Richard Gale v. First Franklin Loan Services

ORDER

The opinion filed on July 12, 2012, slip op. 8053, 2012 WL 2855811 , is amended as follows:

At slip op. 8061, at the end of the first full paragraph; 2012 WL 2855811 , at *4, at the end of the first full paragraph, insert the following text:

Unable to rely squarely on § 1641, Gale leans upon another section of the statute for support, § 1640(a). At the time Gale’s action accrued, this subsection, in relevant part, read, “any creditor who fails to comply with any requirement imposed under [TILA Part B, including § 1641], ... is liable” for actual and statutory damages. Gale points out that the term “creditor” refers only to an original creditor, not an assignee. See 15 U.S.C. § 1602 (f)(2) (“creditor” defined as “the person to whom the debt arising from the consumer credit transaction is initially payable”). Therefore, in providing a cause of action against “creditors],” § 1640(a) extends § 1641(f) assignee liability to original creditors such as Franklin, as well as assignees.

This argument proves too much. Each subsection of § 1641 limits liability on its face to assignees. Gale’s argument essentially boils down to the claim that in one fell swoop, § 1640(a)’s reference…