Errant Clerk’s Default Must be Set Aside Regardless of Excusable Neglect, Due...
In Stuart-Findlay v. Bank of America, N.A., 2010CA014370, 41 Fla. L. Weekly D207a (Fla. 4th DCA 2014), Florida’s Fourth District Court of Appeal held that a clerk’s default entered in error should have...
View ArticleAppellate Court Refuses to Vacate Voluntary Dismissal Undertaken With...
In Cottrell as Trustee v. Taylor, Bean & Whitaker Mortgage Corp., 41 Fla. L. Weekly D141f, 2D14-5885 (Fla. 2d DCA Jan. 8, 2016), Florida’s Second District Court of Appeal examined the applicability...
View ArticleFlorida’s 5th DCA Joins 2d and 3d, Expressly Adopts Substantial Compliance...
The brief era of confusion amongst Florida trial judges regarding the standard for judging compliance with conditions precedent in residential mortgage foreclosures is hopefully coming to a close....
View ArticleNinth Circuit Affirms Denial of TCPA Class Cert. On...
On January 12, 2016, the Ninth Circuit affirmed the denial of class cert. in a Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA), 47 USC 227 action on predominance and superiority grounds in the case Paul...
View ArticleDid the Fourth Circuit Just Create a Cause of Action for “Unconscionable...
In McFarland v. Wells Fargo Bank, N.A., 14-2126 (4th Cir. Jan. 15, 2016), the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals examined the argument that a loan was substantively unconscionable because it vastly...
View ArticleFlorida Lenders Not Required to Compete with Homeowner Associations to...
It is not uncommon for a homeowner association (“HOA”) to file a separate claim of lien foreclosure action against a resident even though the bank’s mortgage foreclosure action remains pending....
View Article11th Circuit Holds Assignee Cannot Be Liable For Failure to Provide Payoff...
On March 1, 2016, the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeal held that the assignee of a loan cannot be liable for the failure to provide a payoff statement as required by the Truth in Lending Act, 15 USC...
View ArticleSecond DCA Supports Constructive Possession to Show Standing but Requires...
In a recent opinion, the Second District Court of Appeal explained its approval of agency relationship to establish that a plaintiff is entitled to foreclose as “holder” of the original note under...
View ArticleThe Fourth DCA Issues Florida’s First District Court Opinion Specifically...
The Fourth District Court of Appeal recently held that a promissory note is a negotiable instrument even though it references provisions in the mortgage. Onewest Bank, FSB v. Jose Nunez, Case No....
View ArticleSouthern District of New York Weighs In on Preemption Under the Dodd-Frank Act
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...
View ArticleFlorida’s Third DCA Reverses Course on Statute of Limitations for Mortgage...
Florida’s Third District Court of Appeal retreated from one of its most unpopular opinions this morning. The Third DCA surprised many with its original ruling in Deutsche Bank Trust Company Americas v....
View ArticleNot Just the C-Suite: Regulators Issue Broad New Proposed Rule on Banker...
In a joint release, Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, Treasury; Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System; Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation; Federal Housing Finance Agency;...
View ArticleCFPB Receives Strategy Lesson—Court Holds it Overreached by Investigating...
The CFPB received a lesson in the importance of specificity on April 21st when the United States District Court for the District of Columbia’s Judge Richard J. Leon found that it overreached in its...
View ArticleDo We Want the CFPB to Regulate the Practice of Law?
On April 25, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (“CFPB”) entered into a Consent Order with a New Jersey debt collection law firm, Pressler & Pressler, LLP, and two of its managing partners,...
View ArticleSupreme Court Vacates Ninth Circuit’s Decision in Spokeo, Inc. v. Robbins,...
In a much-anticipated decision, the United States Supreme Court ruled on Monday in Spokeo, Inc. v. Robins, No. 13-1339, 2016 WL 2842447 (May 16, 2016), that a consumer cannot bring a lawsuit in federal...
View ArticleFinCEN AML/BSA Amendments Require Beneficial-Owner Look-Through
In AML/BSA rule amendments published May 11, FinCEN will require “covered financial institutions” to implement new beneficial-owner identification and verification as part of their Customer Due...
View ArticleI Meant it at the Time: Second Circuit Reverses $1.2BN FIRREA Judgment
It’s hornbook law that a later intentional breach of contract, alone, doesn’t equal promissory fraud. Holding it therefore cannot establish mail or wire fraud, the Second Circuit reversed the...
View ArticleDOL Fiduciary Rule Re-Makes Retail IRA Advice
Congress voted this week to de-rail the Department of Labor’s sweeping fiduciary-duty suite of rule-making, but doesn’t have the votes to override the President’s threatened veto. The Rule (over a...
View ArticleBorrowers Cannot Rely on Technical Admissions to Defeat a Mortgage...
Recounting the relevant facts, Wells Fargo initiated a foreclosure action against Ms. Voorhees in Sarasota County in June 2009. Wells Fargo filed a motion for summary judgment in June 2013. After...
View ArticleBankruptcy Petition Costs Litigant Right to Appeal State Court
Learning the interplay between state rules of judicial procedure and federal bankruptcy law can be a daunting undertaking, but the pitfalls of failing to do so can be severe. A recent example of the...
View Article