Freddie Mac announced on March 18 that it is taking action to protect those affected—either directly or indirectly—by the coronavirus (“COVID-19”) pandemic. Freddie Mac announced a nationwide suspension of all foreclosure sales and evictions of borrowers living in homes owned by the company.
It also announced additional mortgage relief options, including an expansion of its
In Dressler v. Equifax, Inc., et al., before entering final judgment in favor of all but one defendant, the United States District Court for the Middle District of Florida gave pro se plaintiff Sandra K. Dressler three attempts to amend her complaint, which alleged violations of various consumer protection statutes by student loan servicer
In response to economic concerns due to widespread closures caused by the coronavirus (“COVID-19”), on Sunday, March 15, Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti issued an executive order putting a moratorium on evictions. Following Mayor Garcetti’s lead, California Gov. Gavin Newsom signed a statewide executive order stopping evictions and foreclosures for people affected by the disease
The United States Department of Housing and Urban Development has issued a partial waiver of 24 CFR 203.604, the provision that requires mortgagees to establish face-to-face contact with borrowers during default and loss mitigation intervention. This suspension, which is stated to last for one year, was issued in response to public concerns over the spread
On March 18, the Court of Appeals of Maryland has stayed all residential foreclosures and evictions during the coronavirus (“COVID-19”) pandemic. The Court determined that the “[e]scalation of the emergency has required comprehensive measures to protect the health, safety, and well-being of Maryland residents and judiciary personnel.” The Court further ruled that all “[f]oreclosures of
On March 19, 2020, New York Governor Andrew Cuomo announced a series of measures designed to ease the economic impact of COVID-19. Most notably to the consumer financial services industry, Cuomo announced that New York would “offer 90-day relief on mortgage payments. Waiving mortgage payments based on financial hardship.” He also said the state would
In a recent ruling favorable to lenders and mortgage loan servicers, the Fifth Circuit of the United States Court of Appeals held that minor, inconsequential discrepancies in a pre-foreclosure notice of default (also sometimes called a “cure notice” or “pre-acceleration notice”) are insufficient grounds for setting aside a foreclosure sale in Texas.
Borrower-plaintiff Guilherme Casalicchio’s
On March 6, the Federal Trade Commission filed a complaint in the United States District Court for the District of Colorado against BoostMyScore LLC (“Boost”), BMS, Inc., and William O. Airy – the principal operator of both Boost and BMS. The complaint alleges that the defendants violated the FTC Act, Credit Repair Organizations Act, and
On February 26, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau added ten FAQs concerning lender credits to its TILA-RESPA Integrated Disclosures (“TRID”) FAQs resource.
The new lender credit FAQs appear to be consistent with the industry’s current practices for managing and disclosing lender credits. They address topics such as:
In Allen v. Credit Collection Services, the United States District Court for the Eastern District of California recently ruled that a Fair Debt Collection Practices Act plaintiff’s vague, self-serving testimony of oral revocation was insufficient to trump a debt collector’s detailed call records that contained no evidence of revocation. The court’s decision illustrates the