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The Fair Debt Buying Practices Act of 2013 (Senate Bill 233) was signed by Governor Brown last month.  The Act will apply to debts sold or resold on or after Jan. 1, 2014. Purpose: The Act will regulate the activities of persons and entities that purchase delinquent or charged-off consumer debt by requiring specific documentation to be maintained by the industry. … Read More

The California Department of Corporations proposed new Finance Lender Law regulations.  Attached are copies of the CDC Notice of Rulemaking Action re CFLL Regulation, CDC Statement of Reason re CFLL Regulation, and CDC Text of Proposed CFLL Regulations.   Licensees have an opportunity to provide comments which are due no later than 5 PM, January 28, 2013.  A request for a hearing may also be made in writing… Read More

Governor Brown signed AB 1447 and 1534, two of the three pending bills regarding buy-here, pay-here (BHPH) dealers.  Under AB 1447, such dealers must provide 30-day, 1,000-mile warranties and can not use electronic tracking devices or disable vehicles with starter interrupt technology unless they meet certain disclosure requirements. AB 1534 requires dealers to prominently and conspicuously post the reasonable market… Read More

California state senator Tom Lieu (D-Torrance) introduced SB 956 yesterday, that would require Buy Here Pay Here car dealers to be regulated by the Department of Corporations as lenders. A companion bill (AB 1447) introduced last week by Assemblyman Mike Feuer (D-Los Angeles) would require Buy Here Pay Here dealers to display vehicle sales prices and would block dealers from using GPS… Read More

AB 125, the final enrolled version can be found here, was enrolled and presented to the Governor, and signed into law.  According to the Assembly Analysis, SB 125 does the following:   ANALYSIS  :    Existing law (1) defines guaranteed automobile protections insurance" to be insurance that covers a  vehicle purchaser or lessee for the difference between the actual cash value… Read More

SB 890 originally had been a short bill designed to require debt collectors , when suing, to produce documentation that evidences that the debt collector is attempting to collect from the right person, for the right amount, on a debt that the debt collector can lawfully recover.  Yesterday, On March 24, the Legislature amended the Bill to purportedly create the… Read More

AB 125 was designed to "rectify a drafting error in AB 2782 (Insurance Committee), Chapter 400, Statutes of 2010, an omnibus bill sponsored by the California Department of Insurance.  In the effort to recognize in statute, and formalize the differences between true insurance products, and waiver provisions in loans, leases and sales contracts, what has long been marketed as GAP products, the drafters inadvertently eliminated… Read More

The California Legislature enacted AB 2782, which purports to align the definition of "Credit Insurance Agent" in the Insurance Code with the definition used in the National Association of Insurance Companies (NAIC) Producer Licensing Model Act (PLMA). The PLMA definition permits these credit insurance agents to transact Guaranteed Automobile Protection (GAP) insurance -- insurance which protects a car buyer/lessee with… Read More

SB 95 enacts the California Car Buyer' Protection Act of 2009.  Specifically, this bill:           1. Increases the fee for a license issued to dealers and  lessor-retailers by $25 for the original license, or any change which requires a new application and the annual renewal of a license, and the fee for an auto broker's endorsement to a dealer's license and annual renewals by $50.… Read More

SB 95 passed the Senate.  Yesterday, the Assembly Committee on the Judiciary issued a Bill Analysis, which outlined the legislation and identified that a deal apparently had been reached between sponsors and opponents: As proposed to be amended, the bill reflects consensus reached between supporters and the new car dealers association, which had previously been opposed to the bill.  The proposed amendments… Read More

On May 28, SB 98 passed Committee by a vote of 7-5.  This bill (1) would enact the California Car Buyers Protection Act of 2009.  This bill increases from $50,000 to $100,000 the bond required of a vehicle dealer for issuance or renewal of a dealer's license by the Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV); (2) provides that a person who… Read More

For our auto finance colleagues who, like us, also work in the mortgage industry, we post here our summary of the recently-enacted 2009 Foreclosure Prevention Act.  2009 California Foreclosure Prevention Act For more information, contact Sunny S. Huo at (415) 677-5519 or ssh@severson.com or any of the Financial Services Group attorneys. Read More

AB 2116 seeks to amend Civil Code § 2983.2(a)(2) regarding reinstatement of a motor vehicle conditional sales contract after repossession for non-payment. Civil Code § 2983.2(a)(2) sets forth post-repossession obligations a finance company must follow when consumers seek to reinstate their contracts.     ab_2116_bill_20080220_introduced ab_2116_bill_20080507_amended_asm_v97 ab_2116_bill_20080403_amended_asm_v98 ab-2116-assembly-bill-bill-analysis-judicial ab-2116-assembly-bill-bill-analysis   BILL STATUS as of 9/22/08 MEASURE :  A.B. No. 2116 AUTHOR(S)… Read More