UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT CENTRAL DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA WESTERN DIVISION. Case No. 2:16-cv-8897

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1 Case :-cv-0-dmg-jpr Document - Filed /0/ Page of Page ID #: 0 OWEN P. MARTIKAN (CA Bar No. 0) owen.martikan@cfpb.gov MEGHAN SHERMAN CATER (pro hac vice pending) meghan.sherman@cfpb.gov Consumer Financial Protection Bureau 0 Howard Street, Suite 0 San Francisco, CA 0 Telephone: () -0 Facsimile: () - Attorneys for Plaintiff Consumer Financial Protection Bureau CONSUMER FINANCIAL PROTECTION BUREAU, Petitioner, v. ZERO PARALLEL, LLC, Respondent. UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT CENTRAL DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA WESTERN DIVISION Case No. :-cv- MEMORANDUM IN SUPPORT OF PETITION TO ENFORCE CIVIL INVESTIGATIVE DEMAND The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (Bureau) petitions this Court for an order requiring Zero Parallel, LLC to comply with the civil investigative demand (CID) issued to it on April,. The Consumer Financial Protection Act of 0 (CFPA) gives the Bureau authority to issue CIDs and enforce them in federal district court. CIDs are a type of investigative, administrative subpoena, Cater Decl., Ex. (CID). U.S.C. (c)(), (e)().

2 Case :-cv-0-dmg-jpr Document - Filed /0/ Page of Page ID #: 0 and proceedings to enforce them are initiated by a petition to the federal district court where the CID recipient resides, is found, or transacts business for an order to enforce the CID. Because the Bureau has authority to issue the CID, and the Court has authority to enforce it, the Bureau respectfully requests that this Court direct Zero Parallel to show cause as to why it should not be required to comply with the CID and, thereafter, enter an order requiring compliance. Statement of Facts On April,, the Bureau issued a CID to Zero Parallel, a company that obtains consumer-loan applications from online advertisers and then sells the loan applications to purchasers that include payday and other small-dollar lenders. The CID was issued as part of an investigation into possible violations of the CFPA and other federal consumer-financial laws. The CID required Zero Parallel to respond to fifteen document requests, five interrogatories, and two written-report requests, and to provide oral testimony. On May,, Zero Parallel petitioned the Bureau to set aside the CID (Petition). The Bureau denied the Petition on July,, issuing an order that directed Zero Parallel to produce all responsive documents, items, and information within its possession, custody, or control that are covered by the CID within days and to make a witness available to provide oral testimony. The order also invited Zero Parallel to engage in further discussions with Bureau staff about modifying the CID. U.S.C. (e)(); C.F.R See also FTC v. Nat l Claims Serv., Inc., No. S - (FCD) (DAD), WL 0, at * (E.D. Cal. ). Cater Decl., Ex. at (CID Notification of Purpose). Cater Decl., Ex. at -. Cater Decl.. Cater Decl., Ex. at. Cater Decl., Ex. at.

3 Case :-cv-0-dmg-jpr Document - Filed /0/ Page of Page ID #: 0 Beginning with a meet-and-confer on July,, and continuing into November, Zero Parallel raised no further objection to the validity of the CID or the Bureau s authority to issue it. The Bureau and Zero Parallel met and conferred extensively for more than three months regarding potential modifications to the CID. 0 Zero Parallel made several requests to limit the documents and information sought by the Bureau and to extend production deadlines. The Bureau granted a number of the requests in three separate modifications to the CID, and, as of September,, Zero Parallel had made five partial productions in compliance with the CID, as modified. After reviewing the partial productions, the Bureau informed Zero Parallel that it would not further modify the CID, as the company had requested, with respect to responsive s. Zero Parallel initially claimed that the CID s request for s was unduly burdensome, but on November,, after Bureau staff coordinated with Zero Parallel s electronic-discovery vendor to optimize available technology to reduce the volume of responsive s, Zero Parallel agreed to produce the requested s. Zero Parallel proposed a final modification to the CID to allow it to complete its production by December,. On November, just two days after agreeing to produce the remaining materials Zero Parallel asserted that the Bureau lacked authority to Cater Decl.. 0 Cater Decl. -. Cater Decl. 0,. Cater Decl. -,. Cater Decl.. Cater Decl.. Cater Decl., Ex.. Cater Decl., Ex..

4 Case :-cv-0-dmg-jpr Document - Filed /0/ Page of Page ID #:0 0 issue the CID. The company offered to voluntarily produce the outstanding materials according to its own schedule, delaying its production by several months, and refused to comply with the CID for oral testimony. The company claims it will make a witness available for testimony at an undetermined point after its production is complete. Argument Zero Parallel s contention that the Bureau does not have authority to compel the production of documents and testimony specified in the CID is incorrect. The law is well-settled that administrative agencies should be given wide latitude in exercising their power to investigate by subpoena, including investigating by CID. The scope of judicial review of an administrative subpoena is quite narrow, and enforcement is warranted so long as the inquiry is within the authority of the agency, the demand is not too indefinite, and the information sought is reasonably relevant. The Ninth Circuit has stated that a court s review is limited to: () whether Congress has granted the authority to investigate; () whether procedural requirements have been followed; and () whether the evidence is relevant and material to the investigation. So long as the agency passes this test, the FTC v. Ken Roberts Co., F.d, (D.C. Cir. 0); see also, e.g., EEOC v. Fed. Express Corp., F.d, n. (th Cir. 0); United States v. Constr. Prods. Research, Inc., F.d, 0 (d Cir. ). FTC v. Mfgs. Hanover Consumer Servs., Inc., F. Supp. 0, 0 ( A CID is analogous to an investigative subpoena. ); Morgan Drexen, Inc. v. CFPB, F. Supp. d. 0, 0 (D.D.C. ) (stating that a civil investigative demand is a form of administrative subpoena). United States v. Morton Salt Co., U.S., (0). FDIC v. Garner, F.d, (th Cir. ) (quoting EEOC v. Children s Hosp. Med. Ctr. of N. Cal., F.d, (th Cir. ) (en banc), overruled on other grounds as recognized in Prudential Ins. Co. v. Lai, F.d, 0 (th Cir.)).

