In a unanimous, and perhaps unsurprising, decision, the Supreme Court determined that a creditor may be held in civil contempt for violating the discharge injunction if there is “no fair ground of doubt” as to whether the creditor’s conduct was barred by the order placing that injunction. The Supreme Court declined to adopt the standard … Continue Reading
On October 17, 2018, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) released its Fall 2018 rulemaking agenda. Among the items on the agenda was the CFPB’s planned issuance – by March 2019 – of a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) for the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA). The goal of the NPRM is to address … Continue Reading
Conducting a foreclosure does not make one a “debt collector,” at least for the general purposes of the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA). That fact is the upshot of yesterday’s unanimous Supreme Court decision in Obduskey v. McCarthy & Holthus LLP. In Obduskey, the law firm of McCarthy & Holthus LLP was hired to … Continue Reading
Given the significant role Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac have in the national housing market, it is unsurprising that both have become embroiled in the Nevada HOA super-priority lien litigation. Since July 2008 – well before the Nevada Supreme Court held that an HOA’s foreclosure on its super-priority lien could extinguish a first deed of … Continue Reading
The Supreme Court has resolved a circuit split on whether Dodd-Frank’s whistleblower protections apply only to employees who report their concerns to the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). On Wednesday, in Digital Realty Trust, Inc. v. Somers, the Supreme Court ruled 9-0 in favor of limiting the Dodd-Frank Act’s definition of whistleblower to those who … Continue Reading
The United States Supreme Court issued a significant decision in Henson v. Santander Consumer USA, Inc. drastically restricting the universe of companies subject to potential liability under the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA). In a unanimous decision authored by new Justice Neil Gorsuch, the Court held that companies that buy defaulted debts are not … Continue Reading
Winning a deficiency judgment following foreclosure may become less costly for lenders following a May 5 ruling by the North Carolina Supreme Court in United Community Bank v. Wolfe. Reversing a previous ruling by the Court of Appeals, the Supreme Court held that a borrower may not defeat summary judgment simply by filing a sworn … Continue Reading
On June 27, the United States Supreme Court declined to review the Second Circuit’s decision in Madden v. Midland Funding, LLC, 786 F.3d 246 (2d Cir. 2015). By denying Midland Funding, LLC’s petition for a writ of certiorari, the Court allowed the Second Circuit’s decision to stand. The Second Circuit held that the National Bank … Continue Reading
In September 2014, the Nevada Supreme Court, in SFR Investments Pool 1, LLC v. U.S. Bank, N.A., held that a portion of a homeowners’ association (HOA) lien for delinquent assessments has true super-priority status over a first deed of trust, meaning that the foreclosure of that lien could extinguish the first deed of trust. Since … Continue Reading
The Supreme Court’s decision in Universal Health Services v. United States ex rel. Escobar reframes when falsity may be implied under the False Claims Act (FCA) and raises the bar for materiality under the statute. Though the Court upholds the controversial theory of implied false certification, Escobar limits it to situations where both (1) a claim … Continue Reading
Monday morning, the United States Supreme Court issued its long-awaited opinion in Spokeo, Inc. v. Robins (No. 13-1339), which addresses the question of whether a bare allegation of a statutory violation, unaccompanied by allegation of injury, is enough to satisfy Article III’s standing requirements and provide a federal court with subject-matter jurisdiction. The Court reversed … Continue Reading
