On May 22, 2018, the U.S. House of Representatives passed S. 2155, titled The Economic Growth Regulatory Relief and Consumer Protection Act (“Act”). ...more
On March 16, 2017, the Florida Supreme Court denied motions for rehearing and/or clarification filed by petitioners Lewis Brook Bartram, the Plantation at Ponte Vedra, and Gideon M.G. Gratsiani. All three petitioners...more
Standing is one of the top issues in foreclosure case law. So it comes as no surprise that the issue of standing is also a common focal point for discovery disputes in foreclosures. It has become common foreclosure defense...more
10/8/2015
/ Bank of New York (BNY) Mellon ,
Banking Sector ,
Banks ,
Borrowers ,
Consumer Lenders ,
Discovery ,
Financial Institutions ,
Foreclosure ,
Mortgage Lenders ,
Mortgages ,
Standing
It’s finally here. Over the weekend, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s (CFPB) long awaited and oft delayed integration of the disclosures required by the Federal Truth in Lending Act (TILA) and Real Estate...more
10/6/2015
/ Banking Sector ,
Closing Documents ,
Compliance ,
Consumer Financial Products ,
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) ,
Consumer Lenders ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Financial Institutions ,
HUD ,
Loans ,
Mortgage Lenders ,
Mortgages ,
Residential Real Estate Market ,
RESPA ,
TILA-RESPA Integrated Disclosure Rule (TRID) ,
Truth in Lending Act (TILA)
In Russell v. Nationstar Mortgage, LLC, No. 14-61977-CIV, 2015 WL 5029346, at *5 (S.D. Fla. Aug. 26, 2015), United States District Court Judge Beth Bloom issued litigious borrowers their latest setback in a large scale...more
9/29/2015
/ Attorney's Fees ,
Banking Sector ,
Borrowers ,
Default ,
FCCPA ,
Financial Institutions ,
Inspections ,
Loans ,
Mortgage Lenders ,
Mortgage Servicers ,
Mortgages ,
Motion to Dismiss ,
Regulation X ,
Request For Information ,
RESPA
The long heralded TILA/RESPA Integrated Disclosures (TRID) are coming, and they are already causing some headaches in the real estate market. Congress provided for the new disclosures in the 2010 Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform...more
9/2/2015
/ Closing Documents ,
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) ,
Consumer Lenders ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Dodd-Frank ,
Financial Institutions ,
Good Faith ,
HUD ,
Loans ,
Mortgage Lenders ,
Mortgage Servicers ,
Mortgages ,
National Association of Realtors ,
Residential Real Estate Market ,
TILA-RESPA Integrated Disclosure Rule (TRID)
As Florida works through its foreclosure backlog, many of the cases remaining are those with complications, for example a lost promissory note. Such issues are not insurmountable, but do require an attention to detail. For...more
8/18/2015
/ Consumer Lenders ,
Financial Institutions ,
Florida ,
Foreclosure ,
HSBC ,
Mortgage Lenders ,
Mortgages ,
Promissory Notes ,
Real Estate Market ,
Residential Real Estate Market ,
Uniform Commercial Code (UCC)
On August 4, 2015 the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) issued a compliance bulletin on the private mortgage insurance (PMI) cancellation and termination provisions contained in the Homeowners Protection Act (HPA)....more
8/17/2015
/ Class Action ,
Compliance ,
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) ,
Financial Institutions ,
Homeowners Protection Act ,
Insurance Industry ,
Loans ,
Mortgage Insurance ,
Mortgage Servicers ,
Mortgages ,
Residential Property Owners ,
Residential Real Estate Market ,
Termination Clauses
Foreclosure defense and bankruptcy often go hand in hand, but sometimes it seems like the left hand doesn’t talk to the right. This has proven especially common with bankruptcy plans that propose to “surrender” real property...more
8/13/2015
/ Banking Sector ,
Banks ,
Chapter 13 ,
Consumer Bankruptcy ,
Consumer Lenders ,
Financial Institutions ,
Foreclosure ,
Lenders ,
Loan Modifications ,
Mortgage Servicers ,
Mortgages
The UCC was supposed to make enforcing negotiable instruments a simpler, more streamlined process. It has proven anything but in Florida. Continuing a trend that now stretches back years, mortgage lenders have had an...more
8/11/2015
/ Bank Notes ,
Borrowers ,
Consumer Lenders ,
FDIC ,
Financial Institutions ,
Florida ,
Foreclosure ,
JPMorgan Chase ,
Lenders ,
Mortgage Lenders ,
Mortgage Servicers ,
Mortgages ,
Receivership ,
Standing ,
Uniform Commercial Code (UCC) ,
Washington Mutual
On August 5, 2015, PHH Corp. (“PHH”) won a stay of the $109M penalty handed down by Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (“CFPB”) director Rich Cordray. Cordray’s aggressive legal reasoning and the harsh penalties he imposed,...more
8/10/2015
/ Administrative Law Judge (ALJ) ,
Administrative Procedure Act ,
Banking Sector ,
Banks ,
Captive Insurance Company ,
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) ,
Consumer Lenders ,
Dodd-Frank ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Financial Institutions ,
HUD ,
Insurance Industry ,
Kickbacks ,
Lenders ,
Mortgage Insurance ,
Mortgage Lenders ,
Mortgages ,
Motion To Stay ,
Penalties ,
Popular ,
Reinsurance ,
RESPA ,
Richard Cordray
The opinion of Florida’s Third District Court of Appeal in Deutsche Bank Trust Co. Americas v. Beauvais, No. 3D14-575, 2014 WL 7156961 (Fla. 3d DCA Dec. 17, 2014) has been a lightning rod for criticism from federal courts in...more
8/5/2015
/ Bank of America ,
Borrowers ,
Citibank ,
Deutsche Bank ,
Dismissal With Prejudice ,
Financial Institutions ,
FL Supreme Court ,
Florida ,
Foreclosure ,
HSBC ,
Lenders ,
Loans ,
Mortgage Lenders ,
Mortgages ,
Residential Property Owners ,
Statute of Limitations ,
US Bank
Most constitutional challenges to agency action arise as a defense to an enforcement action. However, State National Bank of Big Spring, Texas (the “Bank”) has led a constitutional challenge to the very existence and...more
Florida’s Third District Court of Appeal shocked many court watchers with its opinion in Deutsche Bank Trust Co. Americas v. Beauvais, No. 3D14-575, 2014 WL 7156961 (Fla. 3d DCA Dec. 17, 2014) when it created a split of...more
7/29/2015
/ Bank of America ,
Citibank ,
Deutsche Bank ,
Dismissal With Prejudice ,
Financial Institutions ,
Florida ,
Foreclosure ,
Mortgage Lenders ,
Mortgages ,
Popular ,
Statute of Limitations