robinson v nationstar settlement

Law 13-316(c) are triggered upon the submission of a loss mitigation application, while 12 C.F.R. 12 U.S.C. Gariety v. Grant Thornton, LLP, 368 F.3d 356, 366 (4th Cir. In Baez v. Specialized Loan Servicing, LLC, 709 F. App'x 979 (11th Cir. Stewart v. Bierman, 859 F. Supp. On February 10, 2022, the Court of Appeals issued a decision affirming the Final Approval Order. 09-08213, 2011 WL 11651320 (C.D. 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. 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. Summary judgment will therefore be entered for Nationstar on the claims that Nationstar violated subsections (f) and (g). A plaintiff has the burden to show that all of the necessary prerequisites for a class action have been met. In Robinson v. Nationstar Mortgage LLC, No. P. 23(b)(3). Ask to speak in court about the fairness of the Settlement. He is joined by 49 other Attorneys General, the District of Columbia, and other state and federal agencies. Nationstar's reliance on Accrued Financial Services v. Prime Retail, Inc., 298 F.3d 291 (4th Cir. Code Ann., Com. In addition to the fines and restitution, Delaware Attorney General Kathleen Jennings said the settlements require Nationstar to adhere to increased "servicing standards." v. DEMETRIUS ROBINSON; TAMARA ROBINSON, Plaintiffs - Appellees, v. . 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." 2d at 1366. 2d 873, 883 (D. Md. LLC, No. The Complaint asserts two claims. application to Nationstar after January 10, 2014, and through the date of the Court's . Since the Court has already concluded that Nationstar is entitled to summary judgment on the Robinsons' claims under 12 C.F.R. ORDER Scheduling Settlement Conference for Wednesday, October 26, 2016 at 10:30 a.m. 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. On July 16, 2018, the Court affirmed the Magistrate Judge's ruling and required Nationstar to produce all outstanding "records subject to discovery orders." An 85-year Harvard study found the No. Ohio 2014). 1998). Mot. Similarly, though the precise nature of the fees imposed was not specified, it is reasonable to infer that some were attributable to delays linked to RESPA violations. 2601-2617 (2012), specifically RESPA's implementing regulations known as "Regulation X," 12 C.F.R. Finally, to the extent that Oliver did not execute his stated methodology for identifying damages, that limitation is again based in part on Nationstar's failure to make relevant data available to him. Whether an application is complete depends on the requirements of the investor who holds the loan. Filed by Janie Robinson. 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." The Class is represented by Rafey S. Balabanian of Edelson PC. Wright et al. In the Amended Complaint, the Robinsons claim that Nationstar's representations that it offered many loss mitigation plans and "would evaluate" borrowers "for eligibility for all these loss mitigation plans" were false. 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. Presently pending is Nationstar's Motion for Summary Judgment, Nationstar's Motion to Strike, and the Robinsons' Motion for Class Certification. Code Ann., Com. 2012) (citing Lloyd v. Gen. Motors Corp., 916 A.2d 257, 277 (Md. 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. Mot. at 248-49. Because Oliver analyzed proprietary databases and data specifically disclosed for this litigation pursuant to a protective order, such that Oliver's peers lack access to the same information, Oliver's expert testimony is not of the type that ordinarily would be subject to peer review, and it would be unfair to require "general acceptance within a relevant scientific community." The Court will not revisit this determination. Section 13-316(c) governs "mortgage servicing" and, among other requirements, provides that a "servicer shall designate a contact to whom mortgagors may direct complaints and inquiries" and that the "contact shall respond in writing to each written complaint or inquiry within 15 days if requested." That's one reason why the settlement, particularly the provisions requiring Nationstar to adhere to enhanced standards, is crucial. Nationstar to pay $91 million to settle claims of it harmed - CNBC Fed. 1024.41(c)(1)(i). Robinson et al v. Nationstar Mortgage LLC, No. Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. v. Dukes, 564 U.S. 338, 348-49 (2011) ("[A] class representative must be part of the class and possess the same interest and suffer the same injury as the class members." Nationstar asserts that Oliver's testimony should be stricken because this fee arrangement includes an unethical contingency fee. Summ. The economic challenges and burdens that homeowners currently face are similar to the ones experienced following the Great Recession. v. Nationstar Mortgage LLC, Case No. 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"). Co, 445 F.3d 311, 318 (4th Cir. 2011) ("[T]he possibility that a well-defined class will nonetheless encompass some class members who have suffered no injury . 