The Center for Responsible Lending (CRL) and the National Consumer Law Center (NCLC) continued with their advocacy on behalf of payday loan app users in the courts, filing an amicus (friend of the court) brief in the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals to support Petty Officer Samuel Vickery and Sargeant Rae Fuller’s class action lawsuit against lender Empower Finance, Inc.
This case is yet another opportunity for courts to find that payday loan app lenders (also known as Earned Wage Access) are credit under the law, and that they must comply with the mandates of the Military Lending Act and Truth in Lending Act, just like any other lender. CRL and NCLC stand in support of active-duty military personnel and their dependents seeking the Military APR rate cap of 36% that they are due. Likewise, the law should be applied and followed so that servicemembers are allowed their day in court, not forced into arbitration.