robinson v nationstar settlement

Plaintiffs Demetrius and Tamara Robinson (the "Robinsons") have resided in a home in Damascus, Maryland that has been subject to a mortgage loan. If you were contacted on your cell phone by a company via an . Moreover, even if the fee arrangement violated the ethical rules for attorneys, "it does not follow that evidence obtained in violation of the rule is inadmissible." P. 23(b)(3). Code Ann., Com. Nationstar further argues that summary judgment must be entered in its favor on the Robinsons' claims under 12 C.F.R. Law 13-316(c), which requires a response to a mortgage servicing complaint or inquiry within 15 days. Robinson v. Nationstar Mortg. LLC, Civil Action No. TDC-14-3667 Furthermore, to the extent that the Robinsons' claim is that Nationstar falsely stated that it would evaluate the Robinsons for all available loss mitigation plans, the Robinsons point only to statements in letters that the Robinsons "may" be eligible for certain non-HAMP loan modification programs. Although Monday's case specifically addresses Nationstar's actions following the Great Recession, the outcome can affect today's homeowners, says Kwame Raoul, attorney general of Illinois. Law 13-301 and 13-303, because the Robinsons do not have standing to bring those claims. The commonality requirement is also met. After attempts to modify the 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. 2001) (striking expert testimony because of a contingent fee arrangement), aff'd, 43 F. App'x 547 (4th Cir. Nationstar asserts that Oliver's testimony should be stricken because this fee arrangement includes an unethical contingency fee. May 31, 2016), the plaintiff had signed the deed of trust but not the promissory note but was nevertheless deemed to have standing because she had owned the home with a right of survivorship with her deceased husband, who had signed the note. A Scheduling Order was first entered on November 24, 2015, and the period for discovery was extended four times between November 2015 and January 2017. "Since then, we have continued to invest in technology, people, and leadership to ensure that our compliance and risk management programs not only meet our regulators' expectations but also support sustainable growth and maintain our position as an industry leader.". Nationstar Mortgage Convenience Fee Class Action Settlement Law 13-301(1). Casetext, Inc. and Casetext are not a law firm and do not provide legal advice. 1024.41(a). "When these issues were identified several years ago, we immediately made restitution to our impacted customers and invested in process improvements to prevent reoccurrence," Jay Bray, CEO and chairman of Mr. Cooper said in a statement Monday. Nationstar also allegedly foreclosed on borrowers with pending forbearance applications after promising not to do so and failed to properly handle escrow payments and accounting for homeowners who were in Chapter 13 bankruptcy proceedings. The fee arrangement will be considered as an issue potentially affecting the credibility, rather than the admissibility, of the expert testimony. Bouchat, 346 F.3d at 522. Nationstar has no process for standardizing file names. When combined with the state settlements, Nationstar is on the hook to pay a total of $91 million overall: $85 million to harmed consumers and $6 million in civil penalties. P. 23(a)(4); Ward v. Dixie Nat'l Life Ins. Life Ins. Id. Day to address discovery issues. Messner v. Northshore Univ. See id. At this stage of the proceedings, the Court must rely on facts in the record, and not assertions in the pleadings. Nationstar Mortgage LLC v. Demetrius Robinson On June 16, 2017, the Magistrate Judge bifurcated discovery to focus initially on the merits of the Robinsons' individual claim and the question of class certification, ordered Nationstar to disclose electronic records so that the Robinsons could sample Nationstar's data for purposes of a motion for class certification, and limited the discovery of such records to a sample of 400 loans from the period from January 10, 2014 to June 30, 2014 and "to areas which inform" the Court's decision on class certification, namely whether Nationstar was in compliance with Regulation X. Mot. 1024.41(d). Id. Because such a common question would have to be resolved in many if not all individual cases, it advances, rather than undermines, the argument in favor of predominance. A servicer that fails to comply with Regulation X is liable for "any actual damages to the borrower as a result of the failure" to comply. 