The homeowners beat the bank in the first round of RESPA/FDCPA litigation, upholding the private right of action under Reg. X. The case is Rios v. Rushmore, from the Southern District of Florida. The homeowners alleged that Rushmore Loan Management Services failed to adequately respond to their Notice of Error pursuant to 12 U.S.C. […]
Chronicles of Bankruptcy Rule 3002.1
A homeowner should emerge from Chapter 13 knowing exactly what she owes on her mortgage; thus we have FRBP 3002.1 said Judge Hannah Blumenstiel. At the end of my client’s Chapter 13, the lender’s response to the trustee’s notice of final cure payment failed to do that. The failure to adequately support its contentions in […]
Cautionary Tale re Bankruptcy, Attorneys and Notice
How often has your bankruptcy client presented you with a copy of a complaint or an abstract of judgment for inclusion in their list of creditors? On the face of the pleading, you have the name and mailing address of the creditor’s lawyer. But is that good enough for a bankruptcy discharge? A recent case […]
Who Wants To Get Paid?
Anyone interested in attorneys fees? Are you filing adversaries and motions to collect money from creditors and other miscreants? Then it’s worth looking at two snippets about attorneys fees that have floated across my radar screen. FRCP 54 One of the participants at the Litigating on a Shoe String roundtable at the NACBA convention pointed […]
Untangling The Converted Bankruptcy Case
Conversion to Chapter 7 from Chapter 13 usually comes amid some sort of train wreck. The debtor has defaulted on plan payments, decided to surrender the house, or even got a loan modification that allows him to keep the house. Often, there is pressure to convert the case before it is dismissed. In the bustle, […]
Bankruptcy & Divorce: A Disruption In The Force
When bankruptcy law and family law intersect, the result can be liberating or disruptive, depending on the timing of a bankruptcy filing and the goals of the parties. An infinite number of combinations lead to infinite different outcomes. The variables start with whether bankruptcy occurs before or after status is altered; before or after the […]
Unfair Loan Modification Practices Rejected By 9th Circuit
Promising a loan modification and failing to deliver, after pocketing trial mod payments, isn’t fair, said the 9th Circuit in Oskoui. And if it isn’t fair, it can be actionable under California’s Unfair Competition Law (B&P 17200). Not to mention constituting a breach of contract. Thus, there do seem to be some limits on […]
