The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit recently held that two borrowers lacked standing to challenge the validity of a deed of trust in a lien priority dispute interpleader action filed by the foreclosure trustee, as the borrowers did not dispute that they executed the deed of trust, the lien placed on the property was valid, or that they were in default. In so ruling, the Court rejected the borrowers’ argument that an alleged defect in the acknowledgement invalidated the deed of trust, because a validly recorded instrument that was not properly acknowledged shall nevertheless place “all interested…
Posts tagged as “Sixth Circuit”
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit recently held that residential mortgage loan underwriters are not entitled to overtime pay because their job duties related to general business operations of the bank, and they performed those duties exercising discretion and independent judgment. A copy of the opinion in Lutz v. Huntington Bancshares, Inc., et al. is available at: Link to Opinion. The plaintiffs, former bank employees, filed a class action suit against a bank, alleging that it failed to compensate them for overtime work in violation of the federal Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), 29 U.S.C. §§ 201-219. The…
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit recently affirmed a district court’s dismissal of a qui tam action alleging that a bank violated the federal False Claims Act when it certified that it had engaged in loss mitigation and sought FHA insurance payments on defaulted loans, holding that because the factual basis of the claim was publicly disclosed before suit was filed, only the government could pursue the action in its own name. A copy of the opinion in United States ex rel. ABLE v. U.S. Bank, N.A. is available at: Link to Opinion. The defendant bank participated in…
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit recently reversed a district court’s dismissal of a putative class action lawsuit, holding that while the district court was correct that the first-to-file rule applied because of a previous class action involving substantially the same parties and claims, it was an abuse of discretion to dismiss the present case given the jurisdictional and procedural hurdles the plaintiffs would face if forced to become part of the earlier class action filed in another federal judicial district. A copy of the opinion in Baatz v. Columbia Gas Transmission, LLC is available at: Link to Opinion.…
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit recently rejected a borrower’s “robo-signing” challenge to his foreclosure. In so ruling, the Court also held that a Michigan state court’s issuance of a preliminary injunction against a mortgagee in a foreclosure action did not bar subsequent removal and entry of summary judgment in favor of the mortgagee by a federal district court. A copy of the opinion in Burniac v. Wells Fargo Bank, NA is available at: Link to Opinion. The borrower obtained a mortgage loan, and the mortgage was later assigned. The new mortgagee continued to send the borrower his monthly…
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit recently affirmed judgment on the pleadings in favor of a debt collector because the voicemail in question, which was left at the plaintiff’s business, was not a “communication” as defined by the federal Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA) because it did not convey information about the debt. A copy of the opinion is available at: Link to Opinion. A debt collector sent a letter to the debtor’s business requesting payroll information and later left a voicemail at the debtor’s business that stated the caller’s name, the name of the company…