- The CFPB increased PHH Corp.’s penalty to $109 million from $6.4 million on appeal, while upholding an administrative judge’s ruling that the firm was involved in a mortgage insurance kickback scheme.
- A class of PHH borrowers have been granted cert to the U.S. Supreme Court alleging that PHH Corp. violated the Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act.
- NY Court of Appeals bars mortgage-backed securities suit for $330 million against Deutsche Bank AG due to a six-year statute of limitations that started when the contract was signed.
- Nomura Holdings Inc. is appealing $806 million verdict in suit brought by the Federal Housing Finance Agency for selling bad mortgage-backed securities to Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.
- The Securities and Exchange Commission brought suit against a New York broker for $4.1 million for allegedly selling unregistered securities through several entities.
Tag Archives: SCOTUS
Monday’s Adjudication Roundup
- The United States Supreme Court held that Chapter 7 debtors cannot get rid of junior liens on underwater home loans under the bankruptcy code.
Reiss on SCOTUS Junior Lien Decision
Bloomberg BNA quoted me in Nagging Economic and Credit Questions Dampen Bankruptcy Victory for Bankers (behind paywall). It reads, in part:
The U.S. Supreme Court delivered an important bankruptcy ruling for bankers that doesn’t, however, do anything about still-struggling homeowners (Bank of Am. N.A. v. Caulkett, 2015 BL 171240, U.S., No. 13-cv-01421, 6/1/15); (Bank of Am. N.A. v. Toledo-Cardona, 2015 BL 171240, U.S., No. 14-cv-00163, 6/1/15).
In a June 1 decision, the court said Chapter 7 debtors cannot void junior liens on their homes when first-lien debt exceeds the value of the property, as long as the senior debt is secured and allowed under the Bankruptcy Code.
The decision is a victory for Bank of America, which held both junior liens in the two related cases, and for banking groups that said a different result could have destabilized more than $40 billion in commercial loans secured by similar liens.
But Brooklyn Law School Professor David Reiss June 2 said the case highlights the need for a broad remedy for homeowners who have continued to struggle to make payments since the financial crisis.
“The bank’s position as a legal matter is a very reasonable one, but from a policy perspective we needed and still need a bigger and more systemic solution to the problems that households face,” Reiss told Bloomberg BNA.
* * *
[S]ome said the ruling highlights economic questions on several levels.
Reiss, who coedits a financial blog, June 2 said the case shows the federal government’s inability to deal head-on with the impact of financial turmoil in 2008 and 2009.
“Not enough is being done to move households beyond the crisis, and it’s bad for households and it’s bad for the financial sector,” Reiss said. “Here we are seven or eight years later and we’re sitting here with these valueless second mortgages. We’re just slogging through the muck and we’re not coming up with any good solutions to get past it.”
Monday’s Adjudication Roundup
- The United States Supreme Court holds that debtors do not have an absolute right to appeal a denial of a proposed bankruptcy plan (mentioned in April 6 post).
- Maryland federal judge approves settlement between CFPB and Genuine Title and participants for illegal mortgage-kickback scheme (mentioned in May 4 post).
- CFPB settles with Florida law firm for nearly $12 million for collecting over $5 million in illegal fees. The firm enlisted homeowners to bring “mass-joinder” suits against mortgage lenders.
- Lead plaintiff in class action against Bank of America asks the Third Circuit to rehear case alleging violations of Fair Debt Collection Practices Act decided last month. The Third Circuit held that the FDCPA covers foreclosure complaints (mentioned in April 13 post).
- The Clearing House Association LLC, the American Bankers Association, the Financial Services Roundtable and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce support Bank of America in its Second Circuit appeal of $1.3 billion fine for allegedly defrauding Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac through its mortgage program, “Hustle.”
- In stipulation, Massachusetts Federal District Court voluntarily dismisses claims against JPMorgan Chase & Co. and other institutions in $5.9 billion MBS suit brought by Bank of Boston.
Monday’s Adjudication Roundup
- Quicken Loans Inc. filed a complaint against the Justice Department and the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development claiming that they tried to get Quicken to make false admissions during a settlement. The Government in turn sued Quicken under the False Claims Act for improper underwriting of mortgages and benefitting under the Federal Housing Administration insurance payouts.
- The United States Supreme Court denied cert to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, which argued that using contracts rather than grants to fund Section 8 public housing projects would impair the program.
- The Second Circuit Court of Appeals revived suit against Citigroup. The claims, which alleged that Citigroup tricked a Korean bank into taking $25 million in toxic collateralized debt obligations, were dismissed in the New York District Court in March 2013.
- Federal court requires RBS Securities to hand over which specific loans it is going to re-underwrite to National Credit Union Administration after allegedly causing the failure of at least two credit unions by misleading investors over hundreds of millions of dollars in mortgage-backed securities.
- Bank of America asks Second Circuit to vacate a $1.3 billion fine after jury found BofA had defrauded Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac using its “High-Speed Swim Lane” program.
Monday’s Adjudication Roundup
- HSBC facing suit for breaching its duties as trustee for 271 residential mortgage-backed securities trusts.
- The US Supreme Court considered whether debtors should have an absolute right to appeal denial of proposed bankruptcy plan after three circuit courts have found that debtors can automatically can appeal, while in other jurisdictions, the bankruptcy judge must permit the appeal.
- BNP Paribas Mortgage Corp. suit from 2009 regarding Bank of America’s mishandling of hundreds of millions of dollars of mortgage-backed notes issued by Taylor Bean & Whitaker Mortgage Corp. finally settles.
Monday’s Adjudication Roundup
- New Jersey Condominium Association files a complaint alleging that the U.S. Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) breached its contracts by failing to pay flood insurance benefits for damage from Hurricane Sandy.
- The US Supreme Court justices are reviewing an Eleventh Circuit decision that allows second-mortgage liens to disappear for Chapter 7 debtors when the first mortgage is undersecured. The justices expressed concern in letting this happen.
- Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. suit against RBS Securities Inc. for $140 million over residential mortgage-backed securities is dismissed as time-barred under recent US Supreme Court ruling in CTS Corp. v. Waldburger.
- UBS Americas Inc. has settled confidentially with Capital Ventures International over alleged $109 million of risky mortgage-backed securities.