robinson v nationstar settlement

P. 23(a)(4); Ward v. Dixie Nat'l Life Ins. 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. Id. During this time and up until September 25, 2017, Nationstar had not begun any foreclosure proceedings on the Robinsons' home. 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. The trial court granted the motion over the Robinsons' objection, noting in its order that Nationstar had now waived its claim for attorney feesthe claim that had been the sole impediment to a final judgment being entered after the trial court granted Nationstar's request to reopen the evidence after entry of the initial final judgment. If the application is complete "more than 37 days before a foreclosure sale," the servicer may not move for a foreclosure judgment or conduct a foreclosure sale, but instead must first "[e]valuate the borrower for all loss mitigation options available to the borrower," send to the borrower "a notice in writing stating the servicer's determination of which loss mitigation options, if any, it will offer," and include a statement of applicable appeal rights. A "borrower" may enforce the provisions of Regulation X pursuant to 12 U.S.C. 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. at 983 (quoting 12 U.S.C. The predominance and superiority requirements under Rule 23(b)(3) are designed to ensure that the class action "achieve[s] economies of time, effort, and expense, and promote[s] . See Farber, 2017 WL 4347826 at 15; Billings, 170 F. Supp. 1024.41(f), (g), and (h), and Md. Because such information is stored electronically and based on objective criteria, the members of the class will be ascertainable without significant administrative burden. Id. The Robinsons, however, have not identified any evidence that Nationstar did not intend to, and did not, conduct such evaluations. McLean v. GMAC Mortg. Write to the Court if you do not like the Settlement. On February 10, 2022, the Court of Appeals issued a decision affirming the Final Approval Order. . A separate Order shall issue. They have a home in Damascus, Maryland purchased by Demetrius Robinson ("Mr. Robinson"). The entry under "objected" acts as a unique identifier for an electronic file, but it does not contain information about the file's substance and could in fact contain multiple submissions or documents relating to one borrower. All but $28.6 million of its. After March 2014, Mrs. Robinson was primarily responsible for communicating with Nationstar and PaCE. 2605(f)(1). The Court will not revisit this determination. Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and Multiple States Enter into A fact is "material" if it "might affect the outcome of the suit under the governing law." MSJ JR 0284. v. Nationstar Mortgage LLC. 1024.41(i). These claims do not have to be factually or legally identical, but the class claims should be fairly encompassed by those of the named plaintiffs. Northern District of Ohio, ohnd-1:2021-cv-00452 of 0 An error occurred while loading the PDF. 1994) (noting that a single common issue is sufficient to meet the commonality requirement). Summary judgment will therefore be entered for Nationstar on the claims that Nationstar violated subsections (f) and (g). 1024.41, a regulation of RESPA that outlines loss mitigation procedures. 1024.41(f), (g), and (h) and Md. All Rights Reserved. The CFPB estimates about 40,000 borrowers were harmed by Nationstar's allegedly unfair and deceptive practices, according to a statement released Monday. R. Civ. 1024.41 (2019), and the Maryland Consumer Protection Act ("MCPA"), Md. He was retained by the Robinsons under an arrangement through which he is to be paid a flat fee of $125,000: $62,500 up front, with an additional $62,500 to be paid if a class is certified in this case. Moreover, Nationstar cites no authority for the proposition that a loss mitigation application would not be deemed "complete" for purposes of RESPA upon such a formal designation, and any rule that would deem such an application incomplete in the event that an underwriter subsequently decided to ask for additional material would be entirely unworkable. Class Action Claims Nationstar Mortgage Unlawfully Failed to Pay Nationstar argues that it should be granted summary judgment on all of the RESPA claims because Nationstar was required to comply with Regulation X only as to a borrower's first loss mitigation application, and the Robinsons' March 7, 2014 application was not their first loan modification application. at 300. 2010). 