Sec. 130. Civil liability
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## § 130 Civil liability **[**[15 U.S.C. 1640](/us/usc/t15/s1640)**]** ###
(a)Except as otherwise provided in this section, any creditor who fails to comply with any requirement imposed under this chapter, including any requirement under section 125, subsection
(f)or
(g)of section 131, or chapter 4 or 5 of this title with respect to any person is liable to such person in an amount equal to the sum of— ####
(1)any actual damage sustained by such person as a result of the failure; ####
(2)#####
(A)######
(i)in the case of an individual action twice the amount of any finance charge in connection with the transaction,
(ii)in the case of an individual action relating to a consumer lease under chapter 5 of this title, 25 per centum of the total amount of monthly payments under the lease, except that the liability under this subparagraph shall not be less than $200 nor greater than $2,000,
(iii)in the case of an individual action relating to an open end consumer credit plan that is not secured by real property or a dwelling, twice the amount of any finance charge in connection with the transaction, with a minimum of $500 and a maximum of $5,000, or such higher amount as may be appropriate in the case of an established pattern or practice of such failures; or
(iv)in the case of an individual action relating to a credit transaction not under an open end credit plan that is secured by real property or a dwelling, not less than $400 or greater than $4,000; or #####
(B)in the case of a class action, such amount as the court may allow, except that as to each member of the class no minimum recovery shall be applicable, and the total recovery under this subparagraph in any class action or series of class actions arising out of the same failure to comply by the same creditor shall not be more than the lesser of $1,000,000 or 1 per centum of the net worth of the creditor; ####
(3)in the case of any successful action to enforce the foregoing liability or in any action in which a person is determined to have a right of rescission under section 125 or 128(e)(7), the costs of the action, together with a reasonable attorney's fee as determined by the court; and ####
(4)in the case of a failure to comply with any requirement under section 129, paragraph
(1)or
(2)of section 129B(c), or section 129C(a), an amount equal to the sum of all finance charges and fees paid by the consumer, unless the creditor demonstrates that the failure to comply is not material. In determining the amount of award in any class action, the court shall consider, among other relevant factors, the amount of any actual damages awarded, the frequency and persistence of failures of compliance by the creditor, the resources of the creditor, the number of persons adversely affected, and the extent to which the creditor's failure of compliance was intentional. In connection with the disclosures referred to in subsections
(a)and
(b)of section 127, a creditor shall have a liability determined under paragraph
(2)only for failing to comply with the requirements of section 125, 127(a), or any of paragraphs
(4)through
(13)of section 127(b), or for failing to comply with disclosure requirements under State law for any term or item that the Bureau has determined to be substantially the same in meaning under section 111(a)(2) as any of the terms or items referred to in section 127(a), or any of paragraphs
(4)through
(13)of section 127(b). In connection with the disclosures referred to in subsection
(c)or
(d)of section 127, a card issuer shall have a liability under this section only to a cardholder who pays a fee described in section 127(c)(1)(A)(ii)(I) or section 127(c)(4)(A)(i) or who uses the credit card or charge card. In connection with the disclosures referred to in section 128, a creditor shall have a liability determined under paragraph
(2)only for failing to comply with the requirements of section 125, of paragraph
(2)(insofar as it requires a disclosure of the “amount financed”), (3), (4), (5), (6), or
(9)of section 128(a), or section 128(b)(2)(C)(ii), of subparagraphs (A), (B), (D), (F), or
(J)of section 128(e)(2) (for purposes of paragraph
(2)or
(4)of section 128(e)), or paragraph (4)(C), (6), (7), or
(8)of section 128(e), or for failing to comply with disclosure requirements under State law for any term which the Bureau has determined to be substantially the same in meaning under section 111(a)(2) as any of the terms referred to in any of those paragraphs of section 128(a) or section 128(b)(2)(C)(ii). With respect to any failure to make disclosures required under this chapter or chapter 4 or 5 of this title, liability shall be imposed only upon the creditor required to make disclosure, except as provided in section 131. ###
(b)A creditor or assignee has no liability under this section or section 108 or section 112 for any failure to comply with any requirement imposed under this chapter or chapter 5, if within sixty days after discovering an error, whether pursuant to a final written examination report or notice issued under section 108(e)(1) or through the creditor's or assignee's own procedures, and prior to the institution of an action under this section or the receipt of written notice of the error from the obligor, the creditor or assignee notifies the person concerned of the error and makes whatever adjustments in the appropriate account are necessary to assure that the person will not be required to pay an amount in excess of the charge actually disclosed, or the dollar equivalent of the annual percentage rate actually disclosed, whichever is lower. ###
(c)A creditor or assignee may not be held liable in any action brought under this section or section 125 for a violation of this title if the creditor or assignee shows by a preponderance of evidence that the violation was not intentional and resulted from a bona fide error notwithstanding the maintenance of procedures reasonably adapted to avoid any such error. Examples of a bona fide error include, but are not limited to, clerical, calculation, computer malfunction and programing, and printing errors, except that an error of legal judgment with respect to a person's obligations under this title is not a bona fide error. ###
(d)When there are multiple obligors in a consumer credit transaction or consumer lease, there shall be no more than one recovery of damages under subsection (a)(2) for a violation of this title. ###
