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

Mealey's Mortgage Lending

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.
May 31, 2023
2nd Circuit Affirms Dismissal Of Mortgage Dispute For Failure To State A Claim

NEW YORK — The Second Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals affirmed the dismissal of a complaint filed by a woman and her son against their mortgage loan servicer for failure to state a claim under the Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act (RESPA) or the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA).
May 31, 2023
RESPA Claims Survive Wells Fargo’s Motion To Dismiss In California Federal Court

LOS ANGELES — A California federal judge partially denied Wells Fargo’s motion to dismiss and found that a couple has alleged damages in their third amended complaint sufficient for their Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act (RESPA) violation claim to move forward.
May 24, 2023
Summary Judgment In Foreclosure Suit Affirmed By Nevada Supreme Court

CARSON CITY, Nev. — The Nevada Supreme Court affirmed a lower court’s ruling that a home equity line of credit agreement (HELOC) is both a negotiable instrument and a promissory note, affirming an award for summary judgment and dismissal in favor of the loan servicer and trustee.
May 24, 2023
Florida Federal Judge Again Finds For Mortgage Loan Servicer On Remand

MIAMI — A Florida federal judge entered a final judgment in favor of mortgage loan servicer Ocwen Financial Corp. and several of its affiliates after finding on remand that claims asserted by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau are covered by a consent judgment the parties entered into in 2013.
May 23, 2023
Judge: CARES Act, RESPA Claims Survive Initial Review In Pro Se Complaint

ST. LOUIS — A Missouri federal judge dismissed most of the named defendants in a lawsuit filed by self-represented litigants who allege that a company used bait-and-switch tactics to entice them into a loan forbearance program because there were no allegations made against them in an amended complaint but allowed certain claims against two mortgage companies to proceed.
May 22, 2023
Borrowers, Lenders Agree To Settle Convenience Fee Class Action Dispute

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. — Parties involved in a class action 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 on May 19 filed a joint notice of a proposed final approval order in a Florida federal court, agreeing to settle the case for nearly $2.8 million.
May 22, 2023
Illinois Appeals Court Remands Reverse Mortgage Dispute To Allow Competency Defense

CHICAGO — An Illinois appeals court found that a lower court erred in striking the affirmative defense of a son who claims that his mother lacked the mental capacity to agree to a reverse mortgage and vacated the summary judgment award granted to the mortgage company and judgment of foreclosure and sale.