Consumer Financial Protection Bureau v. RD Legal Funding LLC

Background

RD Legal requested an order compelling the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) to produce documents that RD Legal believed the CFPB had improperly withheld or redacted under the work-product privilege. The privilege generally protects documents and other materials prepared because of litigation from disclosure to an opposing party.

The court ordered the CFPB to submit the disputed documents for private judicial review and received 38 emails for that purpose.

Court’s Analysis

The court concluded that the CFPB met its burden of showing that the listed communications were prepared because of litigation. The court held that the work-product protection could also apply to communications involving third parties when those parties’ interests were closely aligned and the communication did not create a substantial risk of further dissemination.

The court separately determined that some communications involved only scheduling and logistics. Those administrative communications did not fall within the work-product privilege.

Ruling

The court concluded that the CFPB properly withheld or redacted the litigation-related documents. It ordered that the logistical communications be produced in whole or in part. For two listed communications, the CFPB was required to remove the redaction at the top but could maintain the redaction at the bottom. The opinion does not use a separate formal label stating that RD Legal’s request was granted or denied; the operative ruling was protection for some documents and production of others. Judge Loretta A. Preska issued the order.