Over the last four months, New York’s Appellate Division has finally begun to address constitutional challenges to the state’s Foreclosure Abuse Prevention Act (FAPA), an act that became effective in December 2022 and promptly generated disparate trial court interpretations about whether the law was supposed to apply retroactively. As noted…
On September 12, 2024, New York’s highest court dismissed an appeal challenging the constitutionality of the retroactive application of the Foreclosure Abuse Prevention Act (“FAPA”), a law that amended certain New York rules to strictly cabin the time limits for commencing mortgage foreclosures. The Court of Appeals, on its own motion,…
Over a year after becoming law, New York’s Foreclosure Abuse Prevention Act, L. 2022, ch. 821 (eff. Dec. 30, 2022) (FAPA) continues to divide trial courts regarding the constitutionality of the law’s retroactive application. Appellate level guidance remains wanting. FAPA amended certain New York rules related to the time limits…
In the six months since New York’s governor signed the Foreclosure Abuse Prevention Act, L. 2022, ch. 821 (eff. Dec. 30, 2022) (FAPA), a split has emerged about whether the law applies retroactively. FAPA strictly cabins the time limits for commencing mortgage foreclosures by amending five New York procedural rules…
On August 24, 2021, the Virginia Attorney General (“Virginia AG”) announced that it entered into settlement with a Virginia-based lender and its managing member over allegations that the lender violated §§ 6.2-303 and 6.2-1501(A) of Virginia’s consumer finance statute. The settlement was filed as a consent judgment in the Circuit Court for the…
On October 16, 2019, the Washington Attorney General’s Office (Washington AG) announced that it had reached a settlement with a Kirkland- and Portland-based real estate investment company that requires the company to dissolve and pay up to $85,000 in fines and enforcement costs. The Washington AG initiated this action in May 2018, alleging violations of the Washington Consumer Protection Act, RCW 19.86.020. …
On September 6, 2019, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) announced that it had filed a lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California against a Texas-based foreclosure relief services company, as well as the company’s CEO and auditor. The CFPB alleges that the defendants violated…
On December 21, 2018, the Massachusetts Attorney General’s Office (“Mass. AG”) announced that it had reached a settlement with a national mortgage servicer, resolving allegations that the company mishandled mortgage loans in violation of the Massachusetts Act Preventing Unlawful and Unnecessary Foreclosures, a 2012 law designed to protect borrowers from foreclosure caused by unfair terms on subprime mortgages….
On September 27, 2018, the Department of Justice (“DOJ”) announced that it had reached a settlement with a Washington-based foreclosure services company, resolving allegations that the company violated the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act, 50 U.S.C. §§ 3901-4043 (“SCRA”) when foreclosing on certain servicemembers’ home. The SCRA protects servicemembers on active duty from having their…
On June 7, 2018, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) announced a settlement and stipulated order for permanent injunction arising from a lawsuit brought by the FTC concerning allegedly illegal mortgage relief practices. The FTC initiated an action against several defendants in January 2018 alleging violations of Section 5 of the Federal Trade Commission Act, 15…
On January 12, 2018, the Federal Reserve Board (FRB) announced the assessment of civil money penalties and consent orders against five national banking organizations over mortgage servicing deficiencies, resulting in a total monetary settlement of $35.1 million. In 2011 and 2012, the FRB initiated enforcement actions against ten firms, including the five against…
On November 9, the Department of Justice (“DOJ”) announced its lawsuit against a foreclosure trustee for wrongfully foreclosing on at least twenty-eight servicemembers in violation of the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act (“SCRA”), 50 U.S.C. § 3953. The SCRA prohibits foreclosure on the home of a servicemember during active military service…
On July 27, 2017, the Arizona Attorney General’s Office (Arizona AG) announced that it had obtained a judgment against an allegedly fraudulent mortgage relief company and its owner. The company is alleged to have targeted homeowners who were considering defaulting on “upside down” mortgages. The company purportedly promised to take over…
On October 15, 2015, the New Jersey Attorney General announced that the New Jersey of Division of Consumer Affairs reached settlements with three companies and one individual to resolve allegations that the businesses falsely represented they were needed to help consumers obtain “surplus funds” remaining after a property foreclosure sale. “Surplus funds” are funds…
On September 18, the New York Attorney General announced that it had reached a settlement with a title company, mortgage broker, disbarred attorney and others, stemming from allegations that they had operated a mortgage foreclosure rescue scam. The announcement alleged that the foreclosure relief providers told homeowners that they could refinance…
On August 28, 2015, the Maryland Attorney General announced that it reached a settlement with an Ohio-based mortgage field-services company to resolve allegations that the company wrongfully locked Maryland residents out of their homes and took or damaged personal property. The company contracts with lenders and mortgage servicers to provide services related to inspecting,…
On July 13, 2015, Pennsylvania Attorney General Kathleen G. Kane announced a settlement with two Philadelphia-based mortgage loan modification companies following an investigation by the states’ Bureau of Consumer Protection. According to the Attorney General’s announcement, the Bureau initiated the investigation as a result of consumer complaints filed against the companies for,…
On May 22, 2015, the Michigan Attorney General (“AG”) and its Homeowner Protection Unit filed charges in Oakland County’s 48th District Court against a Michigan mortgage company and its owner alleging that the owner and mortgage company engaged in a scheme to defraud borrowers by promising to modify mortgages for…
On May 13, New York Attorney General Eric T. Schneiderman annouced that the AG obtained default judgment against Brooklyn and Florida Law Firms and the firms’ principal attorney for participating in a fraudulent mortgage rescue scheme. The AG’s petition alleged that, directly and through their third-party marketers, the firms collected…
On April 27, 2015, the Colorado Attorney General announced that it released restitution payments to over 20,000 homeowners in connection with a settlement reached with a foreclosure law firm. On July 14 2014, the Colorado Attorney General filed a complaint against the law firm, alleging that the law firm charged inflated…