Real Property, Financial Services, & Title Insurance Update: Week Ending September 17, 2021

Real Property Update

• No cases to report.

Financial Services Update

• RESPA / Qualified Written Requests: Loan servicer did not violate RESPA by acknowledging receipt of a qualified written request one day after RESPA deadline because plaintiffs suffered no damages based on one-day delay – Munoz v. CitiMortgage, Inc., No. 8:20-cv-02311 (M.D. Fla. Sept. 10, 2021)

• RESPA / Qualified Written Requests: Loan servicer did not violate RESPA because its response to plaintiffs’ qualified written request was sufficient and plaintiffs suffered no damages – Munoz v. CitiMortgage, Inc., No. 8:20-cv-02311 (M.D. Fla. Sept. 10, 2021)

• FCRA / Preemption: State law claims for negligence and defamation related to false information provided by a company to a credit bureau are preempted by the FCRA where the furnisher of information did not act with malice or an intent to injure the person about whom the information was conveyed – Smith v. Automatic Data Processing, Inc., No. 8:20-cv-02936 (M.D. Fla. Sept. 13, 2021)

• TCPA / Vicarious Liability: Company would not be held vicariously liable for subcontractor’s actions, which violated the TCPA, because the company did not exercise sufficient control over the subcontractor – Schick v. Caliber Home Loans, Inc., No. 3:20-cv-00617 (N.D. Cal. Sept. 14, 2021)

Title Insurance Update

• Snap Removal: Title insurer properly removed case where no other defendants were served before removal – U.S. Bank Nat’l Ass’n v. Fidelity Nat’l Title Grp., Inc., No. 2:21-cv-00127 (D. Nev. Sept. 13, 2021) (denying motion to remand)

• Enforcement of Settlement Agreement: Insured and title insurer entered into a binding settlement agreement where the parties reached an agreement on all material terms – First Am. Title Ins. Co. v. Sadek, No. 2:11-cv-01302 (D.N.J. Sept. 8, 2021)

• Motion to Vacate: Closing agent did not have right to vacate judgment entered in favor of title insurer where closing agent failed to timely oppose title insurer’s summary judgment motion – First Am. Title Ins. Co. v. Successful Abstract, LLC, No. 657208/2020 (N.Y. Sup. Ct. Sept. 13, 2021)