In Dubois v. Atlas Acquisitions LLC, Case No. 15-1945 (4th Cir. Aug. 25, 2016), the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals held in a 2-1 decision that filing proofs of claim on time-barred debts does not violate the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act ("FDCPA"), at least where state law preserves the right to collect on the payment. In so holding, the court sided with the Second and Eighth Circuit Courts of Appeals in a circuit split regarding the viability of FDCPA claims premised on proofs of claim filed in a debtor's bankruptcy case.
The Fourth Circuit first held that filing a proof of claim is ...
Florida's 4th District Court of Appeal sent the real property and mortgage world into a frenzy this week after issuing its opinion in Ober v. Town of Lauderdale-By-The-Sea, dramatically weakening the protections of Florida's lis pendens statute. It held that a lien placed on a property after the foreclosure judgment which arises from an action occurring post-judgment, is not extinguished by Florida Statute §48.23. The term most commonly used in emails and articles drafted by attorneys to describe the impact of this decision on the lis pendens statute is "eviscerate". This type of ...
Romero v. Department Stores National Bank, 15-cv-193-CAB-MDD (S.D. Cal. Aug. 5, 2016)
On the eve of trial, the Court dismissed Plaintiff's claims for lack of standing relying on the Supreme Court case of Spokeo v. Robbins. At issue in the case was Plaintiff's contention that Defendant called her more than 290 times using an Automatic Telephone Dialing System in violation of the TCPA. After the case was set for trial, Plaintiff prepared a pre-trial memorandum and the Court entered a pre-trial Order prepared by the parties. Neither document referenced any actual damages experienced by ...
The Second District Court of Appeal has become the first appellate court in Florida to hold that Florida Statute § 559.715, part of the Florida Consumer Collection Practices Act, Chapter 559, et seq. ("FCCPA"), does not apply to the note holder in a mortgage foreclosure proceeding. Deutsche Bank Nat. Trust Co. v. Hagstrom, 2D14-5254, 2016 WL 3926852, at *1 (Fla. 2d DCA 2016). In many instances, the Hagstrom holding will eviscerate a § 559.715 affirmative defense, which historically has been a popular and often effective defense to foreclosure, due in large part to the lack of case law ...
The Fourth District Court of Appeal recently affirmed its prior decision in Vidal v. Liquidation Properties, Inc., 104 So. 3d 1274 (4th DCA 2013). Wells Fargo Bank, N.A. v. Hilary A. Williamson, Case No. 4D15-285, 2016 WL 3745477 (Fla. 4th DCA 2016). It concluded, once again, that a borrower is in the best position to know their own financial information. Therefore, if a borrower executes their loan application including false information, that borrower is precluded from raising fraud as an affirmative defense in a subsequent action absent unique circumstances. See Shahar v. Green ...
The Supreme Court's ruling in Spokeo, Inc. v. Robins, 136 S. Ct. 1540 (U.S. May 16, 2016), continues to have a substantial impact on federal courts, especially with respect to alleged statutory violations of the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, 15 U.S.C. §§ 1692-1692p (the "FDCPA"). In fact, just last week the Third Circuit Court of Appeals relied on the Spokeo decision in reversing a district court's order granting summary judgment in favor of the plaintiff in Bock v. Pressler & Pressler, LLP, No. 15-1056, 2016 WL 4011150 (3rd Cir. July 27, 2016). The plaintiff in Bock had alleged ...