Tax authorities in numerous states have historically collected more funds in tax foreclosures than the amount owed by a delinquent taxpayer. The United States Supreme Court, reversing the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit, has held that a state collecting...
Banking Law Blog
Penalties for Violation of the BSA Reporting Requirements: On a Per-Form or Per-Account Basis?
The purpose of the Bank Secrecy Act (“BSA”) is, among other things, to require “certain reports or records where they have a high degree of usefulness in criminal, tax, or regulatory investigations or proceedings or in the conduct of intelligence or...
U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit Addresses the Right of First Refusal Contemplated by the Federal Low Income Housing Tax Credit Program
The federal Low Income Housing Tax Credit Program (LIHTC), IRC §42, was created to encourage the creation of low-income rental housing for low-income households. It provides tax incentives to investors to make equity investments in exchange for tax credits and other...
Granting A New Lease On Life To A Multi-Year, Multi-Court Mortgage Conflict, The First Circuit Permits Homeowners Limited Rule 56(D) Discovery
The conflict in Emigrant Residential LLC v. Pinti (“Pinti III”) began when two homeowners defaulted on the mortgage for their Cambridge condominium and failed to cure the default. During this time, ownership of the mortgage and the note changed hands multiple times....
Extended Overdraft Fees Not Interest for Purposes of State Limits on Consumer Loan Interest Rates
The United States Court of Appeals for the 10th Circuit has held, in a case of first impression, Walker v. BOKF NA., that extended overdraft fees that accrue each business day are “non-interest charges” and, therefore, do not violate state limits on interest rates for...
Eastern District of New York Holds Loan Servicers Are Not Debt Collectors If They Acquired the Account When It Was Not In Default
The United States District Court for the Eastern District of New York has held that a loan servicer does not qualify as a debt collector under the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, 15 U.S.C.A. §1692a (“FDCPA”), where the loans were not in default when the servicer...
Massachusetts Superior Court Strikes Down Overreaching Fiduciary Duty Rule
On March 30, 2022, in Robinhood Financial, LLC v. William F. Galvin, et. al., the Massachusetts Superior Court (Ricciuti, J.) struck down the recently adopted Fiduciary Duty Rule (950 C.M.R § 12.207), a state regulation that held brokerage dealers to the same...
Court Rejects Challenge to Long-Standing “Valid-When-Made” Doctrine
Pursuant to the National Bank Act, the Home Owners’ Loan Act, and the Federal Deposit Insurance Act, the “Valid-When-Made” doctrine has provided that if a loan is valid when it is made it cannot later become invalid or unenforceable because it is sold or assigned to a...
Robocall Litigation: A Federal Judge Grants Class Certification in TCPA Lawsuit Brought by a Noncustomer against Citibank, N.A.
In response to consumer complaints, in 1991 Congress passed the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (“TCPA”) to discourage and prevent unsolicited advertisement over telephone lines. The TCPA places restrictions on the use of automatic telephone dialing systems, both...
US Court of Appeals Allows LIBOR Lawsuit to Proceed
The United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit ruled on December 30, 2021 that litigation could proceed against certain foreign financial institutions. The decision overturned the ruling of the Southern District of New York. The case relates to the...
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