The District of Columbia (DC) Office of the Attorney General (OAG) recently entered into settlements with four title companies in connection with title company joint ventures that included the companies and real estate agents as owners. The basic allegation of the OAG is that real estate agents were offered the opportunity to purchase interests in title company joint ventures, and that the referral of consumers to the ventures by the agents for title and escrow business violated the DC anti-inducement provision applicable to title insurance, and also the unfair and deceptive trade practice prohibition under the DC Consumer Protection Procedures Act (CCPA).… Continue Reading

The CFPB published guidance to remind the mortgage industry of numerous U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) policy statements that were issued before the CFPB assumed authority for enforcing the Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act (RESPA). The CFPB reiterates that official guidance documents issued by other agencies prior to the 2011 transfer would be applied by the CFPB unless they were superseded by law.… Continue Reading

A three judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit (Fourth Circuit) recently held in Baehrs v. The Creig Northrop Team et al that although the plaintiffs had alleged a violation of the Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act (RESPA), they lacked standing under Article III of the U.S.… Continue Reading

HomeStreet Bank recently agreed to the issuance of an order to settle an allegation by the FDIC that the bank’s discontinued Home Loan Center-based mortgage business line violated the Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act (RESPA) “by entering into co-marketing agreements using online platforms and desk rental agreements that resulted in the payment of fees to real estate brokers and home builders for their referrals of mortgage loan business.”… Continue Reading

Last week, the FDIC published its Consumer Compliance Supervisory Highlights that provides observations about its consumer compliance supervision activities in 2018. Importantly, the highlights include anonymized 2018 exam findings regarding violations of consumer protection laws and other information to help financial institutions stay abreast of issues and trends identified during exams and assist them in mitigating potential risks.… Continue Reading

As we reported previously, in June 2018 Zillow Group (Zillow) announced that it is no longer under investigation by the CFPB for Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act (RESPA) and UDAAP compliance with regard to its co-marketing program. The CFPB investigation triggered a securities lawsuit filed in the United States District Court for the Western District of Washington (C17-1387-JCC).… Continue Reading

On January 31, 2018, the en banc D.C. Circuit handed down its opinion in the PHH v. CFPB case, which we’ve discussed at length. It held, 7 to 3, that the CFPB’s single-director-removable-only-for-cause structure is constitutional but that the CFPB’s interpretation of RESPA was wrong.

En Banc Court Reinstates Panel’s RESPA Ruling

The en banc Court reinstated the RESPA-related portions of the D.C.… Continue Reading

The Supreme Court is considering a cert petition requesting that it hear the Lucia case, which we have blogged about extensively due to its potential impact on the outcome of the PHH case. Significantly, the DOJ recently filed a brief in the case siding against the SEC and with Lucia, who is challenging the constitutionality of how the SEC’s Administrative Law Judges (“ALJs”) are appointed.… Continue Reading