The U.S. revealed last Friday that it now supports PHH in its landmark case against the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, switching sides from its original stance back in December, HousingWire.com reported. Back in February, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit ruled in favor of the CFPB and granted a rehearing of the case en banc, meaning that it would allow the entire court to hear the case, rather than the three judges who ruled on the case in October. Procedurally, after the court’s decision, amicus briefs supporting PHH are required to be filed by March 10 and amicus briefs supporting the CFPB to be filed by March 31. PHH must file its opening brief by March 10 and the CFPB must respond by March 31. The Solicitor General hasn’t filed its amicus brief yet, but it did file an “unopposed motion” with the D.C. Circuit to file an amicus brief by March 17, according to a new piece in Ballard Spahr’s CFPB Monitor blog by Barbara Mishkin. By doing so, the blog stated that the United States appears to be signaling that its brief will support PHH rather than the CFPB. The U.S wouldn’t need an extension if it chose to support the CFPB.
