The United States District Court for the District of Nevada recently dismissed an action brought by an insured lender against a title insurance company because the lender’s loss arising from an HOA lien was a post-policy defect excluded under Exclusion 3(d). See Wells Fargo Bank, N.A. as Tr. for Option One Mortg. Loan Tr. 2007-5 Asset-Backed Certificates, Series 2007-5 v. Fid. Nat’l Ins. Co., 2019 WL 5578487 (D. Nev. Oct. 29, 2019).
The Court of Appeals of Arizona recently affirmed a lower court and held that a lender’s title insurance policy should be reformed due to a mutual mistake after two senior liens on the property were unintentionally omitted from the policy. See BAPCO LLC v. Fid. Nat’l Title Ins. Co., 2019 WL 5576863 (Ariz. Ct. App. Oct. 29, 2019). In 2006, the original lender provided a $250,000 loan to a borrower that was secured by a deed of trust on the borrower’s home.
The United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit recently held that a dunning letter that stated that the debt collector “may file a 1099C form” if the debtor paid a discounted amount could constitute a violation of the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (“FDCPA”) if the debt collector was discharging less than $600 in principal. See Heredia v. Capital Mgmt. Servs., L.P., 2019 WL 5849901 (7th Cir. Nov. 8, 2019).
The United States District Court for the Northern District of Ohio recently held that a title insurance company had no duty to defend its insured in a lawsuit brought by the insured’s neighbor relating to a bridge that spanned from one property to the other. See Pandora Distribution, LLC v. Ottawa OH, LLC, 2019 WL 5729932 (N.D. Ohio Nov. 5, 2019).
New York’s Second Department Appellate Division recently affirmed that a borrower who was part of a class action settlement with a lender relating to the lender’s marketing of its loans was barred from raising those same claims against the lender in opposition to the lender’s foreclosure action. See Wachovia Mortg. FSB v. Macwhinnie, 175 A.D.3d 1587 (2d Dept. 2019).
The United States District Court for the Western District of New York recently dismissed class action claims against two banks alleging that the banks were liable for a decade-long Ponzi scheme that utilized the banks’ account. See Heinert v. Bank of Am., N.A., 2019 WL 5287950 (W.D.N.Y. Oct. 18, 2019). In the case, the plaintiffs claim that the individual defendants defrauded them from about $102 million as part of a Ponzi scheme.
The New Jersey Appellate Division recently affirmed a trial court’s decision that granted a foreclosing lender summary judgment and struck the borrower’s answer and counterclaim in which the borrower made predatory lending allegations. See Deutsche Bank Nat’l Tr. Co. as Tr. of IndyMac INDX Mortg. Tr. 2007-AR19, Mortg. Pass-Through Certificates, Series 2007-AR19 v. Merz, 2019 WL 4940213 (N.J. Super. Ct. App. Div. Oct. 8, 2019).
The United States District Court for the Eastern District of New York recently granted a lender’s motion to dismiss an action in which the borrowers alleged numerous violations of consumer laws, finding that the state court final judgment of foreclosure precluded any further claims relating to the borrowers’ loan. See Bell v. Deutsche Bank, 2019 WL 4917901 (E.D.N.Y. Sept. 30, 2019).
The Court of Appeals of Washington recently found that a purchaser of property was not entitled to coverage from his title insurance company after he discovered that the prior owner of the property abandoned an easement, because an accurate survey would have shown the abandonment. See Haley v. Hume, 448 P.3d 803 (Wash. Ct. App. 2019).
The United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit recently affirmed a District Court’s decision that a debt collector seeking post-judgment enforcement costs as part of a writ of garnishment did not violate the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (“FDCPA”), nor did the debt collector filing a “continuing lien.” See Archie v. Nagle & Zaller, P.C., 2019 WL 5212213 (4th Cir. Oct. 16, 2019).
