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Posts tagged as “Foreclosure”

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…

11th Cir. Holds Moving to Reset Foreclosure Sale During Loss Mit Did Not Violate RESPA or FDCPA

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit affirmed the dismissal of a borrower’s claim, holding that a mortgage servicer’s motion to reschedule a previously set foreclosure sale after it approved the borrower for a trial loan modification plan did not violate the federal Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act because the motion to reschedule did not move for an order of sale. A copy of the decision in Landau v. RoundPoint Mortgage Servicing Corp. is available at:  Link to Opinion. A borrower defaulted on her mortgage loan and her lender filed a foreclosure action.  The lender obtained final summary judgment in…

Calif. App. Court (5th Dist) Holds Borrower Entitled to Atty Fees for Successful TRO

The Court of Appeal for the Fifth District of California recently held that a court may award attorneys’ fees pursuant to Civil Code § 2924.12(h) when a borrower obtains a temporary restraining order to stop a non-judicial foreclosure sale. A copy of the opinion in Hardie v. Nationstar Mortgage LLC is available at:  Link to Opinion. The borrowers filed an ex parte application for a temporary restraining order (“TRO”) to enjoin the trustee’s sale of their home.  The application contained a request for attorneys’ fees and costs. The trial court granted the TRO and set a hearing to show cause for a…

Calif. App. Court (4th Dist) Confirms Limited Liability for Foreclosure Trustees

The Court of Appeal for the Fourth District of California recently held that a trustee conducting a non-judicial foreclosure is not subject to tort liability unless it violated duties established by the deed of trust and governing statutes, or if the trustee has effectively taken on a different or modified duty by its actions. A copy of the opinion in Citrus El Dorado, LLC v. Chicago Title Company is available at:  Link to Opinion. A commercial developer purchased real property and obtained a loan to fund construction.  The loan was secured by a deed of trust on the property. The lender…

U.S. Supreme Court Holds FDCPA Has Extremely Limited Applicability to Persons Engaging in Nonjudicial Foreclosure Proceedings

The U.S. Supreme Court handed down its much-anticipated opinion in Obduskey v. McCarthy & Holthus LLP on March 20, ruling the federal Fair Debt Collection Practices Act does not cover persons engaged in “non-judicial foreclosures” except with respect to a single provision contained in the FDCPA. Colorado, like many western states, has a procedure that allows a lender to foreclose property without the need to file a lawsuit. Here, as you may recall, a Colorado borrower defaulted on his home loan and the mortgage servicer hired a law firm to pursue a non-judicial foreclosure.  The borrower informed the law firm he was disputing…

Illinois App. Court (1st Dist) Holds Borrower’s General Denial Insufficient to Avoid Summary Judgment in Foreclosure

The Appellate Court of Illinois, First District, recently held that a borrower’s general denial that the mortgagee performed the conditions precedent of the mortgage contract prior to filing a foreclosure action was insufficient under Illinois Supreme Court Rules and therefore constituted a forfeiture of the issue. Accordingly, the Appellate Court affirmed the ruling of the trial court granting summary judgment in favor of the mortgagee. A copy of the opinion in The Bank of New York Mellon v. Wojcik is available at:  Link to Opinion. After the borrower defaulted on her mortgage loan, the bank sent her a letter titled “Notice…

11th Cir. Rejects Argument That Chapter 13 Bankruptcy Discharged Mortgage Loan

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit recently held that a mortgage loan with a post-plan maturity date was not discharged in a Chapter 13 bankruptcy because the plan did not “provide for” the debt and modify the repayment terms of the mortgage. The Eleventh Circuit also held that the debt was not discharged because discharge would violate 11 U.S.C. § 1322(b)(2)’s anti-modification provision for mortgages secured by the debtor’s principal residence. A copy of the opinion in Mildred M. Dukes v. Suncoast Credit Union is available at:  Link to Opinion. The debtor had two mortgage loans on her…

Illinois Supreme Court Holds Mortgagee’s 2nd Action on Note After Foreclosure Barred by ‘Single Refiling Rule’

The Supreme Court of Illinois recently held that a bank’s suit for breach of a promissory note — a third attempt to collect from the same defendant borrowers based on the same default of the promissory note — was barred by Illinois’ ‘single refiling rule.’ In so ruling, the Supreme Court concluded that, although the first lawsuit sought relief of foreclosure of the mortgage that secured the loan, and the second and third lawsuits were for breach of the underlying promissory note, all three suits asserted the same cause of action under the mortgage and the note, importantly, because the…

Calif. App. Court (4th DCA) Rules Servicer and Investor Did Not Violate HBOR

The Court of Appeals of California, Fourth District, recently affirmed summary judgment awarded in favor of the mortgage servicer and loan owner defendants on the borrowers’ claims for alleged violations of the California Homeowner Bill of Rights (HBOR), finding that the defendants properly contacted the borrowers and provided them with the required foreclosure information before recording the notice of default. A copy of the opinion in Schmidt v. Citibank, N.A. is available at:  Link to Opinion. The plaintiffs (“borrowers”) obtained a loan in 2007, secured by their residence.  In 2013, the borrowers defaulted and entered into a loan modification agreement…

7th Cir. Holds Attorney’s Fees and Emotional Distress Not ‘Actual Damages’ for RESPA QWR Claim

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit recently affirmed a trial court’s finding that a servicer did not violate the federal Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act (RESPA) and Wis. Stat. § 224.77 because the borrower could not prove that the servicer’s alleged failure to completely respond to a “qualified written request” (QWR) caused any actual damages, notwithstanding the alleged attorney’s fees incurred in reviewing the servicer’s response and the borrower’s alleged emotional distress. In so ruling, the Seventh Circuit held that “RESPA was not intended to give people who cannot pay their mortgages the means to engage in…

6th Cir. Holds No Federal Jurisdiction for Claim Under Garn-St. Germain Act

In a 2-1 decision, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit recently held that, because a complaint’s sole federal claim under the Garn-St. Germain Depository Institutions Act of 1982 did not provide a private cause of action, and because the state law claims did not implicate significant federal issues, the trial court lacked jurisdiction. Accordingly, the Sixth Circuit vacated the trial court’s judgment with instructions to remand the case to state court. A copy of the opinion in Estate of Cornell v. Bayview Loan Servicing, LLC is available at:  Link to Opinion. The borrower died with an outstanding…

Illinois App. Court (1st Dist) Rejects Borrower’s Attempt to Undo Foreclosure Based on Improper Service

The Appellate Court of Illinois, First District, held that a borrower’s petition to vacate a final foreclosure order based on allegedly improper service filed six months after the borrower first participated in the foreclosure action was time-barred under the Illinois Mortgage Foreclosure Law. Accordingly, the Appellate Court affirmed the ruling of the trial court dismissing the borrower’s petition. A copy of the opinion in Wells Fargo Bank v. Roundtree is available at:  Link to Opinion. In September 2015, the plaintiff mortgagee instituted a foreclosure action against the defendant borrower after she defaulted on her mortgage loan.  The mortgagee served the…