robinson v nationstar settlement

Finally, the named plaintiff must "fairly and adequately protect the interests of class" without a conflict of interest with the absent class members. Tagatz, 861 F.2d at 1042; cf. Contact the Class Action Administrator at 1-855-917-3477 (Toll-Free). Id. A code is also added to LSAMS to put a hold on foreclosure proceedings. The Class Action Administrator would then begin distribution of the settlement funds. The company has already paid about $57.5 million in restitution to affected consumers, according to the CFPB. Law 13-301 and 13-303, because the Robinsons do not have standing to bring those claims. LLC, No. The Motion will be otherwise denied. P. 23(b)(3). THEODORE D. CHUANG United States District Judge. Therefore, Nationstar was required to comply with section 1024.41 in processing it. Code Ann., Com. 1024.41(b)(2)(i)(B) and Md. Nationstar asserts that Oliver's testimony should be stricken because this fee arrangement includes an unethical contingency fee. Since Regulation X explicitly does not require a loan servicer to provide a loan modification, the Robinsons' claim that they suffered damages because they did not receive a loan modification is not cognizable under the statute. While she is trained as a bookkeeper, at the time of the Robinsons' 2014 application for a loan modification and in the subsequent months, Mrs. Robinson was not employed in any capacity. Individual damages would be below the cost of litigation even if each class member could establish that Nationstar's conduct consisted of a pattern or practice of violating Regulation X, because the statute limits such damages to $2,000 per borrower. 1024.41(b)(1). . Cal. Class certification will be granted, with Demetrius Robinson as the named plaintiff, as to both the Nationwide Class and the Maryland Class for the claims under 12 C.F.R. The Nationstar Mortgage Unwanted Phone Calls Class Action Lawsuit is Wright, et al. The court, however, did not explain how in the absence of any obligation to pay back to the Note, the plaintiff qualified as a "borrower" under the RESPA statute. While class members would not be eligible for statutory damages unless actual damages are shown, see 12 U.S.C. 1984), and has upheld the certification of a class with as few as 18 members, Cypress v. Newport News Gen. & Nonsectarian Hosp. Robinson et al v. Nationstar Mortgage LLC - law360.com 12 U.S.C. 1024.41(c)(1)(ii), which requires a servicer to respond to a loan modification application within 30 days of receipt of a complete loss mitigation application and provide notice of appeal rights; 12 C.F.R. Nationstar also seeks summary judgment on the Robinsons' claims under the MCPA, which include claims of misleading statements in connection with the collection of consumer debts, in violation of section 13-301(1), (3) and section 13-303(4)-(5) of the MCPA, and claims that Nationstar did not respond to consumer inquiries within 15 days, in violation of section 13-316(c) of the MCPA. But where the broad methodology is sound, the lack of consideration of unproduced data cannot provide a basis to strike the expert witness's testimony. . Petitioner: NATIONSTAR MORTGAGE, LLC: Respondent: TAMARA ROBINSON and DEMETRIUS ROBINSON: Case Number: 19-379: Filed: September 24, 2019: Court: U.S. Court of Appeals . Rule 702 permits an expert to testify if the testimony "will help the trier of fact to understand the evidence or to determine a fact in issue," "is based on sufficient facts or data," and "is the product of reliable principles and methods," and if the expert has "reliably applied the principles and methods to the facts of the case." 1972). According to Oliver, if he used incorrect data, that was a result of the limited data fields and definitions provided to him. . Actual damages may include late fees; denial of credit or access to the full amount of a credit line; out-of-pocket expenses incurred in dealing with a RESPA violation, such as expenses for preparing and copying correspondence; and lost time and inconvenience, including time spent away from employment while preparing correspondence "to the extent it resulted in actual pecuniary loss." "We will be watching the mortgage interest industry to ensure they are treating homeowners fairly and fulfilling their obligations.". Notably, Oliver's analysis did not consider foreclosure information because the data produced did not include dates of foreclosure sales. Where Accrued Financial addresses a different scenario with a different remedy, the Court does not find that it requires that the testimony of an expert witness paid on contingency fee basis must be excluded. . A conflict of interest will not defeat the adequacy requirement when "all class members share common objectives[,] the same factual and legal positions, and . The ruling serves