5 Case :-cv-0-dmg-jpr Document - Filed /0/ Page of Page ID #: 0 subpoena should be enforced unless the party being investigated proves the inquiry is unreasonable because it is overbroad or unduly burdensome. The CID at issue here easily satisfies the applicable test. First, the CID falls squarely within the Bureau s authority. The CFPA broadly authorizes the Bureau to investigate violations of federal consumerfinancial laws and to issue a CID to any person the Bureau has reason to believe... may be in possession, custody, or control of... any information, relevant to a violation. The CID seeks information to determine whether persons involved in the marketing, selling, or collection of payday loans have been engaged in acts or practices that violate the CFPA the foremost statute the Bureau is charged with enforcing or any other federal consumer-financial law. Such an investigation is plainly an acceptable use of the authority granted to the Bureau under the CFPA. Nevertheless, the general proposition stands that agencies should remain free to determine, in the first instance, the scope of their own jurisdiction when issuing investigative subpoenas. An agency such as the Bureau has a power of inquisition... [and] can investigate merely on suspicion that the law is being violated, or even just because it wants assurance that it is not. Second, the Bureau followed all applicable procedural requirements for the issuance of a CID. The CID was issued by a Deputy Assistant Director of the Office of Enforcement and included a Notification of Purpose advising Zero Garner, F.d at (quoting Children s Hosp., F.d at ). U.S.C. (c). Cater Decl., Ex. at (CID Notification of Purpose). Ken Roberts Co., F.d at ; see also Federal Express Corp., F.d at n.. Morton Salt Co., U.S. at -; see also Casey v. FTC, F. d, (th Cir. ). C.F.R. 00..

6 Case :-cv-0-dmg-jpr Document - Filed /0/ Page of Page ID #: 0 Parallel of the nature of the conduct being investigated. The CID was served by a Bureau investigator on Zero Parallel s counsel, who agreed to accept service via . Third, the information sought is relevant and material to the investigation. Courts traditionally give wide latitude in determining relevance in the context of an administrative subpoena, which must be enforced if the information sought could be pertinent to a legitimate agency inquiry. An agency request is relevant as long as it is not plainly incompetent or irrelevant to any lawful purpose of the agency. 0 Here, the Bureau seeks materials as part of its investigation into whether the CFPA and other federal consumer-financial laws have been violated in connection with the marketing or collection of payday loans. Each request in the CID relates to Zero Parallel s role in the marketing of loans and sale of consumerloan applications. The information sought by the Bureau, including s between Zero Parallel and entities that generate and purchase loan applications, is relevant and material to the Bureau s inquiry into Zero Parallel s practices and compliance with laws the Bureau enforces. Finally, the CID is not overly broad or unduly burdensome. The Bureau engaged in extensive discussions with Zero Parallel to obtain information efficiently and to minimize the production burden on the company. Indeed, the Bureau modified the CID three times to accommodate Zero Parallel s requests and was prepared to make a fourth modification after working with Zero Parallel to C.F.R Cater Decl. ; U.S.C. (c)(), ()(A). Endicott Johnson Corp. v. Perkins, U.S. 0, 0-0 (); see also, e.g., Morton Salt Co., U.S. at ; Federal Express Corp., F.d at. 0 Endicott Johnson Corp., U.S. at 0; see also EEOC v. Karuk Tribe Housing Auth., 0 F.d 0, 0 (th Cir. 0). Cater Decl..

7 Case :-cv-0-dmg-jpr Document - Filed /0/ Page of Page ID #: 0 reduce the burden of the outstanding production. The CID, as modified, is not unduly burdensome, as Zero Parallel itself conceded when it agreed to comply just days before reversing its position. Conclusion The CID to Zero Parallel was issued within the Bureau s authority, followed applicable procedural requirements, and sought information relevant and material to a Bureau investigation. The Bureau respectfully requests that the Court grant its petition, order Zero Parallel to show cause as to why it has not complied with the CID, and, after giving Zero Parallel an opportunity to be heard and the Bureau an opportunity to respond, order Zero Parallel to comply with the CID within 0 days of the Court s order or at such later date as the Bureau may determine. Dated: December, Respectfully submitted, /s/ Owen P. Martikan Owen P. Martikan (CA Bar No. 0)

8 Case :-cv-0-dmg-jpr Document - Filed /0/ Page of Page ID #: 0 PROOF OF SERVICE I hereby certify that on December,, I caused a true and correct copy of the document entitled Memorandum in Support of Petition to Enforce Civil Investigative Demand to be served by U.S. mail and on counsel for Respondent Zero Parallel, LLC as follows: Ori Lev Mayer Brown LLP K Street, NW Washington, DC olev@mayerbrown.com /s/ Owen P. Martikan Owen P. Martikan (CA Bar No. 0)