Utah Judge Rejects Acima’s Bid to Move CFPB Case to Texas Co

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In its motion to move the case to Texas, Acima argued that its first-filed action should take precedence under the “first-to-file rule” to avoid duplicative and conflicting legal findings. Acima also argued that litigating both cases in separate courts could create inefficiencies. However, Judge Barlow disagreed, finding that Acima’s Texas lawsuit was a preemptive move to gain a favorable forum and did not merit the application of the first-to-file rule.

Judge Barlow also rejected Acima’s request to stay the CFPB’s case in Utah while the Texas lawsuit remains pending. The judge stated that granting such a stay would reward the forum shopping behavior and delay the resolution of the case.

This is not the first time a court has criticized attempts to “forum shop” in cases involving the CFPB. Earlier this year, a Texas judge accused trade groups suing the CFPB over a credit card fee rule of trying to pick and choose their venue for litigation.

The CFPB is represented by its in-house legal team in Utah, while Acima is represented by attorneys from Paul Hastings LLP and Kirton McConkie. The case is Consumer Financial Protection Bureau v. Acima Holdings LLC et al., case number 2:24-cv-00525, in the U.S. District Court for the District of Utah.