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Mealey's Mortgage Lending

  • June 21, 2019

    Borrower Seeks High Court Review Of Judgment Holding Default Was Void

    WASHINGTON, D.C. — A borrower on June 3 filed a petition for writ of certiorari with the U.S. Supreme Court, arguing that the doctrine established in Rookerv. Fidelity Trust Co., 263 U.S. 413 (1923), and District of Columbia Court of Appeals v. Feldman, 460 U.S. 462 (1983), prevented a federal court from holding that a state court’s default judgment for quiet title was void (Timothy J. Johnston v. Mortgage Elec. Registration Sys., No. 18-1532, U.S. Sup., LEXIS 2121).

  • June 20, 2019

    Panel Affirms Dismissal Of RESPA Violation Claims Over Reinsurance Scheme

    PHILADELPHIA — Finding a lawsuit brought by homeowners to be untimely, the Third Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals on June 19 upheld the dismissal of homeowners’ claims for violations of the Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act (RESPA) and unjust enrichment in their putative class action alleging a captive reinsurance scheme between banks and an affiliated reinsurer (Christopher Blake, et al. v. JPMorgan Chase Bank, N.A., et al., No. 18-2368, 3rd Cir., 2019 U.S. App. LEXIS 18370).

  • June 19, 2019

    Quicken Agrees To Pay $32.5M To Settle FHA Claims Asserted By United States

    DETROIT — After mediation and settlement of a lawsuit in which the U.S. government alleged that Quicken Loans Inc. violated the False Claims Act by knowingly approving loans that violated Federal Housing Administration rules, a judge in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan entered an order dismissing the case (United States of America v. Quicken Loans Inc., No. 15-0613, E.D. Mich.).

  • June 17, 2019

    High Court Will Not Review Whether Lender Violated Automatic Bankruptcy Stay

    WASHINGTON, D.C. — The U.S. Supreme Court on June 17 declined to hear a petition for writ of certiorari filed by a borrower who sought review of a district court’s decision that he was prohibited from asserting that a mortgage company violated an automatic bankruptcy stay because he failed to adequately disclose his assets in bankruptcy court (Mark Anthony Fornesa, et al. v. Fifth Third Mortgage Co., No. 18-1339, U.S. Sup.).

  • June 14, 2019

    U.S. Government Proposes Settlement With Bank For Discriminatory Lending

    INDIANAPOLIS — The U.S. Department of Justice and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Indiana filed a complaint and proposed settlement agreement in an Indiana federal court, alleging that a bank engaged in discriminatory lending practices and requiring it to invest approximately $1.62 million in a loan subsidy fund to increase credit opportunities for residents in predominantly African-American neighborhoods and toward community outreach, and other corrective actions (United States v. First Merchants Bank, No. 1:19-cv-02365, S.D. Ind.).

  • June 13, 2019

    Judge Holds UCL, Contract Claims Are Preempted By HOLA

    SAN FRANCISCO — After holding that borrowers’ claims for violation of California’s unfair competition law (UCL) and breach of contract were preempted by the Home Owners' Loan Act (HOLA), a California federal judge on June 11 granted a bank’s converted summary judgment motion and dismissed the claims (Lowell and Gina Smith, et al. v. Flagstar Bank, FSB, No. 18-05131, N.D. Calif., 2019 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 98196).

  • June 10, 2019

    Judge Refuses To Dismiss UCL, HBOR Claims Related To Loan Modifications

    SAN FRANCISCO — A California federal judge on June 3 dismissed certain class action claims asserted by borrowers against a bank in relation to its failure to provide them with loan modifications but held that they sufficiently stated claims for violations of California’s Homeowners Bill of Rights (HBOR) and unfair competition law (UCL) (Alicia Hernandez, et al. v. Wells Fargo & Company, et al., No. 18-07354, N.D. Calif., 2019 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 93529).

  • June 7, 2019

    7th Circuit Holds Chase Had Standing To Foreclose, Affirms Judgment

    CHICAGO — After holding that a bank had possession of a promissory note and had standing to pursue a foreclosure action, the Seventh Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals on June 4 affirmed a decision entering summary and foreclosure judgments against a borrower (J.P. Morgan Chase Bank, N.A. v. Lindsay Jenkins, No. 18-3607, 7th Cir., 2019 U.S. App. LEXIS 16693).

  • June 6, 2019

    Judge Grants Judgment For Borrowers, Holds Firm Violated Single-Refiling Rule

    CHICAGO — After holding that a law firm pursued a foreclosure and deficiency judgment action against borrowers that was prohibited by state law, a federal judge in Illinois on June 3 granted summary judgment for the borrowers on their claims for violations of the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA) and denied summary judgment for the firm on the affirmative defense that it was shielded from liability by the FDCPA’s bona fide error defense (John G. Tevere, et al. v. Weltman, Weinberg & Reis, Co., L.P.A., No. 1:17-cv-2455, N.D. Ill., 2019 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 92738).

  • June 5, 2019

    Borrowers Assert UCL, Other Claims In California Court, Seek Damages

    LOS ANGELES — Borrowers on May 24 sued a loan servicer and trustee in a California court, asserting claims for violations of the Truth In Lending Act (TILA), California’s unfair competition law (UCL) and other claims related to the handling of their loan modification application and the assignment of their loan (Ilanit Shoshan, et al. v. Bayview Loan Service LLC, et al., No. 19VECV00738, Calif. Super., Los Angeles Co.).

