For those who wondered how the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (the “Bureau”) would seek to convert portions of the global foreclosure settlement into federal law, last Friday’s proposed servicing rules provide an answer.
Category Archives: Litigation & Enforcement Actions
Subscribe to Litigation & Enforcement Actions RSS FeedCircuit Court Declares Bank’s Wire Transfer Security to Be Commercially Unreasonable Under UCC Article 4A
Posted in Litigation & Enforcement Actions, Payment Systems, Privacy & Information SecurityBy: Holly K. Towle
In 2010 we reported on the “Wave of Online Banking Fraud Targeting Businesses” that use online banking relationships to make electronic fund transfers by wire or ACH
Supreme Court’s No Decision is a Decision in First American v. Edwards
Posted in Litigation & Enforcement Actions, Mortgage LendingBy: Phillip L. Schulman, Emily J. Booth
Must a consumer suffer actual harm to sue the settlement service providers involved in his or her real estate mortgage transaction for engaging in activities that violate the Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act (RESPA), or is the mere allegation of a statutory violation sufficient to get the consumer into court?
The Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court Issues Its Long-Anticipated Eaton Decision
Posted in Litigation & Enforcement Actions, Mortgage ServicingBy: Phoebe S. Winder
In a long-anticipated decision, the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court (“SJC”) ruled in Eaton v. Federal National Mortgage Ass’n, 2012 WL 2349008 (June 22, 2012) (“Eaton”) that when conducting a non-judicial foreclosure in Massachusetts, a foreclosing entity must not only hold the mortgage – it also must hold the note or be authorized to act on behalf of the note holder.
DOJ Doubles Down on Disparate Impact, Settles Discriminatory Pricing Case with SunTrust Mortgage
Posted in Fair Lending/Anti-Discrimination, Litigation & Enforcement Actions, Mortgage LendingBy: Melanie Hibbs Brody, David G. McDonough, Jr.
The Department of Justice recently announced a $21 million settlement with SunTrust Mortgage over allegations that SunTrust’s neutral and non-discriminatory policy of granting loan originators discretionary pricing authority somehow resulted in loans to minority borrowers to be priced higher than loans to White borrowers
U.S. Supreme Court Ends the RESPA Section 8(b) Debate: It Takes Two to Tango
Posted in Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection (CFPB), Litigation & Enforcement Actions, Mortgage LendingBy: Holly Spencer Bunting, Phillip L. Schulman
The split in the federal Circuit Courts over the interpretation of Section 8(b) of RESPA has been resolved, and the result is that it takes two to tango for a Section 8(b) violation.
Tenants’ Rights under the Global Foreclosure Settlement Agreement
Posted in Litigation & Enforcement Actions, Mortgage Servicing, Other Federal Agencies & GSEsBy: Nanci L. Weissgold, Morey E. Barnes Yost
Buried deep in the 40-plus pages of “Servicing Standards” that are part of the recently announced global foreclosure settlement agreement (the “Agreement”) are two bullets on a topic that could impact thousands: tenants’ rights.
National Mortgage Foreclosure Settlement Tackles “Dual Tracking” of Foreclosure and Loan Modification
Posted in Litigation & Enforcement Actions, Mortgage Servicing, Other Federal Agencies & GSEsBy: Stephanie C. Robinson, Kerri M. Smith
At what point is it appropriate after a borrower defaults to initiate foreclosure proceedings? As soon as the borrower defaults?
Protecting the Protectors – the Global Settlement Agreements’ SCRA Provisions
Posted in Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection (CFPB), Litigation & Enforcement Actions, Mortgage Servicing, Other Federal Agencies & GSEs, Servicemember ProtectionsGiven the reported violations of the provisions of the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act (“SCRA”) by some servicers, and the attendant enforcement and civil actions against those servicers, state and federal regulators clearly felt compelled to impose significant SCRA-related requirements on the nation’s five largest residential mortgage loan servicers (the “Servicers”) in the recent global settlement agreements (the “Agreements”) entered into between those regulators and Servicers, described here.
Global Servicing Settlement Requires Single Points of Contact (“SPOCs”)
Posted in Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection (CFPB), Litigation & Enforcement Actions, Mortgage Servicing, Other Federal Agencies & GSEsBy: Kristie D. Kully
The servicing standards imposed on the five largest mortgage loan servicers by the recent global settlement agreement with state and federal regulators, described here, continue to pile on the “SPOC” requirements.
How the Global Foreclosure Settlement Agreement Impacts Servicing Fees
Posted in Litigation & Enforcement Actions, Mortgage ServicingBy: Nanci L. Weissgold, Morey E. Barnes Yost
As scrutiny of default servicing practices provided significant impetus for the recently announced global foreclosure settlement agreement (the “Agreement”), it is no surprise that the Agreement prescribes extensive standards to resolve issues with these practices.
Freeman v. Quicken Loans to Decide Whether Undivided Unearned Fees Violate RESPA
Posted in Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection (CFPB), Litigation & Enforcement Actions, Mortgage LendingTo split an unearned fee or not to split an unearned fee in order to violate the Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act (RESPA) – that is the question.
MERS and Foreclosure Law in Massachusetts: Culhane v. Aurora Loan Services
Posted in Litigation & Enforcement Actions, Mortgage Lending, Mortgage ServicingBy: Andrew C. Glass, Gregory N. Blase, Roger L. Smerage
A Massachusetts federal court recently confirmed MERS’s ability to assign mortgages under Massachusetts law and approved MERS’s practices in doing so.
In Culhane v. Aurora Loan Services, — F. Supp. 2d —-, 2011 WL 5925525 (D. Mass. Nov. 28, 2011), a borrower sued her loan servicer to prevent foreclosure.
Marketing Financial Services through Social Media: Twitter Case May Impact Social Media Platforms
Posted in Litigation & Enforcement ActionsBy: Andrew L. Caplan* and David A. Tallman
*Mr. Caplan is not yet admitted to practice; admission to the NY Bar pending.
Litigation making its way through the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California could have broad implications for the use of social media websites for marketing purposes. The central issue in PhoneDog, LLC v. Kravitz is the extent to which a company can control or limit the use of a social media account created for the company’s benefit but used by an individual employee in that employee’s name.
RESPA Investigations Initiated at HUD May Have Been Reassigned to the CFPB
Posted in Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection (CFPB), Litigation & Enforcement Actions, Other Federal Agencies & GSEsWhen HUD transferred RESPA enforcement authority to the CFPB, some RESPA investigations that had been initiated at HUD may have been assigned to the new agency. As a result, some companies may not be out of the woods just yet.
When Trying Title Becomes Trying: The Impact of Bevilacqua v. Rodriguez on Massachusetts Foreclosure Law
Posted in Litigation & Enforcement ActionsBy: R. Bruce Allensworth, Andrew C. Glass, Roger L. Smerage
The Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court (“SJC”) has ruled that Massachusetts property owners may lack standing to establish title to their property where there is a void foreclosure sale in the chain of title. The Massachusetts “try title” statute permits a holder of “record title” in possession of property to file a petition to force adverse claimants to defend their purported interest in the property.