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

Mealey's Mortgage Lending

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.
June 27, 2022
Supreme Court Declines To Take Up Review Of Mortgage Recording Tax Appeal

WASHINGTON, D.C. — The U.S. Supreme Court on June 27 declined review of a New York Court of Appeals ruling denying a credit union member’s request to appeal a ruling upholding the dismissal of its class action seeking refunds of mortgage recording taxes (MRT) borrowers paid for loans obtained by federal credit unions.
June 24, 2022
Review Of Mortgage Recording Tax Appeal Not Warranted, High Court Told

WASHINGTON, D.C. — U.S. Supreme Court review of a New York Court of Appeals ruling denying a credit union member’s request to appeal a ruling upholding the dismissal of its class action seeking refunds of mortgage recording taxes (MRT) borrowers paid for loans obtained by federal credit unions should be denied because the petitioner is not a federal credit union and, therefore, the petition is a poor vehicle for addressing the question posed for review, respondents argue in a May 24 opposition brief filed in the high court.
June 24, 2022
Judge: Borrower Claims Challenging Foreclosure Barred By Collateral Estoppel

CAMDEN, N.J. — A federal judge in New Jersey on June 6 dismissed claims brought by a borrower in a lawsuit challenging her mortgage lender’s initiation of foreclosure proceedings stemming from the borrower’s default on her mortgage loan, ruling that the borrower is collaterally estopped from bringing her claims, which she brought as counterclaims in the state court foreclosure action.
June 24, 2022
Exclusion Of Expert Testimony In Predatory Lending Case Incorrect, County Says

CHICAGO — A federal district court abused its discretion in excluding an Illinois county’s statistician from testifying as an expert in a lawsuit alleging 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, in issuing its ruling, the court misapplied Federal Rule of Evidence 702, as well as the U.S. Supreme Court’s ruling in Daubert v. Merrell Dow Pharmaceuticals Inc., the county argues in a June 15 appellant brief filed in the Seventh Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals.
June 24, 2022
Equifax Dismissed From Borrower’s FCRA Lawsuit After Settlement Reached

CAMDEN, N.J. — Borrowers in a Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) lawsuit against credit reporting agency Equifax Information Services LLC, PHH Mortgage Corp. and Capital One Bank (USA) NA filed a second notice of voluntary dismissal on June 8 in their lawsuit against the defendants over alleged erroneous accounts reported by Equifax on their credit reports stemming from the borrowers’ filing for Chapter 13 bankruptcy.
June 24, 2022
Judge Finds In Favor Of Loan Servicer In Loan Modification Dispute

JACKSON, Tenn. — After a one-day bench trial, a federal judge in Tennessee on June 22 ruled that a mortgage loan servicer was justified in determining that a borrower failed to properly remedy a default on her mortgage payments and that the servicer was justified in foreclosing on the borrower’s home because the borrower failed to provide the necessary evidence showing that she had received a loan modification in 2019.
June 23, 2022
Mortgage Lender Dismissed From FCRA Suit Alleging Improper Credit Reporting

DALLAS — Without providing detail, a federal judge in Texas on May 25 dismissed a mortgage lender from a borrower’s lawsuit alleging that the lender and credit reporting agencies Equifax Information Services LLC and TransUnion LLC improperly reported that the borrower had made late payments on his mortgage loan in violation of provisions of the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA).
June 23, 2022
Claims In Wells Fargo Forbearance Suit Dismissed, Sent To Bankruptcy Court

ROANOKE, Va. — A federal judge in Virginia on June 21 dismissed several claims in a consumer class action lawsuit against Wells Fargo & Co. and Wells Fargo Bank NA in which the consumers alleged that their mortgage loans were improperly placed in forbearance without their permission during the COVID-19 pandemic, ruling that the consumers failed to sufficiently plead their claims or completely failed to defend their claims at all.
June 23, 2022
Borrower Fails To Plead That Mortgage Loan Was A Debt Under FDCPA

