|
News By Edition
|
RESPA News Monthly Edition
RESPA News Monthly October 2014
|
|
Plaintiffs going all by themselves, part 1
Posted Date: Monday, September 29, 2014
Thousands of plaintiffs nationwide choose to go it alone in RESPA lawsuits, creating significant challenges for the legal system. We talk to those in the industry to find out whether they believe the trend of increasing pro-se RESPA cases will continue.
|
|
|
CPFB continues series on mortgage loan disclosures
Posted Date: Tuesday, September 2, 2014
In an Aug. 26 webinar, the second of several planned by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) for the next 11 months on implementation the TILA-RESPA integrated mortgage loan disclosures rule, the bureau defined what a mortgage loan “application” means and what it must include under the new rule, as well as the three-day deadline for the process that the application triggers.
|
|
|
CFPB provides guidance on tolerances, variances
Posted Date: Thursday, September 4, 2014
Under the CFPB’s integrated mortgage disclosure final rule, is owner’s title insurance that is not required by the creditor subject to the rule’s 10 percent cumulative tolerance? During an Aug. 26 webinar, the bureau addressed some of the common questions about conflicting language in the final rule related to tolerances and variances.
|
|
|
CFPB updates Small Entity Compliance Guide, addresses redisclosure and timing concerns
Posted Date: Thursday, September 11, 2014
If you have questions and concerns about the timing requirements for providing a revised Loan Estimate or revised Closing Disclosure under the TILA-RESPA Integrated Disclosure Rule, the CFPB has some guidance. The bureau addressed these concerns in a recent webinar and by updating its Small Entity Compliance Guide. Read on to see if your questions have been answered.
|
|
|
BofA agrees to $16.5B mortgage settlement
Posted Date: Thursday, August 21, 2014
Attorney General Eric Holder and Associate Attorney General Tony West announced that the Department of Justice has reached a $16.65 billion settlement with Bank of America Corporation – the largest civil settlement with a single entity in American history — to resolve federal and state claims against Bank of America and its former and current subsidiaries, including Countrywide Financial Corporation and Merrill Lynch.
As part of this global resolution, the bank has agreed to pay a $5 billion penalty under the Financial Institutions Reform, Recovery and Enforcement Act (FIRREA) – the largest FIRREA penalty ever – and provide billions of dollars of relief to struggling homeowners, including funds that will help defray tax liability as a result of mortgage modification, forbearance or forgiveness.
|
|
|
|
Pennsylvania class-action RESPA lawsuit to move forward
Posted Date: Tuesday, September 2, 2014
According to the class of plaintiffs, who purchased homes in Pennsylvania between 2006 and 2008, some of the nation’s largest banks and insurance companies engaged in an illegal captive reinsurance scheme related to private mortgage insurance. The plaintiffs weren’t even aware of the possibility of such a scheme until they were contacted by a class-action litigation firm in 2011, but now, having met the federal pleading standards for a violation of RESPA, their case will move forward.
|
|
|
YSP ‘analogous’ charges at issue in Arizona case
Posted Date: Friday, September 5, 2014
When an Arizona homebuyer took advantage of a special downpayment assistance program from her mortgage lender, she didn’t expect to repay what the lender called a “gift” from a charitable organization through an increased mortgage interest rate later. That is what this plaintiff alleged in a lawsuit seeking class-action status, in which she also asserted that the “gift” was a kickback in violation of RESPA Section 8. The lender and nonprofit, however, compared the “gift” to a yield spread premium. Was this permissible under RESPA?
|
|
|
Another court tackles captive reinsurance in RESPA class-action suit
Posted Date: Thursday, September 11, 2014
Drawing from recent decisions by courts in nearby jurisdictions, a California federal court granted the motion for partial judgment sought by companies engaged in a captive reinsurance arrangement. Read on to find out why the court rejected claims made by the plaintiffs in this class-action lawsuit that the reinsurance arrangement was improper.
|
|
|
CFPB selects eClosing pilot participants
Posted Date: Friday, August 22, 2014
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) announced the selection of participants for its mortgage eClosing pilot program. The three-month pilot will begin later this year, and will explore how the increased use of technology during the mortgage closing process could affect consumer understanding and engagement and save time and money for consumers, lenders, and other market participants.
“Mortgage closings can be stressful, confusing and overwhelming,” CFPB Director Richard Cordray said. “We believe that eClosings have the potential to create a better process for everyone involved. This eClosing pilot project will provide valuable insight as we work to improve the closing experience for consumers.”
|
|
|
CFPB advises mortgage servicers to prepare for transfer risks
Posted Date: Thursday, August 21, 2014
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) released Bulletin 2014-01 guidance advising mortgage servicers to prepare for possible transfer-related risks. The agency indicated that it will require servicers who are engaged in significant servicing transfers to submit plans describing how they will manage risks to consumers.
