Mealey's Mortgage Lending : Mealey's : Legal News & Analysis

Mealey's Mortgage Lending

July 05, 2023
Borrowers Say Amended Complaint Corrects Deficiencies, Argue Against Dismissal

RALEIGH, N.C. — A couple urges a district court to deny motions filed by a mortgage lender and a realty company for dismissal of a first amended complaint alleging that the companies engaged in an unlawful kickback scheme in which the realty company would steer all of its clients to the mortgage company for their loans.
July 05, 2023
Judgment, Foreclosure Order Affirmed By Ohio Appeals Court

DAYTON, Ohio — An Ohio appeals court panel found no reversible error in a trial court’s judgment awarding a mortgage servicing company summary judgment and decree of foreclosure, rejecting the homeowner’s appeal.
June 30, 2023
TILA Doesn’t Apply To Business Loans, Federal Judge Says, Dismisses Claims

SACRAMENTO, Calif — A California federal judge granted a motion to dismiss after finding that the Truth in Lending Act (TILA) does not apply to loans made for business purposes.
June 28, 2023
TILA Claim Fails But Judge Grants Leave To Amend Complaint On Other Violations

LOS ANGELES — A borrower’s claim against his home equity loan holder for a Truth in Lending Act (TILA) violation is barred under statute of limitation grounds, but he may file an amended complaint asserting reformation of contract and unjust enrichment claims, a California federal judge ruled.
June 27, 2023
Judge: FCRA Claim Fails Because Credit Report Contained No False Information

CHICAGO — A federal judge in Illinois found that because there is no false information in a consumer reporting agency’s report that reflected that a woman had “‘historic late [mortgage] payments in 2018 and 2019,’” there is no Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) violation and awarded the agency summary judgment.
June 27, 2023
6th Circuit Finds No Valid Reason For Woman’s Attempts To Block Foreclosure

CINCINNATI — A woman’s claims against a mortgage servicing company in an attempt to block a foreclosure are barred by res judicata, the Sixth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals said, affirming a district court’s order awarding summary judgment.
June 23, 2023
Borrowers Appeal Order Dismissing Claims Against Loan Servicer To 9th Circuit

RIVERSIDE, Calif. — Borrowers who say their mortgage loan servicer failed to properly notify them that it had assumed the servicing responsibilities of their loan on June 22 filed notice in a district court that it will appeal to Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals a California federal judge’s ruling that dismissed their claims for a third time, this time with prejudice.
June 23, 2023
RICO Claim Against Wells Fargo For Foreclosure Action Tossed By Magistrate Judge

NEW YORK — A federal magistrate judge in New York recommended that a complaint alleging that a lender violated the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO) by engaging in a racketeering scheme during a mortgage foreclosure action be dismissed for failure to state a claim.
June 23, 2023
CFPB, Amici Say Discrimination Protection Is Valid For Prospective Borrowers

CHICAGO — Two amicus curiae briefs have been filed in the Seventh Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals in support of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), which argues in its opening brief that Congress clearly intended the Equal Credit Opportunity Act (ECOA) to apply to prospective mortgage borrowers and that a district court erred in dismissing its case alleging that a lender discriminated against African-Americans by discouraging them from applying for mortgage loans in the Chicago metropolitan area.
June 23, 2023
Judge Grants Final Approval For Convenience Fee Class Action Dispute Settlement

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. — A Florida federal judge signed off on final approval of a class action settlement for nearly $2.8 million between borrowers and mortgage loan servicers PHH Mortgage Corp. and Ocwen Loan Servicing LLC over the loan servicers’ alleged charging of illegal “processing fees” to the borrowers for paying their mortgage loans over the telephone or online.
June 22, 2023
Florida Appeals Court: Evidence Not Enough To Defeat Standing In Foreclosure Case

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. — A Florida appeals court on June 21 found that “circumstantial evidence was not competent substantial evidence” to prove that Bank of New York Mellon did not have standing to bring a mortgage foreclosure suit, reversing a trial court’s final judgment in favor of a homeowner.
June 21, 2023
HBOR, UCL Claims Survive Motion For Summary Judgment In Wrongful Foreclosure Suit

SACRAMENTO, Calif — A California federal judge found that “at least one disputed issue of material fact” remains in a lawsuit alleging wrongful foreclosure and eviction and partially granted and partially denied a lender’s motion for summary judgment.
June 21, 2023
7th Circuit: FCA Suit Properly Dismissed On Causation Grounds

CHICAGO — The Seventh Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals found that a former underwriter who alleged that a mortgage lender made false representations to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development showed proof of materiality but failed to prove causation, affirming summary judgment in the lender’s favor and finding no error in the lower court’s rulings on expert testimony.
June 20, 2023
U.S. Supreme Court Agrees To Hear FCRA Sovereign Immunity Waiver Dispute

