Fourth Circuit Holds West Virginia Consumer Credit and Protection Act Statute of Limitations Begins to Run on Acceleration Date

Mortgage Servicing

On May 31, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit held that the one-year statute of limitations under the West Virginia Consumer Credit and Protection Act (WVCCPA) begins to run on the date the loan is accelerated, and not the date the loan is scheduled to mature. Delebreau v. Bayview Loan Servicing, LLC, No. 11-1139, 2012 WL 1949371 (4th Cir. May 31, 2012). At issue was whether the borrowers’ claim under the WVCCPA, alleging the servicer improperly added fees to their account, was time barred by the WVCCPA’s one-year statute of limitations, which runs from the “due date of the last scheduled payment of the agreement” of the parties. The servicer argued that “the due date of the last scheduled payment of the agreement” was the loan acceleration date declaring the entire loan amount due. The borrowers contended that it was the loan maturity date designated in the loan documents, which in this case was twenty-three years after the acceleration date. Affirming the district court’s judgment, the court held that the acceleration date was the operative date, reasoning that no further payments were scheduled after that date. Therefore, the borrowers’ claims were dismissed as time barred.