The Appellate Court of Illinois, First District recently held that a foreclosing mortgagee’s payment of post-foreclosure sale assessments nearly a year after the sale date confirmed the extinguishment of a condominium association’s lien for pre-sale assessments created under the Illinois Condominium Property Act. In so ruling, the First District found that the plain language of the Act did not place any “temporal requirement on the payment of post-purchase assessments in order for the payment to confirm the extinguishment of any lien created under subsection 9(g)(1) of the Act[.]” A copy of the opinion in Quadrangle House Condominium Association v. U.S.…
Posts tagged as “Mortgage Law”
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit recently concluded that lender-paid mortgage insurance (“LPMI”) disclosures under the federal Homeowners Protection Act are only required if LPMI is a condition of the borrower obtaining the loan. In affirming the trial court’s dismissal of the borrowers’ claims, the Fourth Circuit dissected the specific language of the provision in the HPA addressing disclosures related to mortgage insurance, 12 U.S.C. § 4905. Specifically, the Fourth Circuit determined that the disclosures are only required if LPMI is a condition of the loan at the time of closing. In this case, the lender did not…
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit held that the plaintiff borrowers did not offer sufficient evidence to defeat the rebuttable presumption created by the signed acknowledgement that they received the required number of copies of the federal Truth in Lending Act (TILA) notice of right to cancel disclosures. In so ruling, the Court noted that the plaintiff borrowers did not claim personal knowledge of the number of copies of the disclosure provided at closing, but instead relied on the so-called “envelope theory,” which the Court held was inadmissible hearsay. Accordingly, the ruling of the trial court granting…
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit held that a plaintiff asserting only a bare violation of the federal Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA) failed to identify a cognizable injury traceable to the defendant’s alleged conduct, and therefore failed to demonstrate Article III standing. In so ruling, the Sixth Circuit reversed the trial court, and dismissed the appeal and underlying case for lack of jurisdiction. A copy of the opinion in Hagy v. Demers & Adams is available at: Link to Opinion. After the borrowers defaulted on their mortgage loan, the loan servicer initiated foreclosure proceedings against them. Subsequently,…
The Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court recently held that the “statutory power of sale” as defined in M.G.L. ch. 181, § 21 was incorporated by reference in a lender’s form reverse mortgage instrument even though the lender used the term “power of sale” rather than the specific term “statutory power of sale.” Accordingly, the SJC ruled, the lender was able to utilize the Massachusetts statutory power of sale. A copy of the opinion in James B. Nutter & Company v. Estate of Murphy is available at: Link to Opinion. In 2007 and 2008, three elderly borrowers each obtained loans from the same lender…
Illinois Supreme Court Holds Foreclosure Deadline to Challenge Service Tolled While Action Dismissed
Illinois Supreme Court Holds Foreclosure Deadline to Challenge Service Tolled While Action Dismissed
Reversing the rulings of both the appellate and the trial courts, the Supreme Court of the State of Illinois recently held that the deadline to file a motion to quash service under the Illinois Mortgage Foreclosure Law (IMFL) did not run while the foreclosure action was dismissed for want of prosecution. A copy of the opinion in Bank of New York Mellon v. Laskowski is available at: Link to Opinion. The plaintiff mortgagee filed a residential mortgage foreclosure complaint against, among others, the borrower and a limited liability company. The mortgagee filed an affidavit of service by publication indicating that,…
The Court of Appeal of California, First District, recently held that an assignee of the original beneficiary of a deed of trust, as the current holder of an obligation, has the right under California Civil Code § 2941(b)(6) to prove damages against the title company that allegedly recorded a release of the deed of trust in error. A copy of the opinion in SMS Financial XXIII, LLC v. Cornerstone Title Company is available at: Link to Opinion. In 2004, a bank made a business loan to an investment company. The loan was guaranteed by the investment company’s principals (“guarantors”) and secured…
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit recently affirmed the dismissal of a federal False Claims Act lawsuit alleging a lender’s violation of the 2012 National Mortgage Settlement and violation of the Home Affordable Modification Program through the lender’s alleged false certifications of compliance. A link to the opinion in U.S. ex rel. Schneider et al. v. JPMorgan Chase Bank is available at: Link to Opinion. The relator, an owner of a mortgage servicing company who purchased numerous loans from the lender, alleges to have discovered numerous violations of the 2012 National Mortgage Settlement based upon the lender’s handling of…
The Appellate Court of Illinois, Second District, recently held that even though the Illinois Residential Mortgage License Act (“IRMLA”) was applicable to a lender that only made one loan in Illinois, an amendment to the IRMLA provided an exception to the law of the case doctrine and under the amendment the mortgage was not void merely because the lender was not licensed under the IRMLA at the time the loan was extended. A copy of the opinion in First Mortgage Company v. Dina is available at: Link to Opinion. As you may recall, in First Mortgage Co. v. Dina, 2014 IL…
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit recently held that federal laws exempting federal entities from state and local taxation do not apply when the transfer tax is charged to a private buyer who purchases real estate from Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, or the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA). A copy of the opinion in FNMA, et al. v. City of Chicago, et al. is available at: Link to Opinion. A group of buyers purchased real property in Chicago from Fannie Mae. The City of Chicago imposes a Real Property Transfer Tax on the transfer of real property located…
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit recently held that a borrower’s claim under the Massachusetts Predatory Home Loan Practices Act (MPHLPA) was barred by the applicable five-year statute of limitations where the loan was extended more than five years before the complaint was filed and the borrower did not allege facts to demonstrate that tolling should apply. Accordingly, the First Circuit affirmed the ruling of the trial court dismissing the borrower’s complaint with prejudice, and denying his motion for leave to file an amended complaint as futile. A copy of the opinion in Rife v. One West…
The U.S. Bankruptcy Appellate Panel for the Eighth Circuit recently affirmed a bankruptcy court’s holding that a creditor held an unenforceable lien against a debtor’s real property because the property was owned by the entireties and the lien was thus avoidable under Bankruptcy Code § 522(f)(1). A copy of the opinion in CRP Holdings v. O’Sullivan is available at: Link to Opinion. The debtor and his wife purchased real property in Missouri in 1995. A limited liability company obtained a judgment against the debtor in Missouri and recorded the judgment in the county where the debtor lived. The debtor filed a…