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Posts tagged as “First Circuit”

1st Cir. Rejects Debt Collector’s Appeal from Order Denying Motion to Compel Arbitration

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit recently dismissed an appeal in a putative class action removed from Massachusetts state court to federal trial court concerning a motion to compel arbitration, holding that the order was not a final decision and was not within an exception that would permit interlocutory review.

This Year the 1st Circuit and Mass. Courts Tackled Consumer Contacts

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit and federal and state courts in Massachusetts decided several important cases for the consumer financial services industry in 2021. Two related cases concerned the constitutionality of a Massachusetts regulation limiting telephone contact with debtors and a third ruling came from the First Circuit on a federal TCPA action.

1st Cir. Upholds Dismissal of Mass. 93A Claims Against Mortgagee and Servicer As Time-Barred

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit recently affirmed the trial court’s dismissal of a consumer’s claims against the owner and loan servicer of her mortgage loan that their collection statements supposedly violated the Massachusetts Consumer Protection Act, Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 93A, and the Massachusetts Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 93, 49.

1st Cir. Holds Fannie Mae Not Liable for Unauthorized Acts of Its Agents

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit, on an issue of first impression at the federal appellate level, recently held that the Merrill doctrine – which prevents federal government instrumentalities from being bound by the unauthorized acts of their agents – applies to Federal National Mortgage Association (“Fannie Mae”). Accordingly, the First Circuit affirmed the trial court’s entry of summary judgment in favor of Fannie Mae. A copy of the opinion in Faiella v. Federal National Mortgage Association is available at:  Link to Opinion. The plaintiff borrower took out a loan secured by a mortgage on his home.  The lender…

1st Cir. Upholds Use of ‘Integrated Records’ from Prior Servicer

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit recently affirmed a mortgage foreclosure judgment, holding that the district court properly admitted into evidence a computer printout from the loan servicer containing incorporated information from prior loan servicers. A copy of the opinion in U.S. Bank Trust, N.A. v. Jones is available at:  Link to Opinion. The plaintiff borrower defaulted on her mortgage loan and the bank filed a diversity action in the U.S. District Court for the District of Maine. “At trial, [the bank] sought to establish the total amount owed on the loan account by introducing a computer…

1st Cir. Rejects Challenges to Arbitration of Putative Class Action

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit recently affirmed dismissal of a putative class action lawsuit that challenged the company’s arbitration clause. The Court rejected the named plaintiff’s primary argument that the arbitration clause’s arbitration-fee-splitting arrangement was unconscionable and unenforceable, because the trial court was allowed to consider the defendant’s offer to pay for the full costs of arbitration, thus rendering the clause enforceable under Massachusetts’ Wage Act, because the potential costs of arbitration were less than the cost of potential recovery. A copy of the opinion in Bekele v. Lyft, Inc. is available at:  Link to Opinion. In…

1st Cir. Holds Reference to ‘Auction Price’ Rather Than ‘Fair Market Value’ Insufficient for Deficiency Notice

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit recently held that, at least under the Massachusetts version of the UCC, automobile post-repossession and post-sale notices must expressly advise the borrower that any deficiency will be calculated using the difference between the amount owed on the loan and the fair market value of the vehicle instead of the difference between the amount owed on the loan and the auction sale price. In so ruling, the Court held that the defendant’s compliance with the safe-harbor provision contained in the Massachusetts UCC that uses the auction sale proceeds to measure any deficiency…

1st Cir. Confirms Rooker-Feldman Barred Borrower’s State and Federal Law Claims

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit recently affirmed dismissal of a borrower’s state and federal law claims, concluding that the trial court lacked jurisdiction under the Rooker-Feldman doctrine, because the borrower’s federal suit sought to invalidate the state courts’ judgments. A copy of the opinion in Klimowicz v. Deutsche Bank National Trust Company is available at:  Link to Opinion. After a borrower defaulted on her mortgage loan, the assignee to the borrower’s mortgage (“mortgagee”) filed a petition in the Massachusetts Land Court to foreclose the mortgaged property.  Final judgment was entered in the mortgagee’s favor, and the property was…