  • June 4, 2019

    Ohio Panel Holds Court’s Error On Date Was Not A Reversable Error

    WARREN, Ohio — After holding that an assignment of error asserted by borrowers that a typographical error in a court’s journal entry caused them to fail to timely respond to a loan servicer’s motion for summary judgment in a foreclosure action lacked merit, an Ohio appeals court on June 3 affirmed judgment for the servicer (Ocwen Loan Servicing, LLC v. Michael R. Van, et al., No. 2018-L-025, Ohio App., 11th Dist., Lake Co., 2019 Ohio App. LEXIS 2253).

  • June 4, 2019

    Panel Holds Bank Lacked Standing To Foreclose, Reverses Judgment

    MILWAUKEE — A Wisconsin appeals court on June 4 reversed a trial court’s decision granting summary judgment for a bank, holding that the lender failed to establish that it holds a borrower’s note and had standing to bring a foreclosure action against her (HSBC Bank USA, National Association as Trustee for Structured Asset Securities Corp. MGT. Pass-Through Certificate, Series 2004-SCI v. Patricia R. Stewart-Martin, No. 2018AP833, Wis. App., Dist. 1, 2019 Wisc. App. LEXIS 306).

  • May 31, 2019

    Judge Refuses To Dismiss RESPA Claim Related To Payment Of Insurance Premium

    NASHVILLE, Tenn. — A federal judge in Tennessee on May 29 partially denied motions filed by loan servicers to dismiss claims for violations of the Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act (RESPA), holding that whether the servicers possessed the information they needed to pay a renewal insurance premium was a question of fact that could not be resolved on a motion to dismiss (Ricky Matlock, et al. v. RoundPoint Mortgage Servicing Corporation, et al., No. 3:18-cv-00047, M.D. Tenn., 2019 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 89785).

  • May 29, 2019

    Banks Ask For Rehearing On Miami’s FHA Claims, Proximate Cause Finding

    ATLANTA — Several banks on May 24 filed a petition for rehearing en banc with the 11th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals, seeking review of the reversal of a district court’s dismissal of claims for violations of the Fair Housing Act (FHA) asserted by the city of Miami, arguing that the court’s ruling did not follow directions given by the U.S. Supreme Court and that the issue is exceptionally important (Miami v. Wells Fargo & Co., et al., Nos. 14-14544, 14-14543, 11th Cir.).

  • May 28, 2019

    U.S. Supreme Court Denies Cert In Action Challenging Assignment Of Deed

    WASHINGTON, D.C. — The U.S. Supreme Court on May 28 denied a petition for writ of certiorari filed by borrowers who sought review of a Fifth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals decision that a bank met the requirements to foreclose under Texas law and that a magistrate judge's decision in the borrowers' favor was based on an incorrect premise that Mortgage Electronic Registration Systems Inc. (MERS), as beneficiary, did not have the authority to assign the deed (Joanna Burke, et al. v. Deutsche Bank National Trust Co., No. No. 18-1370, U.S. Sup., 2019 U.S. S. Ct. Briefs LEXIS 1613).

  • May 28, 2019

    Judge Grants Judgment On Quiet Title Claim For Bank Of America

    LAS VEGAS — After a recent Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals decision that a bank’s payment satisfied the superpriority portion of a lien, on remand, a Nevada federal judge on May 24 granted summary judgment for the bank on its quiet title claim (Bank of America, N.A. v. Arlington West Twilight Homeowners Association, et al., 2:16-CV-650, D. Nev., 2019 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 88287).

  • May 23, 2019

    Judge Partially Allows RESPA Claim Against Wells Fargo To Proceed

    CHICAGO — An Illinois federal judge on May 21 partially granted a bank’s motion to dismiss claims for violations of the Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act (RESPA) and Illinois law but held that borrowers can pursue their RESPA cause of action for the bank’s alleged failure to properly respond to a notice of error regarding moving forward with a foreclosure sale while a complete loss mitigation application was pending (Todd Smith, et al. v. Wells Fargo Bank, N.A., No. 18-7979, N.D. Ill., 2019 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 84875).

  • May 23, 2019

    Judge Dismisses UCL, HBOR Claims Against Servicer, Orders Sanctions

    SACRAMENTO, Calif. — A California federal judge on May 21 granted a loan servicer’s motion to dismiss a borrower’s claims for violations of California’s unfair competition law (UCL) and the Homeowners Bill of Rights (HBOR) and negligence related to a reverse mortgage, holding that the HBOR sections did not apply to the servicer and that the complaint lacked the reasonable particularity of facts to support a UCL claim (David Coltrin v. James B. Nutter & Company, No. 2:19-cv-00483, E.D. Calif., 2019 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 85631).

  • May 21, 2019

    Fifth Third Will Not Respond To Borrowers’ High Court Petition

    WASHINGTON, D.C. — Fifth Third Mortgage Co. on May 16 waived its right to respond to a petition for writ of certiorari filed in the U.S. Supreme Court, which seeks review of a district court’s decision that a borrower was prohibited from asserting that a mortgage company violated an automatic bankruptcy stay because he failed to adequately disclose his assets in bankruptcy court (Mark Anthony Fornesa, et al. v. Fifth Third Mortgage Co., No. 18-1339, U.S. Sup.).

  • May 15, 2019

    Judge Enters Judgment For Loan Servicer On Borrowers’ RESPA, TILA Claims

    SAN DIEGO — A California federal judge on May 10 granted summary judgment for a loan servicer on borrowers’ claims for violations of the Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act (RESPA) and the Truth in Lending Act (TILA), holding that they failed to show that the servicer did not properly respond to their qualified written requests (QWRs) and that TILA does not apply once a borrower files for bankruptcy (Arthur A. Loewy, et al. v. CMG Mortgage, Inc., et al., No. 17cv341, S.D. Calif., 2019 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 80620).