Utah Federal Court Holds Model TILA Rescission Notice Not "Clear And Conspicuous"

TILA Mortgage Origination Disclosures

On January 6, the U.S. District Court for the District of Utah held that the model TILA rescission disclosure, form H-8, does not clearly and conspicuously disclose the three business day rescission period. Simmons v. Citimortgage Inc., No. 11-171, 2014 WL 37623 (D. Utah Jan. 6, 2014). In this case, two borrowers sued their lender, claiming that the lender improperly refused to rescind the borrowers’ loan within the statutory three-day rescission period. The borrowers, who closed on a Wednesday and sought rescission the following Monday, claimed that their rescission attempt fell within the three business day window granted by TILA. The lender countered that Regulation Z defines Saturday as a business day and therefore the borrowers’ request was untimely. On summary judgment, the court determined that the rescission disclosure the lender provided to the borrowers, model disclosure form H-8, did not clearly and conspicuously disclose the date the rescission period expired. The court explained that the model disclosure is subject to more than one sensible reading and required the borrowers to conduct further research into the meaning of “business day.” The court reasoned that the fact that the borrowers were required to do anything to understand the notice is sufficient to disqualify the notice from being “clear and conspicuous.” The court granted partial summary judgment to the individual borrowers, holding that the borrowers are entitled to the three-year rescission period, and invited further briefing as to whether the borrowers have otherwise met their rescission burden.