Financial Services Law Developments: 6/14/15

Thursday, June 18, 2015

FYI: CFPB to Issue Proposed Amendment Delaying TRID Effective Date to Oct. 1, 2015

The federal Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) issued a short press release yesterday, confirming reports that it would be issuing a proposed amendment to delay the effective date for the “Know Before You Owe” TILA-RESPA Integrated Disclosure rule until October 1, 2015.

A copy of the press release is available at: Press Release

The press release simply states:

“The CFPB will be issuing a proposed amendment to delay the effective date of the Know Before You Owe rule until October 1, 2015. We made this decision to correct an administrative error that we just discovered in meeting the requirements under federal law, which would have delayed the effective date of the rule by two weeks. We further believe that the additional time included in the proposed effective date would better accommodate the interests of the many consumers and providers whose families will be busy with the transition to the new school year at that time.

The public will have an opportunity to comment on this proposal and a final decision is expected shortly thereafter.”

Prior to the proposed amendment, the effective date for the “Know Before You Owe” TILA-RESPA Integrated Disclosure rule was August 1, 2015, and would apply to transactions for which the mortgage lender or broker receives an application on or after that date.

Ralph T. Wutscher
Maurice Wutscher LLP
The Loop Center Building
105 W. Madison Street, 18th Floor
Chicago, Illinois 60602
Direct: (312) 493-0874
Fax: (312) 284-4751
Email: rwutscher@MauriceWutscher.com

Admitted to practice law in Illinois

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Sunday, June 14, 2015

FYI: IL AG Reaches $1MM Settlement with Property Services Company Requiring 40 New Operating Standards

A prominent property services company recently reached a $1 Million settlement with the Illinois Attorney General, resolving allegations that the property services company supposedly wrongfully “locked Illinois residents out of their homes before a foreclosure was finalized,” and requiring the company to submit to 40 new operating standards with monitoring as to compliance.

A copy of the Illinois Attorney General’s press release is available at:

http://www.illinoisattorneygeneral.gov/pressroom/2015_06/20150603.html

The Illinois Attorney General stated that the company was “hired by mortgage lenders to determine whether homeowners in default or facing foreclosure are living in their homes. If a property is deemed vacant, [the company] is responsible for securing and maintaining the property to ensure it does not lose value after it is foreclosed.”

The Attorney General alleged that the company “wrongly deemed homes vacant, instructing its contractors to shut off utilities, change the properties’ locks and illegally remove residents’ personal belongings even though they actively remained in their homes.”

In addition to the $1 Million payment, the company “must also follow 40 operating standards in conducting inspections and other services relating to Illinois properties” set by the Illinois Attorney General’s office, and submit to monitoring by the Illinois Attorney General as to its compliance with these standards.

According to the Illinois Attorney General, these operating standards include:

- “Inspectors must support their inspections with photographs and an affidavit;”

- The company “must post notice to the occupant that it has determined the property to be vacant before it enters the property;”

- The company “is prohibited from misrepresenting the rights of occupants that are allowed to remain in their home even though they might be behind on their mortgage and in foreclosure;”

- “The company must increase its oversight and quality control of its subcontractors;”

- The company “must maintain a 24-hour hotline for fielding consumer complaints;” and

- “The company is prohibited from removing non-perishable and non-hazardous personal property prior to foreclosure unless it has a court order, and if [the company] makes a mistake, it must restore a consumer’s possession of the home, restore utility service, and return or reimburse any personal property that has been removed.”

According to the Illinois Attorney General, the $1 million in settlement funds will be distributed by the Illinois Attorney General’s office to consumers who filed complaints regarding the company’s practice.

Admitted to practice law in Illinois

Our updates are available on the internet, in searchable format, at:

Financial Services Legal Developments

and

California Finance Law Developments

and

Insurance Recovery

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The editor and sponsoring law firm of this blog represent and serve banks, lenders, loan buyers, loan servicers, debt collectors, and other financial services companies. We do not represent consumers.

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The Editor's Bio

Ralph T. Wutscher
Maurice Wutscher LLP
20 N. Clark Street, 33rd Floor
Chicago, Illinois 60602
Direct: (312) 493-0874
RWutscher@MauriceWutscher.com
https://www.MauriceWutscher.com/

Ralph Wutscher's practice focuses primarily on representing depository and non-depository mortgage lenders and servicers, as well as mortgage loan investors, distressed asset buyers and sellers, loss mitigation companies, automobile and other personal property secured lenders and finance companies, credit card and other unsecured lenders, and other consumer financial services providers. He represents the consumer lending industry as a litigator, and as regulatory compliance counsel.

Ralph has substantial experience in defending private consumer finance lawsuits, including cases ranging from large interstate putative class actions to localized single-asset cases, as well as in responding to regulatory investigations and other governmental proceedings. His litigation successes include not only victories at the trial court level, but also on appeal, and in various jurisdictions. He has successfully defended numerous putative class actions asserting violations of a wide range of federal and state consumer protection statutes. He is frequently consulted to assist other law firms in developing or improving litigation strategies in cases filed around the country.

Ralph also has substantial experience in counseling clients regarding their compliance with federal laws, and with state and local laws primarily of the Midwestern United States. For example, he regularly provides assistance in connection with portfolio or program audits, consumer lending disclosure issues, the design and implementation of marketing and advertising campaigns, licensing and reporting issues, compliance with usury laws and other limitations on pricing, compliance with state and local “predatory lending” laws, drafting or obtaining opinion letters on a single- or multi-state basis, interstate branching and loan production office licensing, evaluations and modifications of new or existing products and procedures, debt collection and servicing practices, proper methods of responding to consumer inquiries and furnishing consumer information, as well as proposed or existing arrangements with settlement service providers and other vendors, and the implementation of procedural or other operational changes following developments in the law.

Ralph is a member of the Governing Committee of the Conference on Consumer Finance Law. He is also the immediate past Chair of the Preemption and Federalism Subcommittee for the ABA's Consumer Financial Services Committee. He served on the Law Committee for the former National Home Equity Mortgage Association, and completed two terms as Co-Chair of the Consumer Credit Committee of the Chicago Bar Association.

Ralph received his Juris Doctor from the University of Illinois College of Law, and his undergraduate degree from the University of California at Los Angeles (UCLA). He is a member of the national Mortgage Bankers Association, the American Bankers Association, the Conference on Consumer Finance Law, DBA International, the ACA International Members Attorney Program, as well as the American and Chicago Bar Associations.

Ralph is admitted to practice in Illinois, as well as in the United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit, the United States District Courts for the Northern and Southern Districts of Illinois, and the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Wisconsin, and has been admitted pro hac vice in various jurisdictions around the country.