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. But, Nationstar is correct that Owens-Benniefield may . Finally, the named plaintiff must "fairly and adequately protect the interests of class" without a conflict of interest with the absent class members. Instead, the Robinsons assert that Nationstar has not affirmatively proven that it conducted such reviews. If the named plaintiff satisfies all of the Rule 23(a) requirements and the Rule 23(b)(3) requirements, then class certification is appropriate. While the Nationstar employee who conducts the initial processing of an application may refer it to an underwriter based on its facial completeness, the underwriter makes the final determination of whether the application is complete and is responsible for obtaining any additional required documentation. MCC JR 530. The Court will therefore deny the Motion for Summary Judgment as to this argument. 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. 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. Because such information is stored electronically and based on objective criteria, the members of the class will be ascertainable without significant administrative burden. MSJ JR 0284. 2013)). 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. A fact is "material" if it "might affect the outcome of the suit under the governing law." 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. Nationstar's criticism that Oliver failed to use the correct data field to identify the date when a loss mitigation application was complete, and failed to consider the timing of application relative to the date of scheduled foreclosure sale, ring hollow because Nationstar provided to Oliver only limited data fields, which did not contain clear field names or definitions. The language of the regulation states not that a loan servicer must comply with Regulation X's requirements only for a borrower's first loss mitigation application, but that a loan servicer must "comply with the requirements" only "for a single complete loss mitigation application." When each event occurseither the mailing of a letter or the changing of a code or substatusthe date is recorded in the databases. Anderson v. Liberty Lobby, Inc., 477 U.S. 242, 255 (1986). See Md. Nationstar will need to enhance its policies and processes around how it handles consumer complaints, performs escrow analyses and conducts audits, for example. All Rights Reserved. Law 13-101 to 13-411 (West 2015). Nationstar's failings resulted in "substantial consumer harm," CFPB Director Kathleen Kraninger said in a statement. Hickerson, 882 F.3d at 480 (quoting Cooper, 259 F.3d at 199). Va., Inc., 543 F.2d 1075, 1080 (4th Cir. THEODORE D. CHUANG United States District Judge. The comments to that rule state that the "common law rule in most jurisdictions is . In Robinson v., Under the RESPA, civil liability is limited to "borrowers": "[w]hoever fails to comply with any provision of, Full title:DEMETRIUS ROBINSON and TAMARA ROBINSON, Plaintiffs, v. NATIONSTAR MORTGAGE, Court:UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT DISTRICT OF MARYLAND. Furthermore, determining whether statutory damages are available will require no individualized consideration, because the pattern-or-practice claim "would be based solely on" Nationstar's conduct and can be established through sampling. ("Opp'n') 13, ECF No. 2605(f). After March 2014, Mrs. Robinson was primarily responsible for communicating with Nationstar and PaCE. See id. 12 U.S.C. A Division of NBC Universal. To calculate damages, Oliver stated that he would look to data from the LSAMS application, including data tables that contain fee information, to identify fees that would not have been charged but for Nationstar's various RESPA violations, but that he was not able to evaluate this data in his report because it had not been provided to him. 1024.41(f), (g), and (h), and Mr. Robinson's MCPA claim under sections 13-301 and 13-303. The plaintiff's claim "cannot be so different from the claims of absent class members that their claims will not be advanced by" proof of the plaintiff's own individual claim. The Robinsons assert that they have suffered damages in the lost opportunity to have their mortgage loan modified and to pursue other loss mitigation options; in the fees, late fees, and interest that Nationstar has assessed since they became delinquent on their loan; in the lost "time and effort" which they expended in "pursuing the loss mitigation process with Nationstar" rather than trying to improve their business; and in administrative costs, including "postage, travel expenses, photocopying, scanning, and facsimile expenses." that it is improper to pay an expert witness a contingent fee." For the claims that rely on the timing of a response, Oliver and the Robinsons propose using changes in the Remedy Star substatus or LSAMS codes and documents stored in FileNet to identify the date a loan modification application was received or marked as complete, to identify the date a response was sent, and to count the number of days between events. Summ. R. Evid. Certification will also be denied as to the claim under 12 C.F.R. J. 2017) (holding that "incidental costs related to the sending of correspondence" to the servicer, including "postage and travel," are not actual damages under RESPA because such a rule "would transform virtually all unsatisfactory borrower inquiries into RESPA lawsuits"). Therefore, Nationstar was required to comply with section 1024.41 in processing it. See MCC JR0529-31. 