Earlier this year, a district court for the Middle District of Florida upheld a jury award of $225,000 in punitive damages in a debt collection case finding the defendant’s conduct “reprehensible” based on the physical harm...more
A recent decision issued by Chief Judge Timothy J. Corrigan of the Middle District of Florida highlights a straightforward yet consequential class action principle: a plaintiff cannot serve as a class representative for a...more
With its recent decision in Hunstein v. Preferred Collection & Management Services Inc., which concluded that a debt collector’s mundane transmittal of consumer information to its dunning vendor ran afoul of the Fair Debt...more
Real Property Update - Foreclosure / Dismissal: Trial court erred in relying on judicially noticed records from a prior foreclosure action in dismissing foreclosure complaint – Bayview Loan Servicing, LLC v. Brown, No....more
Real Property Update - Condo / Attorneys’ Fees: Condominium association that lost on counterclaim against developer was prevailing party on significant issues in litigation by prevailing on developer’s claims and was...more
Real Property Update - Foreclosure / Conditions Precedent: Lender failed to provide sufficient evidence showing default letter and notice of acceleration were mailed to borrower when it only attached copy of default letter...more
Real Property Update - Affirmative Defense / Waiver: Homeowner unable to raise statute of limitations affirmative defense for the first time in motion for summary judgment – Deer Brooke S. Homeowners Ass’n of Polk Cty.,...more
Real Property Update - Fraudulent Transfer: Real property that was worth less than mortgage encumbering it was not an asset per the plain language of section 726.102(2) and, therefore, could not support fraudulent transfer...more
Real Property Update- Contracts: Escrow agent was bound only by the terms of an escrow agreement to which it was a party and not a purchase agreement to which it was not a party – Carter Dev. of Mass., LLC v. Howard, No....more
After receiving a bankruptcy discharge, a borrower whose home is pending foreclosure has two options: stay in the home and, perhaps, make voluntary payments on the mortgage, or leave the home and start fresh. When a debt...more
Financial Services Update - FDCPA & FCCPA / Debt Collection Activity / Monthly Mortgage Statements: Monthly mortgage statements required by TILA and sent to plaintiff did not amount to “debt collection” because they did...more
To bill or not to bill, that is the question. Or, more appropriately, who to bill and when to bill, that is the question. Providers who bill patients under the circumstances described below may face liability. ...more
Real Property Update - Lis Pendens: trial court erred by not discharging lis pendens concerning real property because defendant did not grant an interest in the property, and plaintiff's claims did not allege requisite fair...more
Real Property Update - Foreclosure / Paragraph 22: bank failed to introduce sufficient evidence to prove default letter was sent to borrower pursuant to paragraph 22 of the mortgage where bank's witness never testified that...more
REAL PROPERTY UPDATE - Lis Pendens: lawsuit to foreclose mortgage on real property is an action "founded on a duly recorded instrument" - National American Home, LLC v Deutsche Bank Nat. Trust Co., Case No. 4D17-2614 (Fla....more
REAL PROPERTY UPDATE - - Foreclosure/Errors in Legal Description: error in legal description did not preclude judgment of foreclosure because property was sufficiently identified by accurate lot and tract, street address,...more
REAL PROPERTY UPDATE - Receiver/Barton Doctrine: individual could not bring negligence action against discharged receiver of commercial property until individual first obtained leave to do so from the court that appointed...more
Foreclosure: general reservation of jurisdiction in a foreclosure judgment is very limited, and certainly does not give trial court jurisdiction to eliminate a lien more than three years after Final Judgment of Foreclosure...more
In Helman v. Bank of America, 15-13672, 2017 WL 1350728 (11th Cir. April 12, 2017) the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeal clarified important issues regarding the use of periodic mortgage statements after a bankruptcy...more
Seventh Circuit Finds Bank's Response to RESPA Request "Almost Perfect" - Perron v. J.P. Morgan Chase Bank, N.A., Case No. 15-cv-2206 (7th Cir. 2017) - The United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit...more
In an order issued yesterday, Judge Dalton of the Middle District of Florida held that in a non-bankruptcy context, allegations that collection of a mortgage debt is barred by the statute of limitations do not form a...more
In Florida, courts routinely enforce jury trial waiver provisions found in loan agreements, which are generally valid and enforceable. This is true even with respect to fair debt actions. However, because there is generally a...more
The Second District Court of Appeal has become the first appellate court in Florida to hold that Florida Statute § 559.715, part of the Florida Consumer Collection Practices Act, Chapter 559, et seq. (“FCCPA”), does not...more
As lawsuits asserting claims under the Telephone Consumer Protection Act, 47 U.S.C. § 227 (the “TCPA”), continue to rise in the wake of the consumer-friendly Declaratory Ruling and Order issued by the Federal Communications...more
While California does not permit pre-dispute jury trial waivers, jury trial waivers are enforceable in many states. The U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida recently held in Thompson v. Caliber Home Loans,...more