Texas judge moves late fee case to DC, accusing banks of venue shopping for favorable ruling | KLRT [Video]

NEW YORK (AP) — A Texas federal judge on Thursday accused the major banking industry groups and U.S. Chamber of Commerce of venue shopping in their lawsuit against the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, a major win for the federal regulator.

The bureau had argued the only reason banks filed their lawsuit in Texas was to increase their chance of a favorable ruling. Judge Mark Pittman ruled that the lawsuit should be transferred to Washington, where the banking lobby has armies of lawyers able to handle this case.

“Venue is not a continental breakfast; you cannot pick and choose on a Plaintiff’s whim where and how a lawsuit is filed,” Pittman wrote.

The lawsuit deals with the CFPB’s new regulations over credit card late fees, where the average late fee of a customer would be capped at $8, down from the average late fee of $32. The major banking groups had …