California – The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals has upheld a California federal court’s ruling requiring consumer lender CashCall, Inc. to pay over $134 million in legal restitution following a lawsuit filed by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB). The court determined that CashCall’s Seventh Amendment right to a jury trial was not violated, as the company waived that right by voluntarily participating in a bench trial.
The CFPB had filed suit against CashCall in the Central District of California, accusing the company of engaging in “unfair, deceptive, or abusive acts or practices” by attempting to collect interest and fees that it was not entitled to under the law. In its appeal, CashCall argued that the district court’s $134 million restitution order triggered its Seventh Amendment right to a jury trial.
The Ninth Circuit panel, in a 28-page decision, rejected CashCall’s argument, explaining that although the company claimed it waived its right to a jury trial based on the CFPB’s incorrect interpretation of the relief as equitable rather than legal, the company was not confused about the nature of the relief. The court emphasized that a party can waive its right to a jury trial by simply failing to demand one in writing within 14 days after the relevant pleadings. CashCall had voluntarily participated in the first bench trial and failed to object when the second bench trial was held.
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The panel further ruled that the district court did not abuse its discretion in allowing the CFPB to seek legal restitution, rejecting the argument that doctrines of judicial estoppel and waiver applied. The court also agreed that the lower court was justified in using CashCall’s net revenues as a basis to determine its unjust gains.
Additionally, the Ninth Circuit dismissed CashCall’s challenge to the CFPB’s funding mechanism, affirming that the argument had already been addressed and dismissed by the U.S. Supreme Court in previous rulings.
Judge Ryan Nelson, who concurred with the majority, wrote a separate opinion asserting that even if CashCall had not waived its jury trial right, it still would not have been entitled to one based on precedent.
The case, Consumer Financial Protection Bureau v. CashCall, Inc., No. 23-55259, was decided in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit.
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