as a reminder that Florida remains one of the top states for both mortgage fraud and lender errors. Rather than rendering the testimony inadmissible, the fee arrangement is relevant to the expert's credibility. LLC, No. Ballard v. Blue Shield of S.W. After attempts to modify their loan failed, the Robinsons filed a Class Action Complaint against Defendant Nationstar Mortgage, LLC ("Nationstar") for alleged violations of the Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act ("RESPA"), 12 U.S.C. "[A] trial court should consider the specific factors identified in Daubert where they are reasonable measures of the reliability of expert testimony." They have a home in Damascus, Maryland purchased by Demetrius Robinson ("Mr. Robinson"). For the following reasons, the Motion for Summary Judgment will be GRANTED IN PART and DENIED IN PART; the Motion to Strike will be DENIED; and the Motion for Class Certification will be GRANTED IN PART and DENIED IN PART. Nationstar, the fourth-largest mortgage servicer in the U.S., is set to pay $91 million to settle claims brought by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and state attorneys general alleging that the company failed to honor mortgage forbearance agreements and unfairly foreclosed on homeowners. Summary judgment will therefore be entered for Nationstar on the claims that Nationstar violated subsections (f) and (g). 2016) ("[F]ortuitous non-injury to a subset of class members does not necessarily defeat certification of the entire class, particularly as the district court is well situated to winnow out those non-injured members at the damages phase of the litigation, or to refine the class definition. Joint Record ("MSJ JR") 0102. See, e.g. 16-0307, 2017 WL 1167230, at *3 (E.D.N.C. Nationstar broke that trust by engaging in unfair and deceptive practices," Kraninger added. Subsequent Loss Mitigation Application. 2006). As for typicality, the named plaintiff must be "typical" of the class, such that that the class representative's claim and defenses are "typical of the claims or defenses of the class" in that prosecution of the claim will "simultaneously tend to advance the interests of the absent class members." The fee arrangement will be considered as an issue potentially affecting the credibility, rather than the admissibility, of the expert testimony. Class litigation would also promote consistent results on the common question whether Nationstar engaged in a pattern or practice of violating Regulation X and would provide Nationstar with finality and closure on that issue. If a class is ascertainable, it must then satisfy all four elements of Rule 23(a): numerosity, commonality, typicality, and adequacy. 1024.41(f), (g), and (h); and (4) there is no evidence of actual damages from any RESPA violation. These events will be represented by discrete data points in Nationstar's databases, such that these violations may be proved through that data. All Rights Reserved. Likewise, Oliver's expert report provides no analysis on how Nationstar's databases allow for a systematic determination whether Nationstar failed to inform borrowers of the specific reasons for the servicer's decision to deny each loan modification option, in violation of 12 C.F.R. 1024.41(c)(1)(ii), which requires a servicer to respond to a completed loan modification application; or Md. 12 U.S.C. 2605(f)(2) is not fatal to the predominance inquiry. PO Box 3560. McLean II, 398 F. App'x at 471. Under a provision of Regulation X entitled "Loss mitigation procedures," mortgage servicers must take certain steps when a borrower applies for loss mitigation measures, such as the loan modifications sought in this case. at 300. While the particulars of Mr. Robinson's application process will not necessarily prove that Nationstar mishandled the applications of other individual class members, these facts fairly encompass the types of claims that would be brought by the members of the class. 15-3960, 2017 WL 623465, at *8 (D. Md. at *5. That's one reason why the settlement, particularly the provisions requiring Nationstar to adhere to enhanced standards, is crucial. 1024.41(d). The Robinsons' Motion for Class Certification will be GRANTED IN PART and DENIED IN PART. Relevant factual and procedural background is set forth in the Court's prior Memorandum Opinion granting in part and denying in part Nationstar's partial Motion to Dismiss. Code Ann., Com. In its Motion to Strike, Nationstar argues that Oliver's methodology has not been peer reviewed, has a high error rate because he used the wrong data fields to identify the dates of events, failed to consider the timing of foreclosure sales relative to the dates of the submission of loan modification applications, and did not propose a specific methodology for calculating damages. Nationstar filed a notice of settlement and a joint motion to proceed before a magistrate . Code Ann., Com. The CFPB estimates about 40,000 borrowers were harmed by Nationstar's allegedly unfair and deceptive practices, according to a statement released Monday. 