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Fannie Mae Issues Lender Letter On Mortgage Loan Requirements
On August 25, Fannie Mae issued Lender Letter LL-2014-04, which reminds lenders that when a mortgage loan is selected by Fannie Mae for an anti-predatory and HOEPA compliance review, the lender must provide requested loan information to Fannie Mae. Further, the letter reminds sellers that mortgage loans with either an annual percentage rate or total points and fees payable by the borrower that exceed the applicable HOEPA thresholds are not eligible for delivery to Fannie Mae. Additionally, Fannie Mae released an optional worksheet, available on the Fannie Mae website, designed to assist lenders in responding to any information requests from Fannie Mae. This letter highlights the continued focus of Fannie Mae regarding its anti-predatory lending quality control process.
D.C. Transitions Money Transmitter And Other Licenses To NMLS
On August 20, the District of Columbia Department of Insurance, Securities and Banking (DISB) announced that, as of September 3, 2014, it will begin using the NMLS to manage money transmitter, check casher, money lender, retail seller, sales finance company and non-bank ATM licenses and registrations. Beginning on that date, new applicants for such licenses and registrations must apply via the NMLS. Entities currently holding such licenses and registrations must create a complete record in NMLS and submit it to DISB for approval by December 31, 2014.
Delaware Enacts Law Governing Access To Digital Records After Death
On August 12, Delaware Governor Jack A. Markell signed the Digital Access and Digital Accounts Act, the first law in the nation to comprehensively govern access to a person’s digital assets, including social media and email accounts, after the person dies or becomes incapacitated. Under the new law, a Delaware resident’s digital assets will become part of his or her estate after death, and these assets will be accessible to heirs to the same extent as the deceased person’s physical, tangible assets. Digital assets are defined broadly to include data, texts, email, audio, video, images, sounds, social media and social networking content, health care and insurance records, computer codes and programs, software and software licenses, and databases, along with usernames and passwords. The law expressly does not apply to digital accounts of an employer regularly used by an employee in the usual course of business. The law requires any company that controls a person’s digital assets to give the legal fiduciary for the deceased’s estate the usernames, passwords, and any other information needed to gain access to the digital assets upon a valid written request. Any contrary provisions in service agreements or privacy policies that limit a fiduciary's access to digital accounts are void, although the account owner can specify that the account should remain private after death. The law also grants the company controlling the digit assets immunity for complying with valid requests for account access. The new law takes effect January 1, 2015.
Fourth Circuit Holds That Debtors Are Not Required To Dispute Debt In Writing To State A Claim Under FDCPA
On August 15, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit affirmed a district court’s denial of a debt collector’s motion for judgment as a matter of law because, under the FDCPA, debtors are not required to dispute debts in writing pursuant to Section 1692g in order to seek relief under Section 1692e. Russell v. Absolute Collection Services, No. 12-2357, 2014 WL 3973729 (4th Cir. Aug. 15, 2014). Within thirty days of receiving the initial debt collection letter, the debtor paid the entire amount due directly to her husband’s medical provider. However, the debt collector continued to make calls and send collection letters thereafter. During the calls, the debtor told the collector that the debt had been paid, but she never advised the collector in writing that she was disputing the debt, nor did she send proof of payment. The debt collector argued that Section 1692g debt validation procedures required the debtor to dispute the debt in writing. The court disagreed, stating that such an interpretation “would thwart the statute’s objective of curtailing abusive and deceptive collection practices and would contravene the FDCPA’s express command that debt collectors be liable for violations of ‘any provision’ of the statute.”
Nebraska Federal Court Refuses To Dismiss Suit Claiming Breach Of Contract, Violation of State Law for Unauthorized Credit Card Transactions Following Bank Data Breach
On August 20, the U.S. District Court for the District of Nebraska denied motions to dismiss filed by a Nebraska bank and two credit card processing companies in response to a purported class action filed by a merchant alleging that it suffered damages following a data breach at the defendants’ premises. Wines, Vines & Corks, LLC v. First Nat’l of Neb., Inc., No. 8:14CV82 (D. Neb. Aug. 20, 2014). According to the merchant’s complaint, the merchant maintained a credit card processing account with the defendants and, following the breach, had unauthorized credit card transactions processed and fees withdrawn from its account. The merchant alleged breach of contract, negligence, and violations of the Nebraska Consumer Protection Act and the Nebraska Uniform Deceptive Trade Practices Act based on the defendants’ failure to adequately secure and protect account information and refusal to refund the fees. In denying the motions to dismiss, the court determined that the merchant sufficiently pled the existence of a contract and resulting damages in support of its breach of contract claim, as well as a breach of the duty of due care in support of its negligence claim. Also, the court found that the merchant’s state law claims were adequately supported and determined that the defendants’ argument that the economic loss doctrine barred these claims was misplaced.
Second Circuit Finds That Forum Selection Clauses Supersede FINRA Arbitration Rule
On August 21, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit held that forum selection clauses, requiring “all actions and proceedings” related to the transactions between the parties to be brought in court, supplant FINRA’s arbitration rule that would otherwise apply. Goldman, Sachs & Co. v. Golden Empire Schools Financing Authority, Nos. 13-797-CV, 13-2247-CV, 2014 WL 4099289 (2nd Cir. Aug. 21, 2014). Underwriters and broker-dealers of auction rate securities brought declaratory and injunctive relief actions against issuers, seeking to enjoin FINRA arbitration of their disputes involving the securities. The parties’ broker-dealer agreements contained forum selection clauses requiring “all actions and proceedings arising out” of the transactions to be brought in court. The district courts enjoined the arbitrations based on the forum selection clauses. The Second Circuit affirmed, holding that FINRA Rule 12220, which states that members must arbitrate a dispute if arbitration is requested by the customer, is superseded by the agreements containing a forums selection clause whose language is all-inclusive and mandatory. The Second Circuit’s decision accords with a similar ruling by the Ninth Circuit, but marks a split on the issue from the Fourth Circuit, which found that a nearly identical forum selection clause did not supersede the FINRA rule.