1024.41(h)(1). Nationstar argues that summary judgment should be granted against Mrs. Robinson because she is not a "borrower" within the meaning of RESPA. Class Certif. Id. 2019) (noting that the purpose of certifying a class "is not to identify every class member at the time of certification, but to define a class in such a way as to ensure that there will be some administratively feasible [way] for the court to determine whether a particular individual is a member at some point" (internal citation omitted) (quoting EQT Production Co. v. Adair, 764 F.3d 347, 358 (4th Cir. Finally, where Nationstar has offered no specific argument in its brief, beyond those addressed above, to refute Oliver's proffered analysis for identifying RESPA violations arising from the failure to notify borrowers of their appeal rights or the failure to exercise diligence in requesting documents based on repeated requests for the same documents, 12 C.F.R. The Robinsons' expert had written the scripts using data dictionaries and without accessing the databases. The Robinsons appealed the Magistrate Judge's ruling because it did not require Nationstar to run a structural script for a third database. P. 23(a)(3); Deiter v. Microsoft Corp., 436 F.3d 461, 466-67 (4th Cir. Where the results of such an analysis would apply to any individual claim, it would be highly inefficient and wasteful to require duplicative analysis in each such case. 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. When Nationstar received the application, it prevented late fees from being assessed and put a hold on any foreclosure proceedings. The servicer "is liable for any economic damages caused by the violation." More Information 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. 1024.41(c)(1)(ii), 1024.41(b)(1), the Court concludes that common computerized analysis will substantially advance the resolution of such claims, even if not entirely eliminating the need for reviewing certain specific file documents. MSJ JR 0284. 2015) (holding that Regulation X did not apply to loss mitigation applications submitted before the effective date). Contact the Class Action Administrator at 1-855-917-3477 (Toll-Free). The one-time consulting fee was paid in August 2013 to PaCE, a forensic loan auditor, to advise the Robinsons on how to communicate with Nationstar and to handle their loan. 10696, 10708 (Feb. 14, 2013) (codified at 12 C.F.R. A Division of NBC Universal. Questions? Florida Appeals Court Reverses Mortgage Foreclosure - Pike & Lustig, LLP McLean v. GMAC Mortg. See Fed. 2010). McLean I, 595 F. Supp. While it is not necessary to identify every class member at the time of certification for a class to be "ascertainable," a class cannot be certified if its membership must be determined through "individualized fact-finding or mini-trials." The Magistrate Judge ordered Nationstar to run those scripts and return the electronic data to the Robinsons. If more documents are required, then the same Remedy Star substatus and LSAMS code that denote missing documents are entered. That notice must be provided within 30 days of receiving the complete loss mitigation application. Once an underwriter is assigned, that employee double-checks whether the application contains all required documentation and is complete. (quoting 7AA Charles Allan Wright et al., Federal Practice and Procedure 1778 (3d ed. Signed by Judge Theodore D. Chuang on 8/18/2015. Signed by Magistrate Judge Jillyn K Schulze on 9/9/2016 . The Robinsons, however, have not identified any evidence that Nationstar did not intend to, and did not, conduct such evaluations. After an additional period of expert discovery relating to the class certification motion, discovery closed on December 30, 2018. Fed. 16-0307, 2017 WL 1167230, at *3 (E.D.N.C. Corp. ("McLean I"), 595 F. Supp. Docket for Robinson v. Nationstar Mortgage LLC, 8:14-cv-03667 Brought to you by the RECAP Initiative and Free Law Project, a non-profit dedicated to creating high quality open legal information. 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. Aug. 19, 2015). In Frank v. J.P. Morgan Chase Bank, N.A., No. Robinson v. Nationstar Mortgage, LLC: Complaint with jury demand 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. For the Regulation X provisions that require the servicer to communicate specific information to a borrower, Oliver's methodology involves reviewing a sample of loan files and identifying a specific communication to a borrower based on the file name. 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. ("Opp'n') 13, ECF No. Robinson v. Nationstar Mortg. LLC - Casetext For a class action brought for violations of Regulation X, a servicer is liable for "actual damages to each of the borrowers in the class" and, upon a finding of a "pattern or practice" of noncompliance, statutory damages amounting to a maximum of $2,000 per class member up to a total of the lesser of $1 million or one percent of the servicer's net worth. Indeed, Nationstar does not seriously contest the commonality prong. 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. Mr. Robinson's counsel is experienced in complex civil litigation and class action litigation. Proof of these claims requires a showing of the dates that an application was received, an acknowledgment letter was sent, an application became complete, Nationstar sent a decision letter to the borrower, and a foreclosure sale is scheduled. He asserted that the amount of fees was calculated based on Nationstar's statements, but he could not specify the nature of the fees. Nationstar also argues that Oliver's report should be stricken as unreliable under the Federal Rules of Evidence and Daubert. Because Nationstar employees used standard templates to communicate with borrowers, Oliver concluded that Regulation X violations can be identified through the existence of noncompliant templates and the dates that those templates were in use. 