A recent South Carolina district court decision further strengthens the line of cases which allow a realigned defendant to remove a case to federal court. District courts around the country are generally split on this issue, and there is no Fourth Circuit precedent. On July 30, 2014 however, South Carolina…
Borrowers who rescind their loans pursuant to the Truth in Lending Act (TILA) must return to the creditor what they borrowed. But a July 16, 2014 ruling by the Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit in Merritt v. Countrywide Financial Corp. makes it more difficult for lenders to win…
On May 28, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit affirmed a decision requiring two borrowers who prevailed on their TILA rescission claims to tender the principal loan balance before the lender would release its security interest and return the borrowers’ prior loan payments. Iroanyah v. Bank of…
Employers use a number of tools to assess any potential hire, and to evaluate existing employees. When using a credit report for these purposes, employers need to be wary of the Fair Credit Reporting Act’s (“FCRA”) (15 U.S.C. 1681 et seq.) provisions. The FCRA has strict procedures, requiring that employers…
On April 28, 2014, the U.S. Supreme Court granted certiorari in an Eighth Circuit case which held that a borrower exercises and preserves her TILA rescission right by filing a lawsuit within three years of consummating the loan, not simply by providing written notice of rescission to the creditor in…
Lenders scored a victory in the Ninth Circuit on June 12, 2014, with the court largely affirming dismissal of claims by plaintiffs in multidistrict litigation challenging the lending industry’s use of Mortgage Electronic Registration Systems, Inc. (MERS). The appeal stemmed from dozens of putative class actions and individual borrower cases…
Move to federal court or stay in state court—an essential strategic question for defendants of state-court-filed class actions. Pace of litigation, applicable discovery rules, court familiarity with class actions—the right forum can make a significant difference in litigating a class action. Although the first choice of forum belongs to the…
In SEC v. Citigroup Global Markets Inc.,___ F.3d __, no. 11-5227-cv (June 4, 2014) (“Citigroup II”), a three-judge panel of the Second Circuit affirmed the SEC’s ability to negotiate settlements without obtaining specific factual admissions from the settling defendants. The Court reasoned that there is a distinction between trials and…