Second Circuit Affirms Dismissal Of RESPA Claims Based On Faulty QWR

Mortgage Servicing RESPA

On June 24, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit held that a borrower failed to state a claim under RESPA because her purported qualified written requests (QWRs) did not trigger the servicer’s RESPA duties. Roth v. CitiMortgage, Inc., No. 13-3839, 2014 WL 2853549 (2d Cir. Jun 24, 2014). A borrower who defaulted on her second residential mortgage sued the servicer of the loan after the servicer threatened to take legal action. The borrower alleged that the servicer violated RESPA by failing to respond to three letters the borrower characterized as QWRs. The court agreed with a Tenth Circuit holding that Regulation X permits servicers to designate an exclusive address for QWRs, and held that the borrower’s letters did not trigger the servicer’s RESPA duties because they were not sent to the QWR address designated by the servicer and provided on the borrower’s mortgage statements. The court further explained that servicers are not prohibited from changing a QWR address. For the same reasons, the court rejected the borrower’s claim that the alleged inadequate QWR address notice violated state prohibitions on unfair and deceptive practices. Finally, the court held that the borrower’s FDCPA claim failed because the servicer did not acquire the debt after it was in default and therefore the servicer did not qualify as a debt collector subject to the FDCPA.