Last Friday, the Eighth Circuit affirmed the dismissals of claims filed by county recorders in Iowa and Minnesota who claimed that the use of the Mortgage Electronic Registration System (MERS) unjustly deprived the counties of recording fees. In Plymouth County v. Merscorp, Inc., Plymouth County, on its own behalf and on behalf of all
Senate Extends Mortgage Debt Forgiveness Act by One Year
Last week, the United States Senate passed an extension of the Mortgage Debt Forgiveness Act. Without the Act, any home mortgage forgiveness that results from a short sale would have counted as income for homeowners. In other words, homeowners that had short sales in 2014 will not have to pay taxes on the mortgage debt
CFPB Issues Bulletin on Verifying Disability Income in Mortgage Lending
In November, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau issued a compliance bulletin (CFPB Bulletin 2014-03) reminding lenders of their legal obligations when underwriting mortgage loans for Social Security disability recipients. The agency outlined steps that creditors can take to avoid illegal discrimination in violation of the Equal Credit Opportunity Act (ECOA) and Regulation B.
Lenders in
Dish Network Gets Served: An Illinois Court Finds Massive Exposure for Violations of Telemarketing and Do-Not-Call Restrictions
On December 12, 2014, an Illinois federal judge found Dish Network LLC liable for participating in millions of unwanted telemarketing sales calls, where Dish Network could be subject to penalties exceeding $1 billion. Specifically, the District Court for the Central District of Illinois issued an opinion in United States of America v. Dish Network LLC
Ohio Court Holds That Cell Phone Subscriber Who Never Received Unwanted Call Has Standing to Sue Under the TCPA
In the latest of a series of “whodunit” cases, the United States District Court for the Southern District of Ohio held that a subscriber who did not answer a single call that allegedly violated the Telephone Consumer Protection Act still had standing to sue under the statute. In Maraan v. Dish Network LLC (Civil Action
CFPB Charges Yet Another Mortgage Lender With Violations of the Loan Originator Compensation Rule
On November 13, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau ordered a California mortgage lender to pay $730,000 for allegedly paying its loan originators compensation based on loan terms. The CFPB has asked the United States District Court for the Central District of California to approve a consent order requiring the company to end its allegedly illegal
No End in Sight Yet for Conservatorship of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac
At a recent hearing before the Senate Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs Committee, Melvin Watt, Director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency, remarked that he did not see an immediate end to the federal government’s conservatorship of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. In 2008, both government-sponsored enterprises were placed into conservatorship by the federal government
FHFA to Issue Risk Management Guidance for Nonbank Mortgage Servicers Today
Today is the deadline when the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) is scheduled to unveil its risk management guidance intended to curb financial and operational risks associated with loan servicing by nonbank entities.
The backdrop for FHFA’s initiative is the fact that the nation’s three largest nonbank mortgage servicers have tripled in size since 2012,
Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals Holds Foreclosure Trustee Not Liable for Alleged Breach of Fiduciary Duties to Plaintiff Borrowers
On November 19, the United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit affirmed dismissal of plaintiff borrowers’ claims against a foreclosure trustee and held that the trustee did not breach fiduciary duties by proceeding to foreclosure over borrowers’ objections.
The case centered on an oft-repeated scenario in which plaintiff borrowers were discussing a potential
CFPB Proposes Expanded Foreclosure Protections
On November 20, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau proposed measures aimed at mortgage servicers. These proposed measures provide surviving family members and other homeowners with the same protections as the original borrowers. Additionally, the proposal seeks to add protections to homeowners and borrowers struggling to make payments under their mortgages. The new mortgage rules can