The District Court of Appeal of Florida, Second District, recently rejected a borrower’s objection to a foreclosure sale under the theory the mortgagee failed to provide him with an “estoppel letter,” which would have allowed him to exercise his right of redemption. A copy of the opinion is available at: Link to Opinion. A foreclosure judgement was entered and the property was sold via public sale. Ten days later, the borrower objected to the sale of the property. The objection was denied and a certificate of title was issued to the mortgagee. The borrower appealed, arguing that the trial court…
Posts tagged as “Mortgage Law”
The District Court of Appeal of Florida, Second District, recently reversed an order denying a claim for a post-foreclosure sale deficiency judgment, holding that the trial court abused its discretion by excluding from evidence an expert’s testimony and report as to fair market value because the report was dated six days after the foreclosure sale. A copy of the opinion is available at: Link to Opinion. A final judgment of foreclosure in the amount of $2.4 million was entered against the borrower company and its principal. A third party purchased the property at a foreclosure sale for $100. The third…
The U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Florida recently held that a mortgage servicer did not have standing to invoke a jury trial waiver in a mortgage when the servicer was not a party to the mortgage.
The Appellate Court of Illinois, First District, recently held that a mortgagee’s affidavits detailing the due and diligent inquiry it undertook to attempt to personally serve a borrower were sufficient to allow service by publication in a mortgage foreclosure action.
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit recently held that claims of an opt-out class in a previously-settled California state class action that released any existing federal Fair Labor Standards Act claims by mortgage loan officers against lenders that failed to pay them overtime were precluded by res judicata because the previous opt-out state court settlement met due process requirements, and the FLSA did not expressly or impliedly create an exception to the Full Faith and Credit Act, 28 U.S.C. § 1738. A copy of the opinion in Raymond Richardson, et al v. Wells Fargo Bank, N.A., et…
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit recently held that a mortgage loan servicer violated the federal Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act, 12 U.S.C. § 2601, et seq., by failing to properly respond to the borrowers’ request for information, but because the borrowers failed to provide evidence of damages stemming from the violation, the servicer was entitled to summary judgment. In so ruling, the Court held that the borrowers sufficiently alleged a concrete injury in fact that was fairly traceable to the servicer’s alleged violation of RESPA in order to have standing under Spokeo, but that “[w]hether the allegations…
The District Court of Appeal for the First District, State of Florida recently ordered the dismissal of a foreclosure action because it held that the trial court's jurisdiction expired prior to the entry of the judgment of foreclosure in the case.
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit recently confirmed that a law firm and its employees, who pursued foreclosure on behalf of creditors, were acting as “debt collectors” under the federal Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA) when they pursued foreclosure proceedings against a borrower. In so ruling, the Court also confirmed that a servicer that does not also own the mortgage loan does not have a duty to provide notice of the sale and assignment of a loan to itself under the federal Truth in Lending Act (TILA) merely because it accepts the assignment of the deed…
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…
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit recently rejected a putative class action against a mortgagee based on the alleged late recording of satisfactions of mortgage in supposed violation of New York law.
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit recently held that, under the federal Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act, a mortgage loan servicer had no duty to evaluate a borrowers’ loss mitigation application submitted two days before the foreclosure sale, even though the sale was continued, affirming the district court’s grant of summary judgment in the servicer’s favor. The Court also held that the borrowers had to present evidence that they suffered actual damages or were entitled to statutory damages in support of their claim based on the servicer’s supposedly inadequate response to their “notice of error” under RESPA…
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit recently held that the word “surrender” in the Bankruptcy Code, 11 U.S.C. § 521(a)(2), requires that debtors relinquish all of their rights to the collateral. In so ruling, the Court ordered the borrowers to “surrender” their house to the mortgagee in a foreclosure action, and held that the bankruptcy court had the authority to compel the borrowers to fulfill their mandatory duty under 11 U.S.C. § 521(a)(2) not to oppose a foreclosure action in state court. A copy of the opinion in David Failla, et al v. Citibank, N.A. is available at: …