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Posts tagged as “New York”

NY App. Court Holds Strict Compliance Required for ‘Separate Envelope’ for Pre-Foreclosure Notice

The New York Appellate Division, Second Department, recently affirmed a lower court’s order granting summary judgment in favor of a borrower in a foreclosure action due to the mortgagee’s failure to comply with the “separate envelope” requirement of New York’s Real Property Actions and Proceedings Law 1304(2).

NY Supreme Court Holds Notice of Default Not Required to Deceased Borrower’s Estate

A New York Supreme Court held that the notice of default requirement in New York Real Property Actions and Proceedings Law (RPAPL) § 1304 applies only to a borrower and not a borrower’s estate. As a result, according to the Court, foreclosing entities do not have to provide a notice of default pursuant to the RPAPL to a borrower’s estate after the death of the borrower. A copy of the opinion in US Bank NA v. Levine may be found here: Link to Opinion.  A mortgagee commenced a residential mortgage foreclosure action after a deceased borrower’s estate failed to make payments.  The…

FTC, NY Attorney General to Host ‘Debt Collection Dialogue’

The FTC and the Office of the New York State Attorney General will host a “Debt Collection Dialogue,” aimed to be a conversation between government and business regarding consumer protection issues within the debt collection industry, in Buffalo, NY, on June 15. FTC Bureau of Consumer Protection Director Jessica Rich and New York State Attorney General Eric Schneiderman will deliver opening remarks. The afternoon program will be held at SUNY Buffalo State and will include a break and a Q&A period. Topics for discussion include recent enforcement actions, compliance issues, and consumer complaints regarding debt collection practices. The event will be the first…

NY Appeals Court Holds Statute of Limitations Does Not Bar Action to Cancel Mortgage

The New York Court of Appeals, the state’s highest court, recently held that the statute of limitations does not bar an action to cancel a mortgage based upon a forged deed. A copy of the opinion is available here. The plaintiff was the administrator of her deceased father’s estate. The decedent and his sister (the “aunt”) inherited from their mother a house in Brooklyn as tenants-in-common. Several years later, in May 2000, the aunt executed a quitclaim deed conveying her one-half interest in the property to her daughter (the “cousin”). In February 2001, the cousin recorded a corrective deed that purported to…

10 Repo Agents Agree to Stop Working for Title Loan Co’s in NY

Title loan lenders are under fire from New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman who announced this week that he reached “agreements” with 10 repossession agents to stop accepting their repossession assignments. Title loan companies do not establish a physical presence in New York to avoid  its 16 percent maximum loan interest rate for unlicensed lenders, according to a press release from Schneiderman’s office. According to the press release, these out-of-state title loan lenders are charging interest rates ranging from 100 percent to more than 700 percent. A title loan, which is a type of payday loan, can often worsen a consumer’s financial problems because many are unable to pay off…

Lawyer and Non-Lawyer Supervision — A Lesson in Avoiding an Ethical Transgression

For several years my attorney ethics presentations and papers have emphasized that lawyer supervision and particularly non-lawyer supervision, in my experience, is an area of concern for attorneys who practice debt collection law. A recent opinion from New York’s Appellate Division, Second Department, concerning the conduct of a debt collection law firm provides an example of the harm that may result from less than robust supervision of attorneys and non-attorney staff. Attorneys who practice debt collection are probably the most “compliance-aware” branch of lawyers today. They are routinely subject to client audits of their practices’ operations and financial records. Some even have ISO…