Public Interest Law Firm: What's New

» City Council Win!  City of San Jose Prioritizes Study of Ordinance for Controlling Payday Lending

At the August 30, 2011 San Jose City Council meeting, the Council voted to prioritize study of a potential payday lending ordinance for this fiscal year!  The vote was 9 to 2, in favor of the memorandum submitted by Councilmembers Ash Kalra, Sam Liccardo, Donald Rocha and Xavier Campos, who had proposed such a prioritization.

Public Interest Law Firm is very grateful to its Coalition Against Payday Predators partners that came to City Hall to testify or wrote letters, met with, or called councilmembers in support of the memorandum, including Catholic Charities, Sacred Heart, La Raza Roundtable, Asian Law Alliance, United Way, Most Holy Trinity Church LOC, the Labor Council, California Reinvestment Coalition, OWL, and ACCE.

» Public Interest Law Firm and Fair Housing Law Project Filed Class Action Alleging Attorney Fraud

The Law Foundation and co-counsel Lawyers' Committee on Civil Rights and Orrick filed a state-wide class action alleging that a Beverly Hills attorney and other individuals and companies scammed desperate homeowners out of hundreds of thousands of dollars in loan modification fees.  The complaint alleges that the defendants made extravagant promises that the homeowners would receive drastic reductions in their monthly payments and principal balances, but then proceeded to do little to no work for their clients and refused to refund the hefty fees they had charged, despite promises that they would.

The Law Foundation, Lawyer's Committee, and Orrick File Suit Against Mortgage Scam Scheme

Complaint Ocegueda Case

Daily Journal Article Ocegueda Case

Recorder Article Ocegueda Case

» Polling Concerning Payday Lending Shows that San Jose Residents Want More Regulation--February 23, 2011

"Polls and elections from across the country have demonstrated over the years that the only folks who really like payday loans are payday lenders," said Paul Leonard, director of the California office of the Center for Responsible Lending, which sponsored the poll. "San Jose voters agree with voters nationwide: payday loans are flawed products that trap people in cycles of high-cost debt. And it's very likely that the rest of California would agree too." The November 2010 poll was conducted by Goodwin Simon Strategic Research to gauge public opinion of a potential moratorium on issuing new licenses to payday lenders abide by a "Good Neighbor Policy," which would include limiting signage and hours of operation, reducing litter, and posting the full cost of payday loans. Sixty-three percent of voters supported the idea of a two-year moratorium on new payday loan stores.

The Law Foundation's Public Interest Law Firm is part of a local coalition advocating for reform of payday lending in San Jose. For questions, please contact Asa Pittman at (408) 280-2449.

Press:

http://www.cnbc.com/id/41743998/

Poll:

http://www.responsiblelending.org/california/ca-payday/research-analysis/san-jose-payday-lending-poll.html

Last Updated June 2011