The U.S. Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) said business and banking groups, including the Chamber of Commerce, engaged in "forum-shopping" when they sued in Fort Worth, Texas, to block a rule aimed at lowering credit card late fees, Reuters reported. The CFPB urged a federal judge there to deny an injunction blocking the rule while the case is in progress. The regulator said that the lawsuit is likely to fail in part because it was filed in the wrong place. The late-fee rule passed last week applies only to around 35 of the largest card issuers, none of which is based in Fort Worth, the regulator said. Only one of the groups that sued, the Fort Worth Chamber of Commerce, is based in the court district, and the member it claims was harmed is a bank in Utah, the regulator said in court papers filed on Tuesday. "Far-flung entities cannot just pay membership fees to an association in their venue of choice to gain access to that venue," the CFPB wrote. The groups sued last week over the rule, which says that credit card issuers with more than 1 million open accounts can only charge $8 for late fees, unless they can prove that higher fees are necessary to cover their costs. The previous rule allowed issuers to charge up to $30, or $41 for subsequent late payments. The CFPB has said the change will save consumers $10 billion annually.
