Earlier this week, the U.S. Supreme Court agreed to hear a case that will decide whether the Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act (RESPA), which is directed at residential mortgage lending, prohibits a real estate settlement service provider from charging an unearned fee if the provider shares the fee with at least one other part, but not if the provider retains the entire fee. The Supreme Court had been urged to take the case by the Solicitor General, who was invited by the Court to file an amicus brief to provide the Obama administration’s views of the RESPA issue involved in Tammy Foret Freeman, et al. v. Quicken Loans, Inc.
Among the attorneys listed on the Solicitor General’s brief was Deepak Gupta, the CFPB’s Senior Litigation Counsel. (Three other CFPB attorneys were also listed.) It’s not surprising that the CFPB weighed in on the brief since, under Dodd-Frank. the CFPB has taken over HUD’s responsibility for writing RESPA rules. And, given the CFPB’s involvement, it’s also not surprising that the brief supports the plaintiffs’ more liberal RESPA reading. Our legal alert details the RESPA issue presented by the case, which will be heard by the Supreme Court during its current term.