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. J. Class Certif. Although similar to Rule 23(a)'s commonality requirement, the test for predominance under Rule 23(b)(3) is "far more demanding" and "tests whether proposed classes are sufficiently cohesive to warrant adjudication by representation." CFPB Takes Action Against Nationstar Mortgage for Flawed Mortgage Loan Compl. Tagatz v. Marquette Univ., 861 F.2d 1040, 1042 (7th Cir. Nationstar filed a notice of settlement and a joint motion to proceed before a magistrate . 09-08213, 2011 WL 11651320 (C.D. This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged. 2010) (holding that a plaintiff who "was not a borrower or otherwise obligated on the . Where such statements in no way promise approval, the Robinsons appear to claim that such statements are false or misleading because Nationstar never intended to, and did not, evaluate the Robinsons for the various loss mitigation options. Nationstar said in a statement that its settlements were based on "loan-servicing practices" that the company used between 2010 and 2015 and has since discontinued. Instead, he analyzed certain data fields that were returned by the scripts written by a different expert. Actual damages may also include "non-pecuniary damages, such as emotional distress and pain and suffering." A Division of NBC Universal. After two more extensions were granted, based on a finding by the Magistrate Judge that "Defendant has failed to comply" with its discovery obligations and delayed the process, discovery closed on March 22, 2018. First, to the extent that there was a period of time during which Nationstar failed to implement procedures to comply with RESPA, the facts establishing such a gap would be highly relevant to a pattern or practice determination and would be common in every case. 164. 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. Robinson v. Nationstar Mortgage, LLC: Complaint with jury demand Universal Athletic Sales Co. v. Am. 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. 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." See Eisen v. Carlisle & Jacquelin, 417 U.S. 156, 178 (1974) ("In determining the propriety of a class action, the question is not whether the plaintiff or plaintiffs have stated a cause of action or will prevail on the merits, but rather whether the requirements of Rule 23 are met."). Mortgage Servicing Rules Under the Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act ("Regulation X"), 78 Fed. 15-0925, 2015 WL 5165415, at *4 (D. Md. Indeed, Nationstar does not seriously contest the commonality prong. Accordingly, Nationstar's Motion for Summary Judgment will be granted as to the MCPA claims under sections 13-301 and 13-303. That is not so here. Finally, the Court notes that a decision to certify a class is based on whether or not a putative class satisfies the Rule 23 factors, not on a preliminary assessment of the underlying merits of the claim. Neither the rule nor the comment, however, state whether Maryland is one such jurisdiction. P. 56(a); Celotex Corp. v. Catrett, 477 U.S. 317, 322 (1986). 2002) (affirming without addressing the propriety of the striking of the expert testimony). See Torres v. Mercer Canyons Inc., 835 F.3d 1125, 1137 (9th Cir. Law 13-301 and 303. Although the Robinsons contend that they would have pursued other loss mitigation options in the absence of the RESPA violations, they have not identified any such options in a way that would permit a calculation of damages associated with any lost opportunity. 2015) Court Description: MEMORANDUM OPINION. Sept. 29, 2017); Billings v. Seterus, Inc., 170 F. Supp. The company has already paid about $57.5 million in restitution to affected consumers, according to the CFPB. at *5. The Robinsons own a business called Green Earth Services, which provides waste and recycling services to clients. 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. Subsequent to the Court's approval, one of the objectors to the settlement filed an appeal. Once the documents are received, the Remedy Star substatus and LSAMS code are changed again to mark the application complete. Law 13-316(e), for the reasons stated above, see supra part I.B.4, the Robinsons have provided sufficient evidence to create a genuine issue of material fact whether they have suffered economic damages, in the form of administrative costs, fees, and interest. McAdams v. Nationstar Mortg. Mar. 2003). TDC-14-3667 (D. Md. 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. Fed. James Robinson v. National Student Clearinghouse Toggle navigation Home Commonly Asked Questions Documents The Court approved the settlement at the July 7, 2020 Fairness Hearing.

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