Kansas Gov. Laura Kelly has approved enactment of Senate Bill 44 which requires certain financial institutions to establish information security standards consistent with the federal Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act’s Safeguards Rule, 16 C.F.R. § 314.1, et seq. The Kansas Financial Institutions Information Security Act becomes effective July 1, 2023.
The Supreme Court of Ohio recently upheld the dismissal of a mortgagee's writ of mandamus actions seeking to avoid transfers of REO and mortgaged property to county land banks for unpaid taxes, holding that the mortgagee should have pursued other available remedies in state court.
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit recently reversed the dismissal of a putative class action complaint for unfair and deceptive business practices under Massachusetts' Chapter 93A, holding that the action was not barred by a New York choice of law provision in the contract at issue.
The Supreme Court of Indiana recently reversed and remanded a trial court’s order compelling arbitration of two bank customers’ putative class action complaint. In so ruling, the Court held that the account agreement’s change-of-terms clause did not allow the defendant bank to add an addendum compelling arbitration and restricting class actions to the terms and conditions of the customers’ account agreement.
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit recently reversed and remanded a trial court’s order denying class certification, finding that the trial court improperly bypassed Fed. R. Civ. Pro. Rule 23’s prerequisites for class certification and based its denial of class certification entirely on the putative class’s “fail-safe” character.
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit recently affirmed the dismissal of a consumer’s claims under the federal Truth in Lending Act, 15 U.S.C. § 1601 et seq., and its implementing regulation, Regulation Z, 12 C.F.R. § 1026. In so ruling, the Third Circuit held that TILA does not require disclosure of each individual component of the total annual fee in a renewal notice for a credit card.
The New York Court of Appeals recently held that a plaintiff mortgagee was permitted to dispute and contradict whether a taxing authority complied with the statutory tax foreclosure mailing and notice requirements contained in N.Y. Real Property Tax Law (RPTL) 1125(1)(b), and thereby challenge the validity of a tax foreclosure.
Illinois App. Court (2nd Dist) Rejects Borrowers’ Claims of Trespass by Mortgagee During Foreclosure

The Appellate Court of Illinois, Second District, recently affirmed a trial court’s dismissal of two borrowers’ counterclaims alleging that the mortgagee improvidently trespassed on their property during the foreclosure process.
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit recently held that a consumer plaintiff had Article III standing to sue because his federal Fair Debt Collection Practices Act claim was similar to a common law "intrusion upon seclusion" claim, even though it involved only a single unwanted call.
The Texas House of Representatives on April 4 voted unanimously in favor of Texas House Bill 4, the Texas Data Privacy and Security Act. The Texas legislature remains in session through May 29, so there is ample time for the legislation to continue its course.
The Appellate Court of Illinois, First District, recently affirmed a trial court’s summary judgment ruling in favor of a mortgagee, holding that the mortgagors did not raise a triable issue of fact regarding the authenticity of a mortgage and promissory note, and rejecting the mortgagors' arguments under the Illinois Mortgage Foreclosure Law that the foreclosure sale price was "unconscionable" and that "justice was not done" with the foreclosure sale.
Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds on March 28 signed into law SF 262, making Iowa the sixth state to enact comprehensive consumer data privacy legislation. The other states are California, Virginia, Colorado, Utah, and Connecticut. The law will take effect Jan. 1, 2025.