10696, 10708, provides that "[a] servicer is only required to comply with the requirements of this section for a single complete loss mitigation application for a borrower's mortgage loan account." 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." 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. Nationstar sent Mr. Robinson two letters denying his loan modification application on July 17, 2014 and September 9, 2014, but there is no evidence in the record that the Robinsons submitted an appeal to either of those letters. Plaintiffs "must present specific evidence to establish a causal link between the [servicer's] violation and their injuries." At least one court has found a similar expert report by Oliver to meet the Daubert standard. See Lierboe v. State Farm Mut. Every mortgage has a unique loan number that can be used to identify the borrower and the loan in each of the four databases. Finally, a loan servicer "is only required to comply with the requirements" of section 1024.41 "for a single complete loss mitigation application for a borrower's mortgage loan account." 1024.41(f), (g), and (h), and Md. More importantly, while a determination of an individual violation would not require extensive analysis, specific proof of a pattern or practice of RESPA violations in any individual case would be a substantial undertaking, likely requiring the same type of complex analysis proposed here: a sampling of Nationstar files, compilation of all relevant data for such files, expert analysis to identify violations, and an assessment whether the identified violations are sufficient to establish a pattern or practice of violations. Law 13-316(c). 89, 90, ECF No. Robinson v. Nationstar Mortgage, LLC - Justia Dockets & Filings Nationstar argues that summary judgment should be entered on the Robinsons' MCPA claim under section 13-316 because the Robinsons have not shown that they submitted a complaint or inquiry that triggers a duty to respond. Nationstar admits that in March 2014, two months after the implementation date of Regulation X, it had not yet updated its systems to comply with the regulation. 2010). The Robinsons appealed the Magistrate Judge's ruling because it did not require Nationstar to run a structural script for a third database. Subsequent Loss Mitigation Application. The Class is represented by Rafey S. Balabanian of Edelson PC. Signed by Judge Theodore D. Chuang on 8/18/2015. McLean v. GMAC Mortg. Moreover, the conflict must not be "merely speculative or hypothetical." After an additional period of expert discovery relating to the class certification motion, discovery closed on December 30, 2018. PDF In the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit Sept. 9, 2019), there were multiple other claims at issue, for which Oliver's expert report seemed better suited to address. 26-1. Write to the Court if you do not like the Settlement. The Court agrees that costs, including administrative costs, "incurred whether or not the servicer complied with its obligations" are not actual damages "caused by, or 'a result of,'" the RESPA violation, whether or not they occurred before or after the violation. These rights and optionsand the deadlines to exercise themare explained further on the Frequently Asked Questions page of this website and in the Notice. Compl. After they became delinquent on their loan, the Robinsons submitted another loan modification application to Nationstar on March 7, 2014. Nationstar Mortgage Robocall Class Action Settlement Checks Mailed 877-683-9363. The relevant rule prohibits an attorney from "offer[ing] an inducement to a witness that is prohibited by law." On March 8, 2014, Nationstar sent to Mr. Robinson a letter stating that he was ineligible for a HAMP modification, but on March 15, 2014, it sent a different letter offering a loan modification under which Mr. Robinson would receive a reduced interest rate for two years. Accordingly, Nationstar's Motion for Summary Judgment will be granted as to the MCPA claims under sections 13-301 and 13-303. Co., 350 F.3d 1018, 1023 (9th Cir. See id. Additional facts relevant to the pending motions are set forth below. In Frank, due to the state's community property laws, the mortgage was "a community debt," and after her husband died, the plaintiff "was therefore obligated to make the loan payments" because of her interest in the home. The Magistrate Judge ordered Nationstar to run those scripts and return the electronic data to the Robinsons. 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. FCRA). at 359-60. (2000) (reflecting that the prior version of the rules of professional conduct prohibited an attorney from "acquiesc[ing] in the payment of compensation to a witness contingent on the content of his testimony or the outcome of the case").

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