(e)Except as provided in the subsequent sentence, any action under this section may be brought in any United States district court, or in any other court of competent jurisdiction, within one year from the date of the occurrence of the violation or, in the case of a violation involving a private education loan (as that term is defined in section 140(a)), 1 year from the date on which the first regular payment of principal is due under the loan. Any action under this section with respect to any violation of section 129, 129B, or 129C may be brought in any United States district court, or in any other court of competent jurisdiction, before the end of the 3-year period beginning on the date of the occurrence of the violation. This subsection does not bar a person from asserting a violation of this title in an action to collect the debt which was brought more than one year from the date of the occurrence of the violation as a matter of defense by recoupment or set-off in such action, except as otherwise provided by State law. An action to enforce a violation of section 129, 129B, 129C, 129D, 129E, 129F, 129G, or 129H of this Act may also be brought by the appropriate State attorney general in any appropriate United States district court, or any other court of competent jurisdiction, not later than 3 years after the date on which the violation occurs. The State attorney general shall provide prior written notice of any such civil action to the Federal agency responsible for enforcement under section 108 and shall provide the agency with a copy of the complaint. If prior notice is not feasible, the State attorney general shall provide notice to such agency immediately upon instituting the action. The Federal agency may— ####
(1)intervene in the action; ####
(2)upon intervening— #####
(A)remove the action to the appropriate United States district court, if it was not originally brought there; and #####
(B)be heard on all matters arising in the action; and ####
(3)file a petition for appeal. ###
(f)No provision of this section, section 108(b), section 108(c), section 108(e), or section 112 imposing any liability shall apply to any act done or omitted in good faith in conformity with any rule, regulation, or interpretation thereof by the Bureau or in conformity with any interpretation or approval by an official or employee of the Federal Reserve System duly authorized by the Bureau to issue such interpretations or approvals under such procedures as the Bureau may prescribe therefor, notwithstanding that after such act or omission has occurred, such rule, regulation, interpretation, or approval is amended, rescinded, or determined by judicial or other authority to be invalid for any reason. ###
(g)The multiple failure to disclose to any person any information required under this chapter or chapter 4 or 5 of this title to be disclosed in connection with a single account under an open end consumer credit plan, other single consumer credit sale, consumer loan, consumer lease, or other extension of consumer credit, shall entitle the person to a single recovery under this section but continued failure to disclose after a recovery has been granted shall give rise to rights to additional recoveries. This subsection does not bar any remedy permitted by section 125. ###
(h)A person may not take any action to offset any amount for which a creditor or assignee is potentially liable to such person under subsection (a)(2) against any amount owed by such person, unless the amount of the creditor's or assignee's liability under this title has been determined by judgment of a court of competent jurisdiction in an action of which such person was a party. This subsection does not bar a consumer then in default on the obligation from asserting a violation of this title as an original action, or as a defense or counterclaim to an action to collect amounts owed by the consumer brought by a person liable under this title. ###
(i)Class Action Moratorium ####
(1)In general During the period beginning on the date of the enactment of the Truth in Lending Class Action Relief Act of 1995 and ending on October 1, 1995, no court may enter any order certifying any class in any action under this title— #####
(A)which is brought in connection with any credit transaction not under an open end credit plan which is secured by a first lien on real property or a dwelling and constitutes a refinancing or consolidation of an existing extension of credit; and #####
(B)which is based on the alleged failure of a creditor— ######
(i)to include a charge actually incurred (in connection with the transaction) in the finance charge disclosed pursuant to section 128; ######
(ii)to properly make any other disclosure required under section 128 as a result of the failure described in clause (i); or ######
(iii)to provide proper notice of rescission rights under section 125(a) due to the selection by the creditor of the incorrect form from among the model forms prescribed by the Bureau or from among forms based on such model forms. ####
(2)Exceptions for certain alleged violations Paragraph
(1)shall not apply with respect to any action— #####
(A)described in clause
(i)or
(ii)of paragraph (1)(B), if the amount disclosed as the finance charge results in an annual percentage rate that exceeds the tolerance provided in section 107(c); or #####
(B)described in paragraph (1)(B)(iii), if— ######
(i)no notice relating to rescission rights under section 125(a) was provided in any form; or ######
(ii)proper notice was not provided for any reason other than the reason described in such paragraph. ###
(j)Private Educational Lender A private educational lender (as that term is defined in section 140(a)) has no liability under this section for failure to comply with section 128(e)(3)). ###
(k)Defense to Foreclosure ####
(1)In general Notwithstanding any other provision of law, when a creditor, assignee, or other holder of a residential mortgage loan or anyone acting on behalf of such creditor, assignee, or holder, initiates a judicial or nonjudicial foreclosure of the residential mortgage loan, or any other action to collect the debt in connection with such loan, a consumer may assert a violation by a creditor of paragraph
(1)or
(2)of section 129B(c), or of section 129C(a), as a matter of defense by recoupment or set off without regard for the time limit on a private action for damages under subsection (e). ####
(2)Amount of recoupment or setoff #####
(A)In general The amount of recoupment or set-off under paragraph
(1)shall equal the amount to which the consumer would be entitled under subsection
(a)for damages for a valid claim brought in an original action against the creditor, plus the costs to the consumer of the action, including a reasonable attorney's fee. #####
(B)Special rule Where such judgment is rendered after the expiration of the applicable time limit on a private action for damages under subsection (e), the amount of recoupment or set-off under paragraph
(1)derived from damages under subsection (a)(4) shall not exceed the amount to which the consumer would have been entitled under subsection (a)(4) for damages computed up to the day preceding the expiration of the applicable time limit. ###
(l)Exemption From Liability and Rescission in Case of Borrower Fraud or Deception In addition to any other remedy available by law or contract, no creditor or assignee shall be liable to an obligor under this section, if such obligor, or co-obligor has been convicted of obtaining by actual fraud such residential mortgage loan.
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