A Florida appellate court recently rejected a real estate developer’s creative effort to shed its property of contractor’s liens. The court applied the venerable principal of mortgage law that a borrower may not extinguish...more
Yesterday, the U.S. Supreme Court invited the Solicitor General to file a brief to express the Obama administration’s views on whether certiorari should be granted in a consumer case involving an important issue of statutory...more
Consistent with its recent emphasis on the stringency of class certification requirements in consumer cases, the Third Circuit recently affirmed the denial of class certification in a consumer case involving alleged...more
In a precedential opinion rendered last week, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit held that the disclosure of a consumer’s account number through the transparent window of a debt collector’s envelope violates...more
The California Court of Appeal recently held that a foreclosure by the beneficiary under a first deed of trust extinguished a junior lien, even though the beneficiary acquired the property by way of a deed in lieu of...more
On June 25, 2014, the CFPB issued guidance setting forth basic principles on the issue of equal treatment for legally-married same-sex couples. The CFPB noted that this guidance was issued in response to the decision in...more
A federal appellate court recently confirmed that, in Michigan, a foreclosing party does not need to hold the mortgage note to have "standing" to foreclose.
In the recent case, an individual borrower faced with...more
The Supreme Court of Minnesota last week reversed the dismissal of a borrower’s action against a loan servicer arising out of the servicer’s alleged breach of its Servicer Participation Agreement (SPA) with Fannie Mae under...more
Under the Truth in Lending Act (TILA), lenders are required to make certain disclosures to borrowers before consummating mortgage loans. If a lender fails to make these disclosures, the borrower may have the right to rescind...more
Under the Truth in Lending Act (TILA), the assignee of a mortgage note is not considered a "creditor" and is therefore not bound by TILA requirements imposed solely on creditors. One federal appellate court, however, has...more
A federal judge recently rejected motions to dismiss in a suit in which the U.S. government alleged that two mortgage originators and their officers defrauded the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) into...more
In a precedential opinion, the Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit last Friday made significant rulings on the "home state" and "local controversy" exceptions to federal subject matter jurisdiction under the Class Action...more
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit has affirmed summary judgment in favor of The Lincoln National Life Insurance Company in a putative class action. In Edmonson v. Lincoln National Life Ins. Co. the plaintiff...more
A group of Super Bowl XLV ticketholders recently lost their bid in federal court in Texas for class certification of their lawsuit arising from problems with temporary seating at the event....more
The Fourth Circuit, in an unpublished opinion, recently held that an oral statement that borrowers should disregard notices of foreclosure sale while being considered for a loan modification is insufficient to set aside a...more