In an appeal attracting amicus briefs from the AARP, the National Consumer Law Center, the Massachusetts Attorney General, and others, the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court, the state’s highest court, recently reversed in part and affirmed in part a trial court's grant of summary judgment in favor of a mortgagee on counterclaims brought by the borrowers in summary process eviction proceedings following a non-judicial foreclosure.
In an appeal of a $35 million federal Telephone Consumer Protection Act class action settlement initially involving a dispute over coupon settlements, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit vacated and remanded the trial court's approval of the class action settlement due to Article III standing problems with the settlement class.
The Appellate Court of Illinois, First District, recently affirmed a trial court’s order confirming a judicial sale of real property collateral following a mortgage foreclosure, as well as the trial court’s denial of the borrower’s motion to reconsider that order.
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit recently affirmed a trial court’s denial of a plaintiff counsel’s motion for attorney’s fees, finding the firm’s prioritization of their interests over those of the class cut off any entitlement to attorney’s fees.
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit recently held that a stay of a non-judicial foreclosure due to the filing of a lawsuit by the borrower did not support an “amount in controversy” in excess of $75,000 for federal diversity jurisdiction purposes.
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit recently affirmed a trial court’s attorney fee award that reduced the prevailing plaintiff’s requested fees by over 75%, ruling that the trial court did not abuse its discretion.
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit recently held that periodic statements required by the federal Truth in Lending Act may violate the federal Fair Debt Collection Practices Act if they are not truthful and fair.
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit recently affirmed a trial court’s order remanding a putative class action suit to state court. In so ruling, the Eighth Circuit held that when a plaintiff contests the amount in controversy after removal, the party seeking to remove under the federal Class Action Fairness Act must establish the amount in controversy by a preponderance of the evidence.
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit recently held that the language of a future advances clause entitled the foreclosing mortgagee to the surplus proceeds of a condominium sale where there was an outstanding balance owed to same mortgagee on separate business loans extended to a different co-mortgagor.
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit recently affirmed a trial court’s grant of summary judgment in favor of the defendant bank in an action brought under the federal Telephone Consumer Protection Act.
The federal Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has issued an Advisory Opinion on "convenience" or "speed pay" fees, such as "fees imposed for making a payment online or by phone," under the federal Fair Debt Collection Practices Act.
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit recently ruled that a debt collector violated the federal Fair Debt Collection Practices Act when it sued a debtor’s wife to recover her husband’s legal fees under Ohio’s Necessaries Statute.