2d at 1366. 14-cv-10457, in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois, Eastern Division.. Join a Free TCPA Class Action Lawsuit Investigation. Between July 2010 and November 2013, the Robinsons submitted and Nationstar denied three applications for a loan modification under the Home Affordable Modification Program ("HAMP"). Marchese v. JPMorgan Chase Bank, N.A., 917 F. Supp. But see Ayres v. Ocwen Loan Servicing, LLC, 129 F. Supp. The Robinsons and Nationstar then engaged in a series of tortured exchanges over the next several months. Marais v. Chase Home Fin., LLC, 24 F. Supp. 1024.41(b)(1), (b)(2)(i)(B), and (c)(1)(ii) and Md. Since Mr. Robinson has the same goal as the other class members of establishing that Nationstar violated Regulation X with respect to his loan, he will adequately protect their interests. Any additional updates will be posted here. P. 23(a)(4); Ward v. Dixie Nat'l Life Ins. 3d 712, 728 (S.D. Reg. 1993) (quoting Blum v. Yaretsky, 457 U.S. 991, 1001 n.13 (1982)). . Specifically, if a loss mitigation application is received "45 days or more before a foreclosure sale," the loan servicer must provide a notice to the borrower "in writing within 5 days" of receiving it in which the servicer acknowledges receipt of the application and states whether the "application is either complete or incomplete." Robinson v. Nationstar Mortg. LLC - Casetext 2d 452, 467 (D. Md. This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged. Thus, a loan servicer could not have complied with Regulation X for a loss mitigation application submitted before January 10, 2014 because there was no regulation in effect with which to comply. 1967). Finally, Nationstar argues that summary judgment should be entered on the RESPA claims because the Robinsons cannot establish that they have suffered actual damages as a result of Nationstar's violations of Regulation X. . Id. Id. The Court does not find such a prohibition in the Maryland Attorneys' Rules of Professional Conduct. Compl. Indeed, Mr. Robinson testified that Mrs. Robinson did not sign the Note because she did not purchase the property with him. Eligible consumers will be contacted by Nationstar or the settlement administrator about refunds under the settlement. Class Action Claims Nationstar Mortgage Unlawfully Failed to Pay After several customers of Green Earth Services canceled its services, the Robinsons sought loss mitigation in the form of a loan modification from Nationstar. Furthermore, according to Nationstar, to identify the content of a letter sent to a borrower, the letter itself must be viewed. Id. Id. Fed. Delaware Attorney General Kathleen Jennings said the settlements, Several states also fined Nationstar in 2018, Kwame Raoul, attorney general of Illinois, latest research from the Mortgage Bankers Association. Id. Mich. 2016), at least one district court has held that loan servicers need not comply with Regulation X if the borrower had previously submitted a loss mitigation application before the January 10, 2014 effective date, see Trionfo v. Bank of America, N.A., No. Life Ins. Stewart v. Bierman, 859 F. Supp. Since there is no genuine issue of material fact as to whether Nationstar violated subsection (h), summary judgment will be entered for Nationstar on that claim. The Class is represented by Rafey S. Balabanian of Edelson PC. A $3.8 million settlement has been reached in a Nationstar convenience fee class action lawsuit, which claimed that the mortgage lender wrongfully charged convenience fees to their consumers when making payments on past due accounts. 2013) (holding that the plaintiff sufficiently pleaded actual injury or loss under the MCPA where he alleged that he suffered "bogus late fees," damage to his credit, and attorney's fees); see also Cole v. Fed'l Nat'l Mortg. Where the cost of litigation as compared to the potential recovery gives class members little incentive to bring suit, and there is little reason to individually control the litigation, a class action is a superior method to vindicate the rights of class members. Nationstar will need to enhance its policies and processes around how it handles consumer complaints, performs escrow analyses and conducts audits, for example. Nationstar ultimately became the servicer of the Robinsons' loan. Claim Your Cash Every Week! As of November 22, about 2.8 million homeowners were in a forbearance plan, according to the latest research from the Mortgage Bankers Association. Courts have held that a person who did not sign the promissory note is not a "borrower" for the purposes of RESPA