The United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit has issued an opinion that sheds light on whether foreclosure proceedings constitute debt collection.  In Scott v. Trott Law, P.C., the Court held that under the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, a debt collector had a duty to ensure that foreclosure proceedings were stopped

In a recent opinion, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit recently confirmed that an original mortgage lender cannot be held vicariously liable for violations of the Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act (RESPA) regulations pertaining to loss mitigation allegedly committed by a loan servicer.

In defense to a Texas

Pursuant to 11 U.S.C. § 1322(b)(2), a Chapter 13 bankruptcy plan cannot modify the rights of a secured creditor whose claim is only secured by an “interest in real property that is the debtor’s principal residence.”  On December 6, the Eleventh Circuit held that this provision prevents the discharge of a mortgage in a Chapter

In the home mortgage industry, loans insured by the Fair Housing Authority (“FHA”) come with statutory prerequisites that are embedded in the loan contracts and that must be followed prior to foreclosure.  One such obligation put forth by the Department of Housing and Urban Development (“HUD”) is the “face-to-face meeting” requirement.  This meeting, however, is

On December 17, the United States District Court for the Eastern District of New York ruled in favor of a debt collector in Taubenfliegel v. Miller & Milone, P.C., granting a motion for summary judgment regarding the naming of the creditor in a collection letter.

Plaintiff Elizabeth Taubenfliegel alleged violations of Section 1692g of

In a third-party complaint captioned as Avery Patrick v. Wells Fargo Bank, N.A., 2018 WL 6613737, Docket No. A-2270-17T3 (App. Div. Dec. 18, 2018), a residential mortgage loan borrower, Avery Patrick, appealed an order of summary judgment rendered by the Superior Court, Middlesex County, Law Division, dismissing his common law tort claim for trespass

A wave of lawsuits filed under the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, especially in the Second Circuit, continues regarding disclosures of interest and fees in collection letters.  Consumers have complained about failure to warn of interest and fees continuing to accrue, as well as failure to disclose that interest and fees did not accrue.  The

On November 21, in Sweely Holdings LLC v. SunTrust Bank et al., the Supreme Court of Virginia issued an opinion that is beneficial to the mortgage industry in Virginia because it upheld a bank’s right to foreclose, even if it could have pursued other options under a forbearance agreement.  In doing so, the Court

Effective July 1, 2018, Virginia’s unlawful detainer laws were amended to include new language beneficial to mortgagees and other foreclosure sale purchasers who seek to recover possession of foreclosed property by filing suit in a general district court.   

A new subsection of the statute, Virginia Code § 8.01-126(C)(4), codifies common law and confirms that a

Last month, Troutman Sanders reported on the proposed TRACED Act which would instruct the Federal Communications Commission to engage in rulemaking to protect consumers from receiving unwanted calls and text messages from unauthenticated phone numbers.  FCC Chairman Ajit Pai tweeted his approval for the bill, but the FCC is not waiting on Congress to fight