In Pittner v. Castle Peak 2012-1 Loan Trust (Memo & Order April 14, 2021), the United States District Court for the District of Massachusetts awarded summary judgment to Defendants, Castle Peak 2012-1 Loan Trust and Selene Finance LP, on Plaintiff’s claims of...
In Aja v. Select Portfolio Servicing, Inc. (Memo and Order, November 25, 2020), the United States District Court for the District of Massachusetts allowed Select Portfolio Servicing, Inc.'s and Wells Fargo Bank's ("Defendants") motion to dismiss the amended complaint...
The Massachusetts Appeals Court ("Appeals Court"), in an unpublished opinion, has held that where an alleged mortgagor has successfully argued that she is not party to a mortgage, she cannot later challenge a foreclosure of that mortgage on the grounds that the...
The Massachusetts Appeals Court recently denied a mortgagee's attempt to invoke the doctrine of equitable subrogation to hold the surviving spouse of a mortgagor liable for a second mortgage on their residence--owned by the married couple as tenants in the...
While the American economy has shown tentative signs of stabilization and recovery, the nation's courts continue to grapple with legal questions that emanate from the Great Recession and the bursting of the so-called "housing bubble." In one notable development, the...
The 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals has held that borrowers are not assured of conditions that would allow them to rescind a home mortgage loan pursuant to the federal Truth in Lending Act ("TILA"), 15 U.S.C. 1601 et seq., and that a court can condition rescission...
The Massachusetts Appeals Court has joined the U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit in upholding the Mortgage Electronic Registration Systems, Inc. ("MERS") business model under Massachusetts law. Explicitly referencing the First Circuit's decision in Culhane...
The United States Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit has held that government land recording offices cannot state a claim under the federal RICO statutes for loss of revenue due to fewer filing fee revenues or for allegedly inaccurate records. Welborn v. Bank of...
The United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit has reaffirmed its prior holdings in Culhane v Aurora Loan Services of Nebraska, 708 F.3d 282 (1st Cir. 2013) and Woods v. Wells Fargo Bank, N.A., 733 F.3d 349 (1st Cir. 2013) regarding Mortgage Electronic...
The Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals recently dismissed a borrower's putative class action lawsuit under the Illinois Consumer Fraud and Deceptive Business Practices Act, alleging that a lender and insurer fraudulently insured the borrower's property after the...
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