WASHINGTON, D.C. — The U.S. Supreme Court on June 20 agreed to decide whether the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) waives sovereign immunity of the federal government in a case that allowed a borrower to sue the U.S. Department of Agriculture for allegedly misreporting that the borrower was past due in his mortgage loan payments.
June 19, 2023
TILA, RESPA, Other Claims Fail In Suit Against Mortgage Lender, Servicer

ANNISTON, Ala.— A woman failed to “present evidence—not just allegations” that her mortgage lender and servicer violated the law when they sought to foreclose on a property in default, an Alabama federal judge found in granting a motion to dismiss.
June 19, 2023
New York Appeals Court Says Leave To Amend In Foreclosure Case Properly Denied

NEW YORK — A New York appeals court agreed that a bank’s effort to renew its foreclosure action premised on a change in the law failed because the motion was filed after the time to take an appeal had expired in a case that began with a foreclosure action in January 2012.
June 15, 2023
Borrowers, Lender Argue In Appeal Of $10M Class Award For Appraisal Fee Scheme

RICHMOND, Va. — The Fourth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals should reinstate its previous order finding that homeowners were injured when required to pay a mortgage lender and title insurer for an independent appraisal that was never received and add a clarification that a recent U.S. Supreme Court decision does not affect this case, class representatives urge the appellate court in their initial brief.
June 12, 2023
Oklahoma Supreme Court Rules Voluntary Dismissal Of Foreclosure Decelerates Loan

OKLAHOMA CITY — A lower appeals court erred when it affirmed a trial court’s award of summary judgment to a borrower after finding that voluntary dismissal of a first foreclosure action did not decelerate the loan, the Oklahoma Supreme Court ruled in a case of first impression, remanding the case to the trial court.
June 09, 2023
TILA, Negligence Claims Fail In Suit Alleging ‘Bait- And-Switch’ Tactic By Lender

ALLENTOWN, Pa. — Because a loan was never consummated, a homeowner cannot bring Truth in Lending Act (TILA) claims against a mortgage company, a Pennsylvania federal judge ruled in granting a motion to dismiss, also finding that the lender did not owe a duty of care necessary for a negligence claim to survive.
June 09, 2023
U.S. Supreme Court Won’t Review Case Alleging Fraud Led To Foreclosure

WASHINGTON, D.C. — The U.S. Supreme Court won’t hear arguments from borrowers who allege that they were denied due process after a Washington appellate court ruled that collateral estoppel barred them from obtaining relief in a foreclosure action even though they allege that the foreclosure was obtained through fraud on the court.
June 07, 2023
Federal Judge Dismisses Most Claims Against Mortgage Servicer, Beneficiary

SAN FRANCISCO — A mortgage loan servicer and beneficiary sued by borrowers facing foreclosure due to a severely delinquent loan won their bid to dismiss certain federal and California claims on statute of limitations grounds and for failure to state a claim, but a California federal judge found that a borrower’s unfair competition law (UCL) claims survive.
June 06, 2023
Judge Rules Against ERISA Plan Trustees In Suit Over Mortgage-Backed Securities

NEW YORK — Finding “that no reasonable trier of fact could conclude that any of the mortgage-backed securities at issue here are plan assets within the meaning of” the Employee Retirement Income Security Act, a New York federal judge ordered judgment in favor of all defendants in a putative class case brought by a pension fund’s trustees.
June 02, 2023
Women Accusing Mortgage Service Company Of Illegal Fees Oppose Dismissal

NEWARK, N.J. — Two women accusing a mortgage servicing company of illegally up-charging borrowers for routine services filed in a New Jersey federal court their opposition to a motion to dismiss filed by the company and argue that many of its arguments are inappropriate at this stage of the case.
June 01, 2023
Bank Agrees To $3M Fund To Resolve Redlining Allegations In Mortgage Lending

PHILADELPHIA — The United States and a mortgage lender on May 31 filed a proposed consent order in a Pennsylvania federal court to resolve allegations that the lender engaged in a pattern of lending discrimination by redlining majority-Black and Hispanic neighborhoods in the Philadelphia area, with the lender agreeing to invest close to $3 million in a loan subsidy fund.
June 01, 2023
Mortgage Lender Granted Summary Judgment In Loan Modification Spat

SEATTLE — A Washington federal judge granted a bank’s motion for summary judgment after finding that a woman failed to establish her claims that the bank violated the Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act (RESPA) or Washington state law in its handling of her mortgage loan modification.