The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit recently affirmed the dismissal of a borrower’s complaint under the federal Fair Debt Collection Practices Act arising from a judicial foreclosure proceeding in Oregon, holding that the defendants were not attempting to collect a debt within the meaning of the FDCPA when only foreclosure was sought and not a deficiency judgment.
Posts published by “Hector E. Lora”
Hector E. Lora manages the firm’s Florida office and has substantial experience in all phases of complex commercial litigation, including bench and jury trials as well as appellate practice. Hector represents lenders, servicers, debt collectors and debt buyers in complex mortgage foreclosure actions, quiet title actions, federal TILA, RESPA, TCPA, and FDCPA actions and Florida FCCPA actions brought by borrowers or debtors. He also represents creditors in bankruptcy litigation, purchasers of accounts receivable or factoring companies that provide revenue-based financing to small and mid-sized businesses in collection actions, and landlords in commercial and residential evictions. Hector’s broad litigation experience includes over a decade of defending civil enforcement actions filed by the Federal Trade Commission as well as real estate contract disputes and partition actions, contested mortgage foreclosure and condominium lien foreclosure actions and the foreclosure of UCC Article 9 security interests. Hector also has advised a variety of types of businesses regarding their compliance with applicable federal and state consumer protection laws, including the Federal Trade Commission Act, the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA), the Telemarketing and Consumer Fraud and Abuse Prevention Act, the Telemarketing Sales Rule, the Controlling the Assault of Nonsolicited Pornography and Marketing Act of 2003, and Florida laws governing telephone solicitation and communication. Hector received his Juris Doctor from the Georgetown University Law Center, and his undergraduate degree with honors from the University of Florida. For more information, see https://mauricewutscher.com/attorneys/hector-e-lora/
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit recently dismissed a lawsuit brought by a mortgage lender against the Government National Mortgage Association alleging that Ginnie Mae violated several guaranty agreements.
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit recently held that a mortgagee’s office that was located within 200 miles of the mortgaged property, but did not conduct any mortgage-related business, was not a “branch office” of a “mortgagee” under the HUD rule requiring a face-to-face meeting with mortgage borrowers before filing a mortgage foreclosure action unless the mortgagee does not have a branch office within 200 miles of the borrower's home.
The Supreme Court of the United States recently held that to prevail in a claim for racial discrimination under 42 U.S.C. § 1981, “a plaintiff must plead and ultimately prove that, but for race, it would not have suffered the loss of a legally protected right.”
The U.S. Bankruptcy Appellate Panel for the Eighth Circuit recently reversed a bankruptcy court’s disallowance of postpetition interest at the default contract rate, holding that “the bankruptcy court erred in applying a liquidated damages analysis and ruling the default interest rate was an unenforceable penalty,” and also erred in weighing “equitable considerations” to avoid enforcing the contractual default interest rate.
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit recently ruled in favor of the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA), Fannie Mae, and the mortgage loan servicer in a title dispute arising from a homeowners' association (HOA) lien foreclosure.
The U.S. Bankruptcy Appellate Panel for the Eighth Circuit recently affirmed a bankruptcy court’s holding that the contemporaneous exchange for new value defense to a preference action under § 547(c) applied to a creditor bank that released its liens for less than full payment.
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit recently reversed the dismissal of a consumer’s Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA) claim based on debt collection information that was visible through a transparent window on two debt collection letters.
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit recently rejected a loan servicer’s appeal from a Bankruptcy Appellate Panel’s ruling to remand to the lower bankruptcy court a punitive damages award for alleged discharge violations.
The Supreme Court of Florida recently held that trial courts have continuing jurisdiction to hear a third party purchaser’s motion to recover the value of repairs and improvements made to property purchased at a foreclosure sale that was later vacated, quashing and reversing the contrary ruling of Florida’s First District Court of Appeal.
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit recently affirmed the dismissal of a consumer’s Truth in Lending Act (TILA) claim for lack of subject matter jurisdiction, holding that the claim was barred by the jurisdiction-stripping provision of the federal Financial Institutions Reform, Recovery, and Enforcement Act (FIRREA).
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit recently affirmed summary judgment in favor of a guaranty agency that caused a set-off against a plaintiff’s Social Security benefits to recover a judgment assigned to it based on a defaulted student loan.