NATHAN, District Judge:

Plaintiff Abigail Strubel brings this putative class action against Capital One Bank (USA), N.A. (“Capital One”) for violating the Truth in Lending Act, 15 U.S.C. § 1601 et seq. (“TILA”). Strubel alleges that Capital One sent her a credit card solicitation accompanied by disclosures that failed to comply with TILA and with its implementing regulation, 12 C.F.R. Pt. 1026 (“Regulation Z”). Both parties moved for summary judgment. For the reasons set forth below, Strubel’s motion is DENIED, and Capital One’s motion is GRANTED.

I. Background

A. Statutory and Regulatory Context

Congress passed TILA in 1968 to ensure “a meaningful disclosure of credit terms so that the consumer will be able to compare more readily the various credit terms available to him and avoid the uninformed use of credit, and to protect the consumer against inaccurate and unfair credit- billing and credit card practices.” 15 U.S.C. § 1601(a). To achieve these goals, TILA contains a variety of mandatory disclosures that creditors must make to consumers both prior to the establishment of any legal obligations, and at specified points in the creditor-consumer relationship. Rossman v. Fleet Bank (R.I.) Nat’l Ass’n, 280 F.3d 384, 389 (3d Cir.2002). The Act grants rulemaking authority to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (“CFPB”). 15 U.S.C. § 1604(a). Prior to 2011, TILA’s rulemaking authority - was delegated to the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve (“the Board”). Strubel v. Comenity Bank, No. 13-cv-4462, 2015 WL 321859, at *3 (S.D.N.Y. Jan. 23, 2015); 12 U.S.C. §§ 5581-82. Regulation under TILA “may contain such additional requirements ... as in the judgment of the [CFPB] are necessary or proper to effectuate- the purposes of [TILA], to prevent circumvention or evasion thereof, or to facilitate compliance therewith.” 15 U.S.C. § 1604(a). All required disclosures under TILA must be made “clearly and conspicuously, in accordance with regulations of the [CFPB].” Id. § 1632(a).

The Fair Credit and Charge Card Disclosure Act of 1988, Pub. L. No. 100-583, 102 Stat. 2960, added a requirement that credit card issuers provide standardized information relating to interest rates and fees on credit card applications and solicitations. 15 U.S.C. § 1637(c). These disclosures must be made in a tabular format known as the “Schumer Box,” after its chief proponent, Senator Charles Schumer. Roberts v. Fleet Bank (R.I.), 342 F.3d 260, 263 n. 1 (3d Cir.2003). The Schumer Box disclosures must be “disclosed in the form and manner which the Board shall pre[322]*322scribe by regulations.” 15 U.S.C. § 1632(c)(1)(A); see also id. § 1637(c)(1)(A). TILA contains a private right of action that provides statutory damages for violations of many disclosure obligations, including those related to the Sehumer Box. Id. § 1640(a).

The Board’s (now the CFPB’s) Regulation Z implements TILA’s disclosure requirements, including credit card solicitation disclosures. See generally 12 C.F.R. § 1026.60. It specifies the disclosures that must be placed in the Sehumer Box’s tabular format, as well as three disclosures that must be placed directly beneath the box. Id. The annual percentage rate, which must be disclosed in the Sehumer Box, must be in at least 16-point type. Id. § 1026.60(b)(1). Regulation Z also requires that credit card disclosures be made “clearly and conspicuously.” Id. § 1026.5(a)(l)(i). In an appendix, the CFPB provides a model form for Sehumer Box disclosures (Form G-10(A)), as well as two sample forms (G-10(B) and G-10(C)) (collectively “model forms”). Regulation Z requires that the Sehumer Box disclosures have “headings, content, and format substantially similar” to the G-10 model forms in Appendix G. Id. § 1026.60(a)(2)(i).

The Board created (and the CFPB in relevant part adopted) Official Staff Commentary (“Commentary”) elaborating on Regulation Z. The Commentary interprets the “clear and conspicuous” standard present in both TILA and Regulation Z. For most disclosures, the Commentary interprets “clear and conspicuous” to require that the information be presented “in a reasonably understandable form.” 12 C.F.R. Pt. 1026, Supp. I emt. (“Comment”) 5(a)(l)-l; Comment 17(a)(l)-l, In the case of disclosures accompanying credit card solicitations, however, the Commentary interprets the standard as requiring something more stringent: that disclosures be both “in a reasonably understandable form” and “readily noticeable to the consumer.” Comment 5(a)(1)-!. The “reasonably understandable form” standard “does not require that disclosures be segregated from other material -or located in any particular place on the disclosure statement, or that numerical amounts or percentages be in any particular type size.” Comment 5(a)(l)-2. However, the “readily noticeable” standard requires -that disclosures “be given in a minimum of 10-point font.” -Comment 5(a)(l)-3.

The Commentary states that while use of model forms and clauses grants a safe harbor from liability, solicitation disclosures need not be identical to the model forms. Comment apps.-G & H-l. However, the Commentary" requires (paraphrasing Regulation Z) that any creditor choosing to eschew Form G-10(A) must provide disclosures “substantially similar in sequence and format” to the model forms. Comment app. G-5.Ü. The Commentary notes that although the model forms are designed to be printed on an 8 ½ x 14 inch sheet of paper, “creditors are not required to use a certain paper size” in making "these disclosures. Comment app, G-5,v. Finally, the Commentary details at some length the formatting techniques used by the CFPB to ensure that its model forms are “readable:”

A. A readable font style and font size (10-point Arial font style, except for the purchase annual percentage rate which is shown in 16-point type).
B. Sufficient spacing between lines of the-text. ■
C. Adequate spacing between paragraphs when several pieces of information were included in the same row of the table, as appropriate....
D. Standard spacing between words and characters. In other words, the" text was not compressed to appear smaller than 10-point type.
[323]*323E. Sufficient white space around the text of the information in each row, by providing sufficient margins above, below and to the sides of the text.
F.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
179 F. Supp. 3d 320, 2016 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 41487, 2016 WL 1271067, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/strubel-v-capital-one-bank-usa-na-nysd-2016.