Federal District Court Holds Bitcoin Is Money
On August 19, the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York found that Bitcoin is “money” in a memorandum order denying a defendant’s motion to dismiss a federal money laundering charge. Faiella et al. v. United States, No. 14-cr-243 (JSR), 2014 WL 4100897 (S.D.N.Y. Aug. 19, 2014). The defendant is a former Bitcoin exchange owner who was charged in 2013 with unlawfully operating an unlicensed money transmitting business. In his motion before the court, the defendant argued that the charge should be dismissed because Bitcoin is not “money” within the meaning of the statute. The court disagreed, relying upon the dictionary definition of “money” to conclude that Bitcoin “clearly qualifies as ‘money’” as it “can be easily purchased in exchange for ordinary currency, acts as a denominator of value, and is used to conduct financial transactions.” The court additionally relied on Congress’ intent that anti-money laundering statutes keep pace with evolving threats, and also cited an opinion from a similar case in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas that concluded Bitcoin can be used as money. SEC v. Shavers, No. 4:13-CV-416, 2013 WL 4028182, at *2 (E.D. Tex. Aug. 6, 2013).
Federal Appeals Court Affirms Extender Statutes Trump Securities Act Statute Of Limitations
On August 19, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit reissued its original opinion affirming a district court’s holding that FIRREA’s NCUA extender statute circumvents the three-year repose period found in Section 13 of the Securities Act. Nat’l Credit Union Admin. Board v. Nomura Home Equity Loan Inc., Nos. 12-3295, 12-3298, 2014 WL 4069137 (10th Cir. Aug. 19, 2014). Extender statutes define the time period for government regulators to bring actions on behalf of failed financial organizations. The NCUA sued a number of RMBS issuers for violations of federal securities laws on behalf of two credit unions that the NCUA had placed into conservatorship. The defendant RMBS issuers countered that the suit was untimely under the applicable three-year statute of limitations in the Securities Act. The court originally held in 2013 that the NCUA’s claim was timely pursuant to the relevant extender statute, but its opinion had been vacated and remanded for further consideration in light of the Supreme Court’s recent decision in a similar case under a federal environmental statute. The court distinguished its case by first determining that the relevant statute was “fundamentally different” from the one in the Supreme Court’s case because the extender statute “plainly establishes a universal time frame for all actions brought by [the] NCUA.” The court rejected the argument that placed a distinction between statutes of limitations and statutes of repose by noting that extender statutes “displace[] all preexisting limits on the time to bring suit, whatever they are called.” The court then found that the extender statute’s surrounding language, statutory context, and statutory purpose supported its original decision that the NCUA’s suit was timely. Accordingly, the court reinstated its original opinion.
CFPB Announces EClosing Pilot Participants
On August 21, the CFPB announced the companies that have been selected to participate in its residential mortgage eClosing pilot program. The program is intended to explore how the increased use of technology during the mortgage closing process may affect consumer understanding and engagement and save time and money for consumers, lenders, and other market participants. Specifically, the program seeks to aid the CFPB in better understanding the role that eClosings can play in addressing consumers’ “pain points” in the closing process, as identified by the CFPB in an April 2014 report. The three-month pilot program will begin later this year, and the participants include both technology vendors that provide eClosing solutions and creditors that have contracted to close loans using those solutions.
Federal, State Mortgage-Related Investigations Yield Largest Ever Civil Settlement
On August 21, the DOJ announced that a large financial institution agreed to resolve federal and state mortgage-related claims through what the DOJ characterized as the largest ever civil settlement with a single entity. The agreement actually resolves numerous federal and state investigations related to various alleged practices conducted by the institution and certain former and current subsidiaries that it acquired during the financial crisis. Such allegations relate to the packaging, marketing, sale, arrangement, structuring, and issuance of RMBS and collateralized debt obligations (CDOs), as well as the underwriting and origination of mortgage loans. In total, the institution agreed to pay $9.65 billion in penalties and fines and provide $7 billion in relief to borrowers. Of the more than $9 billion in civil payments, $5 billion resolves several DOJ investigations related to RMBS and CDOs under FIRREA, as well as the allegedly fraudulent origination of loans sold to Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac or insured by the FHA. The origination investigations centered on alleged violations of the False Claims Act in the selling of, or seeking of government insurance for, loans alleged to be defective. Other penalty payments resolve RMBS-related claims by the SEC, the FDIC, and several states. In total, the state participants will receive nearly $1 billion, with California and New York obtaining the largest amounts at $300 million each. An independent monitor will be appointed to oversee the borrower relief provisions, which will require the institution to: (i) offer principal reduction loan modifications; (ii) make loans to “credit worthy borrowers struggling to obtain a loan”; (iii) make donations to certain communities harmed during the financial crisis; and (iv) provide financing for affordable rental housing. The institution also agreed to provide funding to defray any tax liability that will be incurred by borrowers who receive certain types of relief if Congress fails to extend the tax relief coverage of the Mortgage Forgiveness Debt Relief Act of 2007.