The Texas federal district court hearing the lawsuit filed by two trade groups challenging the CFPB’s final payday/auto title/high-rate installment loan rule (Payday Rule) entered an order on August 6 that once again continues the stay of the lawsuit and the August 19, 2019 compliance date for both the Payday Rule’s ability-to-repay (ATR) provisions and its payment provisions.  The order directs the parties to file another joint status report by December 6 “informing the court about proceedings related to the Rule and this litigation as the parties deem appropriate.”

The order follows the filing of the most recent status report on August 2 by the CFPB and trade groups.  In the report, the parties stated that they “are not requesting that the Court lift the stay of the litigation or lift the stay of the compliance date at this time.”  (Although the Bureau’s final rule delaying the compliance date for the ATR provisions left unchanged the August 19 compliance date for the Payday Rule’s payment provisions, the stay of the compliance date entered by the court on November 6, 2018 stayed the compliance date for both the ATR and the payment provisions.)

Thus, companies subject to the payment provisions of the Payday Rule will almost certainly have a respite of at least two and a half months (and likely longer) before the payment provisions will become applicable.