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Mealey's Mortgage Lending

  • August 15, 2022

    Mortgagors Argue ‘Manifest Injustice’ In Appeal Over Class RESPA Suit

    SAN FRANCISCO — Seeking reversal of a decision denying modification of a final pretrial order (PTO), mortgagors in a long-running Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act (RESPA) class action over captive reinsurance agreements argue in a July 25 appellant brief before the Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals that a California federal court’s ruling “resulted in manifest injustice and was tantamount to case-ending sanctions.”

  • August 12, 2022

    Panel: Note Identifies Lender, Gives Standing To Pursue Nonjudicial Foreclosure

    AUSTIN, Texas — A First District Texas Court of Appeals panel on Aug. 11 affirmed a trial court’s grant of summary judgment in favor of a mortgage lender and loan servicer in a foreclosure dispute, ruling that the lender/servicer provided sufficient evidence to show that it was both the owner and holder of the note.

  • August 11, 2022

    Expert Testimony Properly Excluded In Discriminatory Lending Suit, Banks Argue

    CHICAGO — A federal district court properly excluded testimony on behalf of Cook County, Ill., by two experts the county sought to use to prove that Bank of America Corp. and other banks engaged in a massive discriminatory and predatory lending scheme against minority borrowers in violation of the Fair Housing Act of 1968 (FHA) because neither expert’s testimony was reliable under the framework set forth in Daubert v. Merrell Dow Pharmaceuticals Inc., the banks argue in an Aug. 2 appellee brief filed in the Seventh Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals.

  • August 10, 2022

    Judge Sides With Loan Servicer In Settlement Agreement Breach Suit

    AUGUSTA, Ga. — A federal judge in Georgia on Aug. 8 dismissed borrowers’ claims against their mortgage loan holder alleging that the loan servicer violated the terms of a settlement agreement by failing to mark their account as current, ruling that the servicer performed each of its required duties under the terms of the settlement.

  • August 08, 2022

    Amicus: Precedent Misapplied In Granting Lender Summary Judgment In FCA Suit

    CHICAGO — A federal judge in Indiana erred in granting summary judgment against a relator in a False Claims Act (FCA) lawsuit in which the relator alleged that a mortgage lender fraudulently approved insurance for Federal Housing Authority Administration (FHA) loans that did not meet U.S. Department of Housing and Urban development requirements because the judge improperly ruled that the relator failed to plead the elements of materiality and causation in stating her claims, the U.S. government argues in an Aug. 1 brief as amicus curiae filed in the Seventh Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals.

  • July 28, 2022

    Trident Mortgage To Pay More Than $20M To Resolve Lending Discrimination Claims

    PHILADELPHIA — A mortgage lender will pay more than $20 million to increase credit opportunities in the Philadelphia metropolitan area as part of a consent order the lender reached with the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) and the U.S. Department of Justice stemming from the lender’s alleged pattern of discriminatory lending known as redlining, according to court documents filed in Pennsylvania federal court on July 27.

  • July 22, 2022

    Summary Judgment Ruling In Wrongful Foreclosure Suit Appealed To 5th Circuit

    HOUSTON — A borrower filed a notice of appeal on July 1 in Texas federal court, stating that she will appeal a Texas federal court judge’s grant of summary judgment in favor of her mortgage lender on her wrongful foreclosure claim.

  • July 22, 2022

    Borrower Claims In Lawsuit Stemming From Mortgage Foreclosure Dismissed

    NEWARK, N.J. — A federal judge in New Jersey on July 19 ruled that a borrower has failed to sufficiently plead any of its claims against parties involved in foreclosure proceedings stemming from the borrower’s default on his mortgage loan.

  • July 21, 2022

    Panel Lacks Jurisdiction To Hear Appeal In Foreclosure Actions

    RICHMOND, Va. — A Fourth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals panel on July 19 ruled that it lacked the necessary jurisdiction to hear a borrower’s appeal of a federal district court’s orders dismissing two parties from a lawsuit alleging that the parties, as well as a third defendant, violated the terms of an automatic stay when they foreclosed on her mortgage refinance loan while the borrower was in the midst of Chapter 13 bankruptcy proceedings, because the borrower filed her appeal seven years after the district court entered final judgment.

  • July 21, 2022

    Ocwen Dodges Sanctions In Discovery Dispute But Must Submit Some Loan Documents

    INDIANAPOLIS — In a mixed ruling for Ocwen Loan Servicing LLC, an Indiana federal magistrate judge on July 7 ordered the company to turn over about half of the documents that it withheld from discovery requests submitted by a customer suing it for real estate settlement and debt collection practices.