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. . And given that the class includes all borrowers who have submitted an application since January 10, 2014, joinder of all members is eminently impractical. R. Evid. 2006). 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. The relevant rule prohibits an attorney from "offer[ing] an inducement to a witness that is prohibited by law." Accordingly, Nationstar did not send the Robinsons an acknowledgment letter within five days stating that it had received the application, as required by Regulation X. USCA4 Appeal: 21-1087 Doc: 38 Filed: 06/15/2021 Pg: 9 of 33 3d 249, 266 (D. Md. Subscribe to our free newsletter right now. Likewise, the articulated concern that Nationstar would not be required to respond to loss mitigation applications filed within a certain number of days of a foreclosure sale, can be addressed through the provision of data relating to the dates of scheduled foreclosure sales. After they became delinquent on their loan, the Robinsons submitted another loan modification application to Nationstar on March 7, 2014. Id. Sept. 9, 2019), there were multiple other claims at issue, for which Oliver's expert report seemed better suited to address. . 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. All but $28.6 million of its. Date: September 9, 2019, Civil Action No. See Stillmock, 385 F. App'x at 274 ("[T]here is no reasoned basis to conclude that the fact that an individual plaintiff can recover attorney's fees in addition to statutory damages of up to $1,000 will result in enforcement of [the Fair Credit Reporting Act] by individual actions of a scale comparable to the potential enforcement by way of class action."). An expert's testimony is "critical" where it is "important to an issue decisive for the motion for class certification." 143. 1967). P. 56(a); Celotex Corp. v. Catrett, 477 U.S. 317, 322 (1986). Where the Robinsons may be able to show that they have suffered actual damages, their claim for statutory damages, upon a showing that Nationstar has engaged in a pattern or practice of violating Regulation X, remains viable. 2605(f)(2). Id. Id. The "Nationwide Class" is composed of "[a]ll persons in the United States that submitted a loss mitigation application to Nationstar after January 10, 2014, and through the date of the Court's certification order." At the time, Nationstar had not completed the process of updating its systems to conform to those requirements. (kw2s, Deputy Clerk) Download PDF Search this Case Google Scholar Google Books Legal Blogs Google Web Bing Web Google News Google News Archive Yahoo! On November 21, 2014, the Robinsons filed suit against Nationstar on behalf of themselves and a class of similarly situated individuals nationwide. 1024.41(d). 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. 89, 90, ECF No. Any additional updates will be posted here. Appellate Win Affirms $3 Million Settlement in Class Action against "We want to hear from you," Raoul says. 1024.41(f), (g), and (h) and Md. Nationstar Mortgage Convenience Fee Class Action Settlement at 152. Finally, while Nationstar presented arguments for why the Robinsons have not shown damages as to most of the asserted categories, it did not advance any argument for why the interest damages claimed by the Robinsons were not attributable to Nationstar's Regulation X violations and thus is not entitled to summary judgment on that issue. R. Evid. . 1024.41(a). Thus, Mrs. Robinson is not "obligated" to pay the amount due on the Note and therefore is not a "borrower" for purposes of RESPA. Tagatz, 861 F.2d at 1042; cf. 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. Where the Robinsons, after discovery, cannot point to evidence that Nationstar did not even consider or evaluate the Robinsons for loss mitigation options, they have not established the existence of a genuine issue of material fact on the issue of false or misleading statements. Robinson v. Nationstar Mortgage, LLC Complaint with jury demand against Nationstar Mortgage, LLC. Therefore, Nationstar was required to comply with section 1024.41 in processing it. 2d 1360, 1366 (S.D. However, the burden is on the plaintiffs to show that other class members exist and that their joinder is impracticable; a court may not rely on mere speculation that numerosity has been satisfied. 3d 254, 274-75 (S.D.N.Y. The fee arrangement will be considered as an issue potentially affecting the credibility, rather than the admissibility, of the expert testimony. 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 complete loss mitigation application is "an application in connection with which a servicer has received all the information that the servicer requires from a borrower in evaluating applications for the loss mitigation options available to the borrower." 10696, 10836. 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. 2. Md. A borrower may enforce violations of these provisions through a private cause of action pursuant to 12 U.S.C. Eligible consumers will be contacted by Nationstar or the settlement administrator about refunds under the settlement. 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.

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