Webinars

"Federal Reserve Board Announces Sweeping Mortgage Rule," presented by Jeffrey P. Naimon, Joseph Kolar and Kirk Jensen on July 24, 2008 discussed the Federal Reserve Board's final rule addressing numerous practices that have been wide-spread in both the prime and subprime markets. The rule (1) creates a new category of "higher-priced mortgage loans" subject to new requirements; (2) imposes new requirements related to closed-end mortgages secured by a consumer's principal dwelling; and (3) imposes new requirements related to all mortgage loans. To view the Power Point presentation, please see here. The audio portion of the presentation can be heard here.

"Subprime Mortgage Litigation and Enforcement Action Update," presented by Matthew P. Previn and Jeffrey P. Naimon on April 3, 2008 discussed the meltdown of the subprime mortgage market and the ensuing credit crunch which has brought an onslaught of litigation against all sectors of the mortgage industry. Navigant Consulting, Inc., a litigation and management consulting firm, has reported that nearly 300 subprime-related cases have been filed in federal courts in the past year. In addition, federal and state government agencies have ratcheted up their scrutiny of mortgage brokers, lenders, servicers and insurers, among other industry players, initiating extensive investigations and litigation that threatens far reaching consequences for both the companies involved and the industry as a whole. In their discussion, Mr. Previn and Mr. Naimon, along with Jeff Nielsen of Navigant Consulting, Inc., covered major litigation and enforcement developments, including:

• Massachusetts v. Fremont Investment & Loan, in which a state court recently granted the Commonwealth of Massachusetts' motion for a preliminary injunction barring foreclosures of loans made by Fremont that the court held are "presumptively unfair." This case is now on appeal but raises significant issues regarding potential liability for lenders and assignees for loans that did not violate consumer credit laws but are nonetheless being challenged as being structurally unfair.
• Recent Trends in Subprime Mortgage Litigation Cases - Jeff Nielsen will discuss the trends that are emerging in cases filed against various industry participants, with a focus on the emerging areas of greatest potential risk and liability to the industry.
• Fair Lending - A spate of fair lending cases have been filed against dozens of mortgage companies, often based on conclusions drawn from HMDA data.
• Servicing Litigation - A growing number of cases and enforcement actions are challenging long standing practices of mortgage servicers with respect to collections and foreclosure actions.

A copy of the Power Point presentations is available here. The audio portion of the presentation can be heard here.

Supplemental Materials:

NCRC v Accredited - Motion to dismiss

NCRC v Accredited - Reply

Fremont Preliminary Injunction Order

Fremont Amici Curiae Brief

"Release of Proposed RESPA Reform Regulation by HUD," presented by Joseph M. Kolar and Grant E. Mitchell on March 19th, 2008 covered proposed amendments to Regulation X, the regulation implementing the Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act (RESPA). Mr. Kolar and Mr. Mitchell discussed HUD's proposed sweeping changes in the disclosure of real estate settlement service fees, volume discounts and average-cost pricing, and the tightening of exemptions for affiliated business transactions in which discounted or bundled services are offered. To view the Power Point presentation, please see here. The audio portion can be heard here.

Joseph T. Lynyak and Dr. Marsha Courchane, Vice-President of CRA, International, presented a web seminar analyzing the 2006 HMDA Data and Screening Procedures used by Federal Regulators on October 3, 2007.  The presentation addressed the current status of fair lending enforcement actions, including referrals to the Department of Justice by the Federal Regulatory Agencies and private civil litigation. Particular emphasis was placed on the evolving screening methodologies used by the federal agencies—including recommendations to monitor a lender’s fair lending performance to avoid being targeted for further inquiry and investigation. A copy of the presentation is available here.

"Evidence Requirements for Electronic Signatures," presented by Margo H.K. Tank on May 15th, 2007 covered current trends in e-signatures and records and the processes used to create them. Mrs. Tank and representatives from Silanis discussed how, as more and more processes are brought online, organizations must take steps to ensure their mission-critical processes and transactions continue to be legally enforceable. To access the oringial recording, please see http://www.silanis.com/site/corporate/seminars.php?id=491.

"Defending Fair Lending Allegations," presented by Joseph T. Lynyak of Buckley Kolar LLP, Dr. Timothy H. Savage of ERS Group and Dr. Ann B. Schnare of Corporate Risk Advisors LLC on December 8, 2006. To view related materials, please follow the links below.

• Defending Fair Lending Allegations Presentation
• NCRC Complaint to HUD - Fieldstone (March 16, 2006)
• NCRC Complaint to HUD - NovaStar (March 16, 2006)
• NCRC Complaint to HUD - Regions, EFC and EquiFirst (March 16, 2006)
• SouthStar Funding Conciliation Agreement (September 13, 2006)
• NCRC Press Release regarding SouthStar Settlement (September 19, 2006)
• NCRC Press Release regarding EquiFirst Settlement (November 14, 2006)
• Countrywide Home Loans Assurance of Discontinuance (November 22, 2006)
• Fair Lending Services offered by Corporate Risk Advisors LLC

"Why and How to Organize a Federal Savings Bank," presented by Joseph T. Lynyak and Jeffrey P. Naimon on