  • July 20, 2022

    Dismissal Of Claims In Borrower Suit Over Home Seizure Overturned On Appeal

    SAN FRANCISCO — Although a federal district court erred in dismissing certain claims brought by a borrower against his mortgage loan servicer and one of its agents on claims that they forcibly entered his home while he was at work and took possession of the property and certain of the borrower’s personal belongings while the judicial foreclosure proceedings were ongoing, the court did not err in granting summary judgment in favor of the loan servicer on the borrower’s claim for conversion, a Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals panel ruled July 15 in affirming in part and reversing in part.

  • July 20, 2022

    Judge Orders Borrower’s Discriminatory Lending Claim Dismissed With Prejudice

    PHILADELPHIA — A federal judge in Pennsylvania on July 5 issued a two-page order dismissing an African-American borrower’s race discrimination claim against his commercial mortgage lender with prejudice, ruling that the borrower has failed to sufficiently state a claim for relief.

  • July 18, 2022

    Panel Partially Sends Foreclosure Proceeds Dispute Back To District Court

    NEW YORK — A Second Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals panel on July 14 partially returned a commercial mortgage loan foreclosure proceeds distribution dispute to federal district court to make a determination in the first instance regarding the proper manner of payment “of Interest on Advances.”

  • July 14, 2022

    Judge Denies Borrowers’ Late Attempt To Amend Complaint In FCRA Action

    PHILADELPHIA — A federal judge in Pennsylvania on July 12 rejected a motion filed by borrowers to amend their complaint in a Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) lawsuit against a consumer reporting agency stemming from the borrowers’ inability to refinance their mortgage, ruling that amendment will cause an undue delay and prejudice the consumer reporting agency.

  • July 14, 2022

    5 Affirmative Defenses In Borrower’s Credit Reporting Suit Stricken

    BALTIMORE — A federal judge in Maryland on July 12 ruled that five affirmative defenses asserted by a mortgage lender in a lawsuit alleging that it has illegally attempted to collect on a debt that has already been satisfied are insufficient and the lender’s arguments in support of the affirmative defenses are “underdeveloped.”

  • July 12, 2022

    Summary Judgment Affirmed In Fannie Mae Lawsuit Over HOA Foreclosure

    PASADENA, Calif. — A federal district court did not err in granting a motion for summary judgment filed by mortgage lender Federal National Mortgage Association (Fannie Mae) and a mortgage loan servicer in a homeowners association (HOA) foreclosure dispute because Fannie Mae showed that it had an ownership interest at the time of the HOA foreclosure sale, a Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals panel ruled July 7 in affirming.

  • July 12, 2022

    Consumer Must Arbitrate TCPA Claims Against Mortgage Refinancer

    DETROIT — A federal judge in Michigan on July 7 ruled that a borrower must arbitrate his class claims against a mortgage refinance company alleging that it violated provisions of the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) by placing numerous telephone calls and text messages to his cellular phone because the consumer had inquiry notice of the terms of service for the website services for which he received the communications, which included an arbitration provision.

  • July 08, 2022

    Borrower Lacked Standing To Challenge Mortgage Loan Assignment, Panel Rules

    ATLANTA — A federal district court did not err in dismissing a borrower’s wrongful foreclosure claim against his loan servicer because the borrower lacked the necessary standing to challenge the validity of the assignment of his mortgage and home equity line-of-credit (HELOC) to the servicer, an 11th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals panel ruled on July 1 in affirming.

  • June 30, 2022

    Borrower Waived Right To Appeal FDCPA Claim Dismissal, Panel Rules

    ATLANTA — A borrower forfeited her opportunity to appeal the dismissal of her Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA) claims against her lender, loan servicers and a law firm stemming from the borrower’s default on her mortgage loan and subsequent foreclosure proceedings that were initiated because the borrower failed to object to a federal magistrate judge’s report and recommendation, recommending that the claim be dismissed, an 11th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals panel ruled June 29 in affirming.

  • June 28, 2022

    Conn. Panel Affirms Trial Court’s Summary Judgment Ruling In Foreclosure Suit

    HARTFORD, Conn. — A Connecticut trial court did not err in granting summary judgment in favor of a mortgage note holder in a foreclosure lawsuit because the trial court correctly addressed each of the arguments raised and determined that the note holder established a prima facie case as to liability and that a borrower failed to provide any evidence in support of special defenses she raised, a Connecticut Court of Appeals panel ruled June 28 in affirming.