because that individual has not "assumed the loan." 12 C.F.R. The Motion will be granted as to all of Tamara Robinson's claims and as to Demetrius Robinson's claims under 12 C.F.R. In Baez v. Specialized Loan Servicing, LLC, 709 F. App'x 979 (11th Cir. 222. The denial letters stated that the loan's principal balance exceeded the limit under HAMP. The Robinsons' designated expert, Geoffrey Oliver, has offered a methodology for identifying class members and when their rights under RESPA and the MCPA have been violated. Presently pending is Nationstar's Motion for Summary Judgment, Nationstar's Motion to Strike, and the Robinsons' Motion for Class Certification. See 12 C.F.R. For example, it was undisputed that on May 30, 2014, Mr. Robinson, in response to Nationstar's requests for additional information, resubmitted the same information sent with his March 2014 loan modification application. You will receive no benefits from the Settlement, but will retain any rights you currently have to sue Nationstar about the same claims in this case. Commonality requires that a class have "questions of law or fact common to the class" which are capable of classwide resolution, such that the determination of the truth or falsity of the common issue "will resolve an issue that is central to the validity of each one of the claims in one stroke." Law 13-316(c). He asserts that damages to borrowers can be calculated based on entries in LSAMS and other data showing that fees were assessed, and that it would be possible to identify which fees would not have been assessed but for a RESPA violation. 1024.41(f), (g). The "Maryland Subclass" consists of "[a]ll persons in the State of Maryland that submitted a loss mitigation application to Nationstar after January 10, 2014, and through the date of the Court's certification order." Nationstar Mortgage LLC v. Demetrius Robinson She alleges Nationstar was sent multiple disputes by both Experian and Equifax with documentation showing the debt was forgiven, yet Nationstar persisted in reporting the debt as valid. 1024.41(h)(1), (4). Thorn v. Jefferson-Pilot Life Ins. At the time, Nationstar had not completed the process of updating its systems to conform to those requirements. Nationstar employees use four software applications and databases to store and track electronic information relating to loans: (1) Loan Services and Accounting Management System ("LSAMS"), Nationstar's primary loan servicing software, which contains data for loans, including the permanent records of the accounting history, communication logs, and letters documented with codes that were sent to the borrower; (2) Remedy Star, Nationstar's proprietary loss mitigation and loan modification management system, which, among other tasks, tracks the status and timeline of a loan modification and links to documents stored in FileNet; (3) LPS Desktop ("LPS"), an application which Nationstar uses to track and manage foreclosure processes and communicate with outside attorneys; and (4) FileNet, a platform that houses PDF images of documents, including letters sent to borrowers by Nationstar. Part 1024). First, Nationstar correctly notes that Mr. Robinson, in his Motion, and Oliver, in his expert report, do not put forward any evidence establishing that the necessary prerequisites for a class action have been met with respect to the claim that Nationstar did not evaluate borrowers "for all loss mitigation options available to the borrower," in violation of 12 C.F.R. See Tyson Foods v. Bouaphakeo, 136 S. Ct. 1036, 1045 (2016) ("When 'one or more of the central issues in the action are common to the class and can be said to predominate, the action may be considered proper under Rule 23(b)(3) even though other important matters will have to be tried separately, such as damages or some affirmative defense peculiar to some individual class members.'" McAdams v. Nationstar Mortg. The fact that Oliver's methodology has not been subjected to peer review and that he has not published any articles about it does not invalidate it. Nationstar seeks summary judgment on the Robinsons' RESPA claims on the grounds that (1) Mrs. Robinson is not a proper plaintiff because she is not a "borrower" within the meaning of RESPA; (2) RESPA is inapplicable because Nationstar was required to comply with Regulation X only as to the Robinsons' first loss mitigation application; (3) there is no evidence to support a violation of 12 C.F.R. Before the error was discovered, Mr. Robinson appealed this offer as insufficient on April 10, 2014. 3d at 1014. During discovery, Oliver revealed that his fee arrangement with the Robinsons includes a flat fee for his expert services, but that a portion of the fee is contingent on the certification of a class in this case.

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