• Posts by David A. Elliott
    David Elliot
    Partner

    David routinely defends lenders in all types of litigation, including individual actions, mass actions, and class actions ranging from common law lender liability lawsuits to statutory actions under state and federal statutes ...

The Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) was enacted to promote the accuracy, fairness, and privacy of information maintained by Consumer Reporting Agencies (CRAs).  In addition to imposing duties on the CRAs, it requires furnishers of information to provide accurate and complete information to the CRAs and to investigate any consumer disputes regarding the accuracy of that information.  Increased claims of identity theft by consumers have given rise to more disputes that accounts are not accurately being reported as belonging to those consumers.  These “identity theft” ...

Increased claims of identity theft by consumers have given rise to more disputes that accounts are being inaccurately reported. Our clients are seeing a dramatic increase in the number of identity theft-related FCRA lawsuits. To learn more, please join us for a webinar, "How to Defend Identity Theft Claims Under the FCRA" on Wednesday, August 4 from 11:30 am to 12:30 pm CDT. Panelists will discuss critical elements to a reasonable identity theft investigation and techniques for defending FCRA claims related to identity theft.

Panelists will also cover the duties of a furnisher of ...

In Edwards v. Macy's, Inc., --- F. Supp. 3d ---, 2016 WL 922221 (S.D.N.Y. Mar. 9, 2016), the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York recently held that state law claims arising from plaintiff's enrollment in a debt cancellation program were preempted by the National Bank Act ("NBA") and accompanying regulations promulgated by the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency ("OCC"). Further, the court held that the claims against both the national bank and the corporation acting on behalf of the national bank were preempted, even though the corporation was not a ...

Hernandez v. Williams, Zinman & Parham, P.C., 2014 WL 977649 (D. Ariz. Mar. 13, 2014) Plaintiff Hernandez filed a complaint against Defendant Williams, Zinman & Parham, P.C. ("WZP"), a law firm, after WZP sent her a debt collection letter. In the letter, WZP sought to collect an auto-finance related debt on behalf of a third-party creditor. Prior to WZP's involvement, the third-party debt collector had attempted unsuccessfully to collect the money owed by Hernandez but had properly sent Hernandez a debt validation notice pursuant to 15 U.S.C. section 1692(g)(a). Thereafter ...
Posted in: Arizona, FDCPA
Fowler v. U.S. Bank, Nat. Ass'n, 2014 WL 850527 (S.D. Tex. Mar. 4, 2014) In this action, plaintiff alleged, inter alia, a cause of action under TILA § 1639b(c) (relating to the payment of a "yield spread premium") stemming from a residential mortgage loan transaction plaintiffs entered into with defendants in 2006. Section 1639b(c) was recently amended as part of the broader Dodd-Frank Mortgage Rule Amendments that became generally effective January 10, 2014 with the exception of certain provisions. The court held that the recently implemented loan originator compensation rule ...
Posted in: Dodd-Frank Act, Texas

In Bermuda Dunes Private Residents, etc. v. Bank of America, 5D12-4218, 2014 WL 885720 (Fla. Dist. Ct. App. Mar. 7, 2014) Florida's Fifth District Court of Appeal issued an important opinion concerning the so-called "safe-harbor" for past due condominium assessments created by Fla. Stat. § 718.116(b) for those who acquire title to condominiums from the foreclosure of a first mortgage. The facts of the case were as follows: Bank of America held a first mortgage on a condominium, and assigned the mortgage to Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation ("Freddie Mac"). Freddie Mac then ...

Posted in: Florida, Mortgages

Cataldi v. New York Community Bank (N.D. GA Feb. 3, 2013) (Loss Mitigation & Dual Tracking)

This action involves one of the first decisions issued pursuant to the new mortgage servicing regulations under the "Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform Act and Consumer Protection Act." Plaintiff sought injunctive relief for violation of the Act, including a claim that the Defendant did not fairly offer and negotiate loss mitigation options and pursued "dual track" foreclosure. The facts established that the parties engaged in modification negotiations, that one or more modifications ...

The Connecticut Court of Appeals recently found that the prohibition of yield spread premiums in the Dodd-Frank Act did not establish a per se violation of a fraud claim under the Connecticut Unfair Trade Practices Act ("CUTPA"). In CitiMortgage, Inc. v. Coolbeth, --- A.3d ---, 2013 WL 6448883 (Conn. Ct. App. Dec. 17, 2013), CitiMortgage filed a foreclosure action against the defendant mortgagors. The mortgagors filed special defenses and a counterclaim alleging that the mortgage broker falsely represented a higher interest rate, that CitiMortgage paid the mortgage broker a ...

In Empire Bank v. Dumond, No. 13-CV-0388-CVE-PJC, 2013 WL 6238605 (N.D. Okla. Dec. 3, 2013), the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Oklahoma recently held that the Dodd-Frank amendment to the statute of limitation for Equal Credit Opportunity Act ("ECOA") claims does not apply retroactively. While the court held that the statute of limitation barred spousal guarantors' ECOA counterclaim, the counterclaim was allowed to proceed because it was asserted under a recoupment theory. Empire Bank obtained guaranties from various individuals, entities, and spousal ...

