Washington State Supreme Court Holds HOLA Does Not Preempt Allegation of Impermissible Reconveyance Fees

On June 24, the Washington Supreme Court held that the Home Owners’ Loan Act (HOLA) and Office of Thrift Supervision (OTS) regulations do not preempt a borrower’s claim challenging fax and notary fees to secure the reconveyance of title when the claim is based on the terms of a deed of trust. McCurry v. Chevy Chase Bank, F.S.B., No. 81896-7, 2010 WL 2521772 (Wash. June 24, 2010). InMcCurry, the borrowers, who sued on behalf of two similarly situated classes, conveyed a deed of trust to the lender. The payoff statement included a $20 fax fee and a $2 notary fee. The borrowers argued that the deed of trust did not permit such fees, thereby resulting in the lender’s unjust enrichment, and that the charging of the fees violated the Washington Consumer Protection Act (WCPA). The lender moved to dismiss on the grounds that HOLA and OTS regulations preempted state laws that dictate the type and nature of loan-related fees a lender can charge. The Washington Supreme Court, sitting en banc, noted that whether the lender was precluded from charging fax and notary fees under the terms of the deed of trust was a matter of contract law. The court concluded that state contract law requires the parties to adhere to the terms of their contracts, and the effect this has on lending operations is “unintended, ancillary, and subordinate to the purpose of the contract law,” and is therefore “incidental.” As such, the court ruled in favor of the borrowers, finding that neither the WCPA nor state contract law was preempted by federal regulations.