On September 24, the Governor of California approved AB 3108 (the “Act”), amending the Financial Code and Penal Code to address mortgage fraud and consumer protections. The Act prohibits knowingly filing any document with a...more
Mortgage lenders tend to pay a lot of attention to the real property securing their loans, as they should. Before the loan is made, lenders scrutinize the property to evaluate whether its fair market value will support the...more
The “Granston Memo” has proven to be a boon again in 2019 for False Claims Act (“FCA”) defendants. In a January 15, 2019 Sheppard Mullin FCA Defense Blog article, we highlighted a growing movement by the Department of Justice...more
Fifth Third Mortgage Co. v. Kaufman, No. 18-3295 (7th Cir. Aug. 9, 2019) - Brief Summary - The Seventh Circuit affirmed a ruling that an attorney was personally liable for aiding and abetting a mortgage fraud scheme....more
The Office of the Inspector General (OIG) for the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) recently issued its Semiannual Report to Congress for the period from April through September 2018....more
Antitrust- FTC Reaches Settlement with Petroleum Company Over Allegedly Anticompetitive Impact of Proposed Acquisition of Retail Fuel Stations- The Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”), following an investigation by New...more
Today’s Muskdate is all about the SEC issuing a subpoena to Tesla as it continues its investigation into Elon’s August 7 Twitter post about the “funding secured” detail of his plans to take the company private....more
REAL PROPERTY UPDATE - Standing/Foreclosure: pursuant to Florida Rule of Procedure 1.260, the assignee of a note during pendency of a foreclosure acquires standing of original plaintiff lender - Spicer v Ocwen Loan...more
On September 29, the Office of Inspector General for the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD OIG) announced the termination of an investigation of a national mortgage lender relating to a purported...more
The DOJ has asked the 2d Circuit to reconsider its May decision overturning the 2013 jury verdict (and subsequent $1.27 billion penalty) against Bank of America for fraud relating to its mortgage-generation HUSL program....more
REAL PROPERTY UPDATE - Foreclosure/Leave to Amend: borrower should have been granted leave to amend to assert affirmative defenses pursuant to motion filed 13 days before trial because there was no prejudice, the...more
The leadership void at the top in the UK isn’t helping matters at all, as resignations among both major parties reign supreme in the aftermath of the Leave vote....more
It’s hornbook law that a later intentional breach of contract, alone, doesn’t equal promissory fraud. Holding it therefore cannot establish mail or wire fraud, the Second Circuit reversed the Government’s $1.2 Billion FIRREA...more
The SEC has opened an inquiry into Alibaba’s accounting related to affiliated companies and related-party transactions, a big deal for a company “long seen as a symbol of China’s growing technological might”...more
Remember that oil spill on the markets from yesterday? We’re heading into Exxon Valdez territory here, even with a late-day rally on Wall Street that helped somewhat stem monumental losses – NYTimes... The Upshot’s...more
2014 was a banner year for federal recoveries under the False Claims Act (“FCA”). In a press release dated November 20, 2014, the DOJ announced that its total recoveries – including those from both settlements and judgments –...more
Easements: trial court erred in denying statutory easement or “way of necessity” where owners established all elements pursuant to section 704.01(2), Fla. Stat. – Messer v. Sanders, No. 1D13-3084 (Fla. 1st DCA July 9, 2014)...more