In Henning v. Wachovia Mortg., FSB, No. 11-11428-WGY, 2013 WL 5229837 (D. Mass. Sept. 17, 2013), the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts recently agreed with numerous decisions of other courts finding that the preemption provisions of the Dodd-Frank Act do not apply retroactively. Plaintiff, a mortgagor, filed suit against Wachovia Mortgage raising a number of claims based on Wachovia's purported wrongful conduct in providing him with a subprime stated-income loan knowing that he would likely default. After removal, Wachovia moved to dismiss based on ...

In Zevon v. Department Stores Nat'l Bank, No. 12 Civ 7799(PAC), 2013 WL 5903024 (S.D.N.Y. Nov. 4, 2013), the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York recently held that the increased statutory cap on class action damages under the Truth-in-Lending Act ("TILA") became effective January 21, 2013, rather than upon the Dodd-Frank's enactment. Plaintiff Marcy Zevon filed suit against Department Stores National Bank ("DSNB") alleging DSNB violated TILA and Regulation Z by failing to include the full text of Regulation Z's model billing rights notice in monthly ...

Weller v. HSBC Mortgage Services, Inc., No. 13-cv-00185-REB-MJW, -- F. Supp. 2d -- , 2013 WL 4882758 (D. Colo. Sept. 11, 2013). The U.S. District Court for the District of Colorado recently held that the Dodd-Frank Act did not apply retroactively to nullify an arbitration agreement contained in a mortgage loan contract. In Weller, the plaintiff mortgagor brought a putative class action alleging violations of the civil RICO statute and Truth in Lending Act, breach of contract, and other claims arising from his mortgagee's "force placement" of insurance on the mortgaged property ...

On July 10, 2013, the CFPB issued mortgage rules under Regulation Z and Regulation X pursuant to its authority under the Dodd-Frank Act. The CFPB further amended the mortgage rules on September 15, 2013 and October 1, 2013. The result is a super regulation which keeps the original framework of Regulations X and Z, but adds entirely new provisions addressing eight major topics. In this article, David A. Elliott, Nicholas S. Agnello and Seth I. Muse discuss the new regulations and the possible effect on mortgage litigation. You can find a copy of the article by clicking here. For more ...

In Thomas v. CitiMortgage, Inc., No. 12-40122-FDS, 2013 WL 4786060 (D. Mass. Sept. 5, 2013), the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts recently addressed preemption under the Dodd-Frank Act. While the court found that the Dodd-Frank amendment limited the preemptive scope of the HOLA, it held that the amendment did not apply retroactively. Additionally, the court held, for the first time, that a bank that table-funds a loan is considered the original lender for the purposes of the HOLA preemption analysis that existed prior to Dodd-Frank's enactment. Plaintiff ...

In Hartman v. Smith, --- F.3d ---, 2013 WL 4407058 (8th Cir. 2013), the Court of Appeals for the Eight Circuit extended its prior holding and held that a borrower must file suit before foreclosure to exercise his or her right of rescission under the TILA. Plaintiffs RogerHartman, Mavis Hartman, and Maul Lee Hartman filed suit against defendants alleging violations of the TILA and state law. The district court granted summary judgment in favor of defendants on plaintiffs' TILA rescission claim and various state law claims, and the jury found for defendants on the remaining claims ...

Posted in: Eighth Circuit, TILA

The FTC and CFPB recently filed an amici curae brief supporting the U.S. District Court for the Central District of Illinois's decision denying defendants' motion to dismiss Plaintiff Juanita Delgado's Fair Debt Collection Practices Act ("FDCPA") claims. The brief was filed in connection with the CFPB's amicus program, which was announced in August 2012. In Delgado v. Capital Management Services, LP, Case No. 13-2030 (7th Cir. Aug. 14, 2013), Delgado filed a putative class action against a defendant debt collector and its affiliated companies alleging violations of the FDCPA ...

Posted in: CFPB, FDCPA, Illinois

The California Court of Appeal for the Second District, Division 4, concluded in Akopyan v. Wells Fargo Home Mortgage, Inc., 155Cal.Rptr.3d245 (Cal.App. 4th2013) that the Dodd-Frank amendments to the National Bank Act ("NBA") and the Home Owners Loan Act ("HOLA") are prospective, and do not apply retroactively to prior agreements. Thus, applying the authoritative pre-Dodd-Frank preemption provisions of NBA and HOLA, the court held that the plaintiffs' respective contract claims against two national banks were preempted by federal law. In two separately filed, but ...

Tags: akopyan, hola, nba

In Schneider v. Bank of Am. N.A., No. 2:11-CV-2953-LKK-EFB PS, 2013 WL 1281902 ( E.D. Cal. Mar. 26, 2013), the Eastern District of California dismissed a Plaintiff's claims under the Real Estate Settlement and Procedures Act ("RESPA"), holding that the 10-day QWR response deadline provided in the amended version of RESPA does not apply to QWRs submitted prior to the amendment's effective date. Plaintiff Christopher Schneider ("Plaintiff") sought a temporary restraining order enjoining Defendants Bank of America, N.A., BAC Home Loans Servicing, LP, and Quality Loan Service ...

Posted in: California, RESPA
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