“At every step of the process to transfer the servicing of mortgage loans, the two companies involved must put in appropriate efforts to ensure no harm to consumers,” said CFPB Director Richard Cordray. “This means ahead of the transfer, during the transfer, and after the transfer. We will not tolerate consumers getting the runaround when mortgage servicers transfer loans.”
|
|
|
CFPB orders Amerisave to pay millions for alleged mortgage scam
Posted Date: Monday, August 18, 2014
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) took action against Amerisave Mortgage Corp., its affiliate, Novo Appraisal Management Co., and the owner of both companies, Patrick Markert, for engaging in a deceptive bait-and-switch mortgage-lending scheme that harmed tens of thousands of consumers. The bureau found that Amerisave lured consumers by advertising misleading interest rates, locked them in with costly up-front fees, failed to honor its advertised rates, and then illegally overcharged them for affiliated “third-party” services. Amerisave and Novo will provide $14.8 million in refunds to harmed consumers and pay a $4.5 million penalty. Patrick Markert, as an individual, will pay an additional $1.5 million penalty.
“Amerisave lured consumers in with deceptive advertising, trapped them with costly upfront fees, and then illegally overcharged them for services from an undisclosed affiliate,” said CFPB Director Richard Cordray. “By the time consumers could have discovered the advertised low rates were too good to be true, they had already committed to pay hundreds of dollars to Amerisave. [This] action puts an end to Amerisave’s unacceptable bait-and-switch scheme and holds Patrick Markert personally responsible for his illegal actions.”
|
|
|
|
Plaintiffs going all by themselves, part 2
Posted Date: Friday, October 3, 2014
Thousands of plaintiffs nationwide choose to go it alone in RESPA lawsuits, creating significant challenges for the legal system. This is part two of our look at those challenges.
|
|
|
RESPA at heart of tech partnership
Posted Date: Monday, September 15, 2014
The partnership between a loan servicing technology group and a mortgage risk management firm is designed to provide compliance answers for lenders preparing for TILA-RESPA integrated disclosure form changes, the companies said. Read on for details.
|
|
|
Cordray urges lenders to be ready for mortgage disclosure implementation
Posted Date: Monday, September 15, 2014
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s new mortgage disclosure forms and implementing rules don’t take effect until August, but Director Richard Cordray lenders already should be making preparations for the changes. Read on to learn what he had to say about the new rules during a recent speech.
|
|
|
Texas plaintiffs seek relief under RESPA in non-RESPA suit
Posted Date: Monday, September 15, 2014
Faced with foreclosure, a Texas couple sought an accounting of their mortgage payments under Section 6 of the RESPA — in a lawsuit that did not state a claim under RESPA. Read on to find out what an appellate court had to say about the plaintiffs’ tactic.
|
|
|
New York attorney sanctioned in RESPA suit against Countrywide
Posted Date: Thursday, September 11, 2014
A New York federal court has denied a plaintiff’s motion to amend — for the fourth time — a RESPA lawsuit complaint against Countrywide Bank NA, and sanctioned her attorney “for filing pleadings containing factually and legally unsupportable contentions.” Countrywide countered that the plaintiff’s false allegations “have profoundly affected the time and expense required to prosecute the action.”
|
|
|
Former CFPB counsel talks disclosure forms
Posted Date: Thursday, September 11, 2014
Former Consumer Financial Protection Bureau Senior Counsel Richard Horn helped step webinar attendees through the Loan Estimate form that he helped create. Read on to see the highlights of his presentation.
|
|
|
Plaintiff’s ‘prolix,’ pro-se motion put out by Hawaii court
Posted Date: Thursday, September 11, 2014
Demonstrating the challenge posed by plaintiffs who choose to represent themselves in legal proceedings, a federal court in Hawaii recently denied a plaintiff’s proposed first amended complaint — asserting, among many other claims, that her lender violated RESPA Section 2605 — after finding the plaintiff’s 69-page, pro-semotion “argumentative, prolix, replete with redundancy and largely irrelevant.”
|
|
|
HUD, OIG preach cooperation
Posted Date: Friday, September 5, 2014
Less than two months after being confirmed by the Senate, Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Secretary Julian Castro urged employees to work effectively with the Office of the Inspector General.
|
|
|
|
CFPB levies penalties on processor
Posted Date: Tuesday, September 2, 2014
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has asked a federal court to approve a consent order levying penalties against one of the largest payment processors for the debt-settlement industry. Read ahead for all the details.
|
|
|
|
FHA advisor named to CFPB post
Posted Date: Tuesday, September 2, 2014
A former senior policy advisor from the Federal Housing Administration is among three new appointees to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. Read on to find about the new appointees.
|
|
|
Monthly Newsletter |
Cover Story:
|
|