A&B Abstract: In Daniels v. Select Portfolio Servicing, Inc., 2022 U.S. App. LEXIS 14013 (11th Cir. May 24, 2022) a panel of the Eleventh Circuit addressed the question “whether a required monthly mortgage statement that generally complies with the TILA and its regulations can plausibly be a communication ‘in connection with the collection of a […]
Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA)
Maryland Regulator Puts Lenders and Servicers on Notice Regarding the Assessment of So-Called “Convenience Fees”
A&B Abstract: On May 12, 2022, the Maryland Office of the Commissioner of Financial Regulation (the “OCFR”) issued an Industry Advisory (the “Advisory”) “put[ting] [the] industry on notice” of the recent decision issued by the 4th Circuit Court of Appeals in Ashly Alexander, et. al. v. Carrington Mortgage Services, LLC. The Advisory directs lenders and […]
Fourth Circuit Rules That a Mortgage Servicer Can Be Liable for FDCPA Violations Even if Not Subject to the FDCPA
A&B ABstract: Putative class action plaintiffs recently prevailed on appeal in a case involving mortgage servicing fees charged to Maryland borrowers. In doing so, the opinion opens the door for FDCPA liability for all mortgage servicing activity and other collection activity in Maryland, even if such activity is otherwise exempt from FDCPA liability. The Maryland […]
The Hunstein Case: Upending Servicing and Debt Collection?
A&B Abstract: The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit, covering Alabama, Florida, and Georgia, recently decided in Hunstein v. Preferred Collection and Management, Inc., that a debt collector’s communication with its third-party vendor violated section 1692c(b) of the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (“FDCPA”), which prohibits a debt collector for communicating, in connection […]
District Courts Split on Convenience Fees Under Debt Collection Laws
A&B ABstract: In a number of recent decisions, district courts have split on the issue of whether a mortgage servicer violates the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (“FDCPA”) and related state debt collection statutes by charging a borrower a convenience fee for making a mortgage payment over the phone, interactive voice recording system (“IVR”). FDCPA […]