For the past few years, the federal circuit courts have struggled with the issue of whether a creditor retaining possession of bankruptcy estate property violates the automatic stay. For example, is a creditor required to automatically turn over a vehicle as soon as the bankruptcy petition is filed, or can the creditor retain possession of
COVID-19 Mortgage Servicing Trends Report: 2020 Year-End Review
Oh what a year it has been in the mortgage servicing world! In 2020, our COVID-19 Compliance Roundtable met weekly to discuss emerging compliance issues under the CARES Act, federal agency guidance, state laws and orders, and the many operational hurdles regarding residential mortgage loans that servicers are facing. We’ve summarized the key trends and
Untouchable No More: Reinforcements Arrive for TCPA Defendants Battling the FCC’s Aggressive Expansion of the Statute
The Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) was signed into law almost 30 years ago when around 3% of the population owned cellular telephones and no one had heard of – let alone sent – a text message. Since that time, the legislature has substantively amended the TCPA only once to create a government debt exception.
Certain “Nunc Pro Tunc” Relief May Still be Available in Bankruptcy
Translating to “now for then,” nunc pro tunc orders grant backdated relief. Such orders are common in bankruptcy cases. For instance, bankruptcy courts often enter orders retroactively approving retention of professionals, and in certain cases even granting retroactive relief from the automatic stay.
In February 2020, the Supreme Court held in Roman Catholic Archdiocese of
Third Circuit Holds Bankruptcy Trustee May Relinquish Derivative “Asset Plundering” Causes of Action for Creditors to Pursue
Recently, in Artesanias Hacienda Real S.A. De C.V. v. North Mill Capital, LLC; Leisawitz Heller, the Third Circuit held that creditors can pursue claims of the bankruptcy estate that have been abandoned by the trustee. Although the plaintiff, Artesanias, had Article III standing to pursue certain claims, because these claims were derivative of harm
Alabama Bankruptcy Court Substantially Reduces Award of Attorney’s Fees
In practice, it is not uncommon for bankruptcy debtors to file suit against creditors or debt collectors for stay and discharge injunction violations. Often, they will do so before making any meaningful attempt to communicate with the creditor or debt collector to request that they stop their improper collection efforts. The Bankruptcy Court for the
Lender Liability and False Claims Act Issues Under the Paycheck Protection Program
Among the most significant aspects of the CARES Act is the $660 billion small business forgivable loan program known as the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP), and it was perhaps inevitable that the administration of the program would be followed by a wave of related litigation. Already, the PPP application process has generated lawsuits over the
CFPB Signals Renewed Enforcement of Tribal Lending
In recent years, the CFPB has sent different messages regarding its approach to regulating tribal lending. Under the bureau’s first director, Richard Cordray, the CFPB pursued an aggressive enforcement agenda that included tribal lending. After Acting Director Mulvaney took over, the CFPB’s 2018 five-year plan indicated that the CFPB had no intention of “pushing the
A Good Day for Lenders: Texas Supreme Court Rules that Lenders Still Entitled to Equitable Subrogation for Non-compliant Home Equity Loans
On April 24, 2020, the Texas Supreme Court upheld a lender’s right to equitable subrogation for non-compliant home equity loans, ruling that lenders who fail to cure within the statutorily mandated 60-day period may recoup funds paid to satisfy prior liens. The court’s opinion in Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corp. v. Zepeda answered a certified
Individual Employs New Small Business Bankruptcy Law to Modify Mortgage
Small businesses often struggle to reorganize in bankruptcy. To address this issue, Congress passed the Small Business Reorganization Act of 2019 (the SBRA). The SBRA took effect in February 2020 and makes small business bankruptcies faster and less expensive.
The recent case of In re Ventura, 2020 WL 1867898 (E.D.N.Y. Apr. 10, 2020) addresses