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Posts published in May 2017

Illinois App. Court (1st Dist) Holds Paper Clip is Enough to ‘Affix’ Allonge to Note Under UCC

The Appellate Court of Illinois, First District, recently held that an allonge was “affixed” to a note for purposes of the Illinois Uniform Commercial Code (UCC) when it was attached via paper clip. A copy of the opinion in Olive Portfolio Alpha, LLC v. 116 West Hubbard Street, LLC is available at:  Link to Opinion. The plaintiff note owner (“assignee”) filed a mortgage foreclosure action against the defendant borrower seeking the foreclosure of a commercial property. The borrower filed a motion to dismiss for alleged lack of standing.  The motion was denied in part and granted in part “as to…

11th Cir. Holds Post-Discharge Monthly Mortgage Statements Not Prohibited

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit recently affirmed the dismissal of a mortgage loan borrower’s federal Fair Debt Collection Practices Act and related state law claims because the defendant mortgagee was not a “debt collector” as defined by the FDCPA. In so ruling, the Court also rejected the borrower’s allegations that the monthly statements the mortgagee sent to the borrower after her bankruptcy discharge were impermissible implied assertions of a right to collect against her personally. A copy of the opinion in Helman v. Bank of America is available at: Link to Opinion. The borrower obtained a…

Illinois App. Court (3rd Dist) Upholds Dismissal of Qui Tam Action Against MERS

The Appellate Court of Illinois, Third District, recently affirmed a trial court’s dismissal of a qui tam action brought by a private attorney under the Illinois False Claims Act against Mortgage Electronic Registration Systems, Inc. (MERS), holding that the State can file a motion to dismiss at any time during the case even if the State declined to take over the action. A copy of the opinion in State ex rel. Saporta v. Mortgage Electronic Registration Systems, Inc. is available at:  Link to Opinion. The plaintiff, the State ex rel. by a private attorney (“Relator”), filed a qui tam action…

Fla. App. Court (4th DCA) Holds Borrower Prevailing on ‘Lack of Standing’ Cannot Obtain Attorney’s Fees

The District Court of Appeal of Florida for the Fourth District recently denied a borrower’s motion for appellate attorney’s fees in a contested foreclosure, holding that the reciprocity provision of section 57.105(7), Florida Statutes, does not apply where the borrower prevails based on lack of standing, unless the plaintiff mortgagee was also the original lender. A copy of the opinion in Nationstar Mortgage LLC, etc. v. Marie Ann Glass, et al. is available at: Link to Opinion. The trial court dismissed with prejudice a mortgagee’s amended foreclosure complaint, and the plaintiff mortgagee appealed. The mortgagee voluntarily dismissed the appeal, and…

9th Cir. Holds Consolidated ‘Bellweather Trial’ of Multiple Actions Did Not Meet CAFA’s ‘Mass Action’ Requirements

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit recently affirmed that consolidating multiple actions for pre-trial purposes and a bellweather-trial process is insufficient to justify the removal of those actions to federal court under the “mass action” provision of the Class Action Fairness Act (CAFA). In doing so, the Ninth Circuit rejected several arguments the removing defendant made based on language contained in the plaintiffs’ motion to consolidate.  The Court concluded that even though, as consolidated, the matters satisfied the numerosity requirement of a “mass action” under CAFA, the plaintiffs did not intend a joint trial for all of…

6th Cir. Rejects FDCPA Allegations of State Procedural Violations, Misrepresentations, Citing Spokeo

Relying on Spokeo, Inc. v. Robins, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit recently held that alleged violations of the federal Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA) arising out of state procedural violations were not sufficient to confer subject matter jurisdiction without any corresponding concrete harm. A copy of the opinion in Lyshe v. Levy is available at:  Link to Opinion. A law firm brought a collection action in Ohio against a debtor.  The law firm served the debtor with discovery requests, but allegedly did not send a separate electronic copy as required, and also allegedly incorrectly indicated…

Illinois App. Court (1st Dist) Rejects Borrowers’ Effort to Undo Foreclosure Deficiency Judgment

The Appellate Court of Illinois, First District, recently held that the provisions of the Illinois mortgage foreclosure statute barred the borrowers from filing a post-judgment petition to vacate the entry of a personal deficiency judgment in a foreclosure action, because the borrowers’ petition was not based upon the lack of personal jurisdiction and the borrowers’ petition did not seek relief in the form of claiming an interest in the proceeds of the sale. A copy of the opinion in BMO Harris Bank National Association v. LaRosa is available at:  Link to Opinion. The borrowers defaulted on their mortgage loan resulting…