Public Citizen v. Consumer Financial Protection Bureau

In May and June of 2018, Public Citizen sent the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) two separate requests under the Freedom of Information Act seeking certain records the agency had related to a 2017 CFPB rule known as the “Payday Rule.” Public Citizen also requested public interest fee waivers for both of its requests. CFPB notified Public Citizen after receiving both requests that it would not decide on whether to grant the fee waivers until it determined the number of responsive documents. In mid-July of 2018, CFPB provided Public Citizen an estimated completion timeline of 3-4 months for the May request and 6-8 months for the June request. On January 17, 2019, having received no further communications from CFPB, Public Citizen filed suit seeking disclosure of the requested documents at no cost. After the lawsuit was filed, CFPB produced responsive records at no charge, and the lawsuit was dismissed.