Latest News & Blogs

District of Columbia Issues Guidance on Foreclosure Law Compliance

On November 29, the District of Columbia Department of Insurance, Securities and Banking (DISB) announced it had issued a November 24 bulletin informing licensed residential mortgage lenders and mortgage borrowers of the enactment of a new emergency law requiring mortgage lenders to go through six...

Rhode Island Considers New Surety Bond and Minimum Net Worth Requirements for Mortgage Loan Originators

On November 5, Rhode Island’s Department of Business Regulation (DBR) proposed the adoption of Banking Regulation 6 (BR 6) entitled "Surety Bond and Minimum Net Worth Pursuant to the Secure and Fair Enforcement Mortgage Licensing Act of 2009," which would implement statutory requirements for...

North Carolina UDAP Claim Preempted by FCRA

On October 29, the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit affirmed the dismissal of false credit reporting claims made under Article 1 of the North Carolina Unfair and Deceptive Trade Practices Act (NCUDTPA), agreeing with the lower court that those claims were preempted by the Fair...

New Jersey Permits Compensation for Mortgage Solicitor or Origination Activity if Licensee Was Authorized at Time of Activity

On October 26, the Commissioner of the New Jersey Department of Banking and Insurance (the Department), issued Bulletin 10-29 , which provides guidance on licensees’ and former licensees’ ability to pay and receive compensation for residential mortgage solicitor or loan origination activity...

A Brief History of UDAP Laws and Predictions for Post-Dodd Frank Developments

Since the Dodd Frank Wall Street Reform Act was enacted,consumer advocates, the private bar and financial providers are reviewing unfair and deceptive acts and practices laws, seeing them as the potentially most farreaching enforcement tools in the government’s consumer protection arsenal. One...

Jeffrey P. Naimon

New York Amends Law to Prohibit Fees for Payment by Mail or Receipt of Paper Billing Statement

On October 20, the Governor of New York signed into law amendments to New York General Business Law Chapter 556, prohibiting businesses from charging additional rates or fees, or a differential in rate or fee associated with payment on an account, when a consumer chooses to pay by U.S. mail or to...

New York Gives Borrowers Right to Recover Attorneys’ Fees in Foreclosure Proceedings

On October 20, the Governor of New York signed into law the Access to Justice in Lending Act , which grants borrowers the right to recover reasonable attorneys’ fees and/or expenses from the mortgagee in a foreclosure of a residential property. Under the new Section 282 of New York’s real property...

NY Banking Department Issues Industry Letter Clarifying Section 590(2)(b-1) of Banking Law

On October 20, the New York State Banking Department (Department) issued a mortgage banking industry letter confirming that an exempt organization, such as a bank, savings bank or credit union, is considered a mortgage loan servicer when it collects principal and interest payments on loans it holds...

Maryland Court of Appeals Approves Emergency Rule on Screening Foreclosure Documentation and Special Master Reviews

On October 19, the Maryland Court of Appeals approved Emergency Rule 14-207.1 and amendments to Maryland Court Rules 1-311 and 14-207, authorizing Maryland courts to adopt procedures to screen pleadings and documents, including affidavits, filed in foreclosure proceedings for compliance with legal...

New California Statute Restricts Mortgage Deficiency Judgments

On September 30, the California legislature approved a statute prohibiting deficiency judgments in cases where the holders of first deed of trust or first mortgages consent to a sale of a dwelling for less than the remaining amount of indebtedness due at the time of the sale. Based on the holder’s...