NEWARK, N.J. — A borrower has failed to sufficiently plead his claim for violation of the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA) against his mortgage loan servicer and the loan’s assignee stemming from actions the defendants allegedly undertook in attempting to obtain payments under the loan after a default because the borrower failed to properly plead that the mortgage loan was a debt under the statute, a federal judge in New Jersey ruled June 21 in granting in part the defendants’ motion to dismiss.
June 21, 2022
Foreclosure-Related Suit Remanded So Limited Discovery Can Be Conducted

BOSTON — A federal district court erred in part in denying a motion filed by homeowners in a foreclosure dispute to defer adjudication of a motion for summary judgment to provide the homeowners with an opportunity to conduct limited discovery, a First Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals panel ruled June 17 in affirming in part, reversing in part and remanding.
June 16, 2022
Contract, Tort Claims Against Loan Servicers Dismissed In Foreclosure Dispute

BOSTON — A federal judge in Massachusetts on June 13 granted a pair of motions to dismiss filed by mortgage loan servicers in a breach of contract dispute filed by a borrower who defaulted on her adjustable-rate mortgage, ruling that the borrower has failed to sufficiently state any of her claims against those defendants.
June 16, 2022
Borrower Claims Against Loan Servicer Must Be Arbitrated Under Agreement Terms

ATLANTA — A federal district court erred in denying a mortgage loan servicer’s motion to compel arbitration in a class action brought by a borrower who alleged that the servicer violated the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA) and Florida law by requiring the borrower to pay a “processing fee” to make his mortgage payment over the telephone because the borrower and loan servicer agreed that an arbitrator would decide what claims could be arbitrated, an 11th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals panel ruled May 26, reversing and remanding.
June 06, 2022
Home’s Foreclosure Sale Price Not Grossly Inadequate Based On Appraisal Value

HOUSTON — Although a borrower’s wrongful foreclosure claim is not barred by the statute of limitations, summary judgment in favor of her lender is still necessary because the borrower failed to properly plead each of the necessary elements of the claim, a federal judge in Texas ruled June 1.
June 03, 2022
Monthly Mortgage Statements Can Constitute Attempt To Collect Debt, Panel Rules

ATLANTA — In what it deemed an issue of first impression, a divided 11th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals panel on May 24 ruled that a mortgage loan servicer’s monthly mortgage statements, which are required by the Truth in Lending Act (TILA), and its regulations can “constitute communications in connection with the collection of a debt” under the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA) and Florida’s Consumer Collection Practices Act (FCCPA) under certain circumstances.
June 02, 2022
Trustee’s Sale Abolished Borrower’s Debt On Junior Mortgage Loan

SAN FRANCISCO — A federal district court erred in granting summary judgment in favor of a junior mortgage loan servicer in a Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) dispute because the loan servicer erroneously reported that a borrower owed a debt on the mortgage even though it had been abolished by Arizona law when his home was sold at a trustee’s sale, a Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals panel ruled May 16 in reversing and remanding.
June 02, 2022
Dismissal Of Claims In Reverse Mortgage Suit Over Property Foreclosure Upheld

DENVER — A 10th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals panel on May 31 ruled that a Utah federal court did not err in dismissing claims brought against the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development stemming from the foreclosure on certain property under the terms of a reverse mortgage agreement because the plaintiff in the action failed to show that the district court had jurisdiction over his claims.
May 20, 2022
Liability, Damages Phases Of Loan Servicing Trial In Borrower Suit Bifurcated

SHERMAN, Texas — Bifurcation of punitive and/or exemplary damages claims in a lawsuit brought by a borrower alleging that his loan servicer and others violated the terms of Chapter 13 bankruptcy orders by continuing to report inaccurate mortgage loan debt to credit reporting agencies (CRAs) is warranted because not doing so would be prejudicial to the holder of the borrower’s note and his loan servicer, a federal magistrate judge in Texas ruled April 26 in granting the motion.
May 20, 2022
Borrower, Lender To Settle Claims In Convenience Fees Class Action

SAN FRANCISCO — A borrower and mortgage loan servicer Ocwen Loans Servicing LLC have agreed to settle class claims brought by the borrower alleging that Ocwen violated state debt collection and unfair competition laws by charging “pay-to-pay” convenience fees for processing the borrower’s loan payments online, Ocwen, the borrower and another defendant say in a joint notice filed in California federal court on May 16.