The U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit recently reversed a trial court's denial of a motion to compel arbitration under the Federal Arbitration Act (FAA) in a putative class action involving privacy and data-collection practices laws.
Posts published by “Ralph T. Wutscher”
Ralph Wutscher's practice focuses primarily on representing consumer and commercial financial services companies, including depository and non-depository mortgage lenders and servicers, as well as mortgage loan investors, financial asset buyers and sellers, loss mitigation companies, third-party debt collectors, and other financial services providers. He represents the lending and financial services industry as a litigator, and as regulatory compliance counsel. For more information, see https://mauricewutscher.com/attorneys/ralph-t-wutscher/
The Sixth Circuit recently reversed a trial court's dismissal of a putative class action lawsuit alleging violations of the federal Telephone Consumer Protection Act, 47 U.S.C. § 227(b) (TCPA).
The Maryland Court of Appeals – the state’s highest court – recently reversed a trial court’s dismissal of a putative class action alleging that a mortgage servicer and loan owner violated the Maryland Usury Law and Maryland Consumer Debt Collection Act by charging property inspection fees in connection with residential mortgage loans.
In a per curiam opinion, the Supreme Court of the United States recently held that the Director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) exceeded its authority when it "imposed a nationwide moratorium on evictions of any tenants who live in a county that is experiencing substantial or high levels of COVID–19 transmission and who make certain declarations of financial need."
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit recently affirmed in part and reversed in part a trial court's judgment in an action brought by two landowners against their title insurance companies for indemnification and breach of contract.
The federal Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) recently issued its final rule entitled “Protections for Borrowers Affected by the COVID-19 Emergency Under the Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act (RESPA), Regulation X.”
The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) recently issued its Final Rule clarifying the “Permissible Interest on Transferred Loans.”
The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) recently issued its final rule clarifying the “Permissible Interest on Loans that are Sold, Assigned, or Otherwise Transferred”.
The federal banking regulators and the CFPB recently issued an “Interagency Statement on the Use of Alternative Data in Credit Underwriting,” stating in sum that the agencies “encourage responsible use” of alternative data, especially in the context of credit underwriting.
The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) both recently issued proposed rules to “fix” the potential problems arising from the ruling in Madden v. Midland Funding, LLC, 786 F.3d 246 (2nd Cir. 2015), which called into question the “valid when made” doctrine. In addition, the FDIC’s proposal would make clear that the permissible interest on a loan would be determined at the time the loan is made, regardless of subsequent events such as changes in state law or the sale or assignment of the loan. The OCC’s Notice of Proposed Rulemaking is available…
The Court of Appeals of California, Second District, recently upheld a trial court’s ruling reducing the amount of a plaintiff’s attorney’s fee award in a consumer litigation action to less than 40% of the amount sought by the plaintiff’s counsel. A copy of the opinion in Morris v. Hyundai Motor America is available at: Link to Opinion. The opinion was later revised slightly and certified for publication: Link to Opinion. A car buyer sued the manufacturer of a used car she purchased under California’s Song-Beverly Consumer Warranty Act, Civ. Code, § 1790 et seq., for alleged defects that the manufacturer refused to…
A federal jury in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas found a mortgage lender and its president and CEO liable for almost $93 million in connection with alleged violations of the False Claims Act (FCA) and the Financial Institutions Reform, Recovery and Enforcement Act of 1989 (FIRREA), before application of the trebling and per violation penalties afforded under the statutes. The alleged violations occurred in connection with the lender’s participation in the Federal Housing Administration (FHA) mortgage insurance program. A copy of the U.S. Department of Justice’s (DOJ) press release is available at: Link to Press…