The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit recently affirmed the dismissal of consolidated putative class action cases against mortgage loan servicers and an insurance company, holding that the filed-rate doctrine barred the plaintiffs’ claims. A copy of the opinion in Pankaj Patel, et al v. Specialized Loan Servicing, LLC, et al is available at: Link to Opinion. The plaintiffs in the two trial court cases, consolidated on appeal, alleged that their mortgage loan servicers breached the loan documents and the implied covenant of good faith and fair dealing by supposedly overcharging for “force-placed” insurance (FPI) when the borrowers failed…
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 Eleventh Circuit recently rejected an attempt by homeowners to collaterally attack a state court mortgage foreclosure judgment, affirming the trial court’s dismissal of an amended complaint with prejudice for failure to state a claim, but on alternative grounds. More specifically, the Court upheld the dismissal on the grounds that, “by attempting to prosecute an incomprehensible pleading to judgment, the plaintiffs obstructed the due administration of justice” in the trial court, and by trying to defend the fatally defective complaint on appeal. The Court also ordered plaintiffs’ counsel to show cause why he should…
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit recently affirmed summary judgment in favor of a bank that was sued by a putative class alleging discriminatory employment practices that supposedly violated Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Iowa Civil Rights Act. In so ruling, the Court held that the plaintiffs failed to establish a prima facie case of disparate impact because even if the bank’s policy of summarily terminating applicants or employees with a criminal conviction involving dishonesty or breach of trust had a disparate impact, the bank’s decision to comply with the applicable…
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit recently vacated a judgment of dismissal in consolidated class actions arising from a data breach of personal information, holding that the plaintiffs had standing to sue because fraudulent credit cards were actually opened in the victims’ names. In so ruling, the Court distinguished its 2017 ruling in Beck v. McDonald, which held “a mere compromise of personal information, without more, fails to satisfy the injury-in-fact element in the absence of an identity theft.” A copy of the opinion in Rhonda Hutton v. National Board of Examiners is available at: Link to…
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit recently reversed the dismissal of a consumer’s complaint for unauthorized use of his credit card, holding that he stated claims for relief under the federal Fair Credit Billing Act’s correction of billing errors provisions, and the federal Truth in Lending Act’s unauthorized-use provisions. In so ruling, the Court held that: When “a creditor removes a disputed charge from a billing statement and later reinstates that charge, the 60-day period in which a consumer must file a written dispute begins when the consumer receives the first statement reinstating the charge.” “A cardholder…
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit recently held that a putative class action alleging violations of the federal Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act (FACTA) could not be removed to federal court because the plaintiffs lacked Article III standing, which deprived the federal trial court of subject matter jurisdiction. Accordingly, the Seventh Circuit remanded the case to the federal trial court with instructions to return the case to state court. A copy of the opinion in Kathryn Collier v. SP Plus Corporation is available at: Link to Opinion. The lead plaintiffs filed a class action complaint in Illinois…
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit recently vacated a trial court’s dismissal of a mortgagee’s deficiency claims and remanded to the trial court to determine whether the voluntary dismissal of a bankrupt debtor’s Chapter 11 case without a discharge had any effect on the mortgagee’s right to pursue its pre-petition deficiency claims. A copy of the opinion in First National Bank of Oneida, N.A. v. Brandt is available at: Link to Opinion. The debtor, a real estate investor and developer, filed a Chapter 11 bankruptcy case in July 2009 after he defaulted on a series of real estate loans. The…
In an action against a Florida consumer plaintiffs’ firm that also functions as consumer bankruptcy debtors’ counsel, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit recently held that a bankruptcy attorney violates section 526(a)(4) of the Bankruptcy Code if he instructs a client to pay his legal fees using a credit card. In so ruling, the Court held that there is no requirement under the statute that the advice be given for an invalid purpose designed to manipulate the bankruptcy process. A copy of the opinion in Loyd P. Cadwell v. Kaufman, Englett & Lynd, PLLC is available at: Link…
The U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida recently granted summary judgment in favor of a defendant debt collector in a putative class action alleging violations of sections 1692g and 1692e of the federal Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA), holding that the “debt validation notice” letter at issue was neither confusing nor misleading under the applicable least sophisticated consumer standard. In so ruling, the Court held that naming the payment processing company with whom the consumer had dealt, as well as the bank that had actually issued the credit at issue, did not violate the FDCPA. A…
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit recently affirmed summary judgment in favor of an insurance company, holding that the insurer had no duty to defend and indemnify its insured in a lawsuit alleging that the provider’s telemarketing phone calls violated several federal and state laws, because statutory damages and injunctive relief under the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) are uninsurable penalties — not damages — under Colorado law and the insurance policies at issue. A copy of the opinion in ACE American Insurance Company v. Dish Network is available at: Link to Opinion. The federal government and five…
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit recently held that the Rooker-Feldman doctrine did not bar the trial court from considering the plaintiff’s claims because she was not challenging or seeking to set aside an underlying non-judicial mortgage foreclosure proceeding under Colorado law. Accordingly, the Tenth Circuit remanded to the trial court to determine what effect, if any, the non-judicial proceeding had under the doctrines of issue and claim preclusion. A copy of the opinion in Mayotte v. U.S. Bank National Association is available at: Link to Opinion. The borrower signed a note secured by a deed of trust. The…
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit recently affirmed the entry of judgment on the pleadings against the plaintiff in a putative class action alleging that a text message sent by a third party on behalf of a hospital reminding the plaintiff about a flu shot violated the federal Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA), holding that the plaintiff provided his prior express consent to receive such messages in a hospital admission form. A copy of the opinion in Latner v. Mt. Sinai Health System, Inc. is available at: Link to Opinion. The plaintiff went to a medical clinic owned by a…