On May 20, 2025, the New York Court of Appeals agreed to hear constitutional challenges to one aspect of New York’s Foreclosure Abuse Prevention Act (FAPA). In two separate cases — Van Dyke v. U.S. Bank, N.A. and Article 13 LLC v. Ponce de Leon Fed. Bank – at issue…
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) recently issued its annual report analyzing the consumer complaints it received in 2024. The CFPB collects complaints through its website, phone calls, and mail. It also receives referrals from the White House, congressional offices, and other federal and state agencies. The CFPB then directs…
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 January 9, 2025, 51 State Financial Regulatory Agencies (the “Agencies”) announced a coordinated consent order and settlement agreement with nonbank mortgage servicing companies (the “Companies”). This action came following a data breach that impacted 5.8 million customers, allegedly due to deficient cybersecurity practices, and for lack of cooperation with state regulators. The Companies are licensed as…
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,…
On August 29, 2024, the CFPB announced that it had entered into a stipulation and consent order with a Florida-based mortgage lender, resolving allegations that the mortgage provider had misrepresented the payment terms of cash-out mortgage refinance loans it offered to servicemembers and veterans. In its consent order, the CFPB alleged that the mortgage lender committed deceptive acts or…
On August 21, 2024, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) announced that it entered into a consent order with a Florida-based mortgage servicer, resolving allegations related to the mortgage servicer’s foreclosure practices. The consent order resolves allegations that the mortgage servicer’s foreclosure practices violated the Consumer Financial Protection Act of 2010 (CFPA), 12 U.S.C. §§ 5531, 5536; the…
On June 24, 2024, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) announced that it had approved a new rule about the use of algorithms and artificial intelligence (AI) for home appraisals and valuations. The new rule was promulgated by the CFPB, the Federal Reserve, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, the National…
On June 18, 2024, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) announced that it has filed a proposed order that would require a Florida-based nonbank mortgage loan originator to pay a $3.95 million penalty for allegedly submitting incorrect loan data to federal regulators. In an October 2023 complaint, the CFPB accused the mortgage originator of…
On May 14, 2024, the Minnesota Attorney General announced that it had filed a lawsuit against a realtor and several companies that he owns, claiming that the Defendants used deceptive trade practices to market illegal contracts for deed, in violation of several state and federal laws, including the Truth in Lending Act (TILA), Minn….
On April 24, 2024, the CFPB released its Supervisory Highlights, Mortgage Servicing Edition, (Issue 33, Spring 2024) which provides insight on the CFPB’s current focus in examining mortgage loan servicers. According to the CFPB it “continues to prioritize scrutiny of exploitative illegal fees charged by banks and financial companies, commonly…
On February 2, 2024, the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California issued an order permanently banning several companies and their owners from the telemarketing and debt relief businesses and requiring them to pay approximately $19 million in restitution and civil money penalties. This order came as a…
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…
On December 20, 2023, the CFPB announced that, along with the DOJ, it had filed suit against a Texas-based developer and lender for operating an allegedly illegal land sales scheme that targeted Hispanic borrowers. The complaint, filed in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas, alleges that the lender sells…
On October 10, 2023, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) announced that it filed a complaint against a residential mortgage loan originator and servicer alleging that the company violated the Home Mortgage Disclosure Act (HMDA), its implementing Regulation C, the Consumer Financial Protection Act (CFPA), and a recent 2019 consent order. The company allegedly reported HMDA…
On August 17, 2023, the CFPB announced that it had taken enforcement action against a Florida-based mortgage lending and servicing corporation, as well as a New York-based real estate brokerage firm, issuing consent orders against the businesses for “exchanging things of value return for mortgage loan referrals”, in violation of Section 8(a)…
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 July 1, 2023, the New Jersey Division of Consumer Affairs, Office of Consumer Protection (Division) entered into a consent order with a national mortgage servicer. According to the Division’s press release, the company, which was formerly licensed in New Jersey before relocating to Florida, had violated the state’s consumer protection laws in…
On January 26, 2023, the Massachusetts Division of Banks (DOB) entered into a consent order with a California-based mortgage lender. According to the DOB, the company, which was licensed as a mortgage lender in Massachusetts, had allowed a separate company to use its government issued mortgage license number, which could mislead consumers into…
On April 3, 2023, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) filed a notice to appeal a district court’s decision to dismiss its complaint against Townstone Finance, Inc. (Townstone), a nonbank mortgage lender, and its owner Barry Sturner, for allegedly violating the Equal Credit Opportunity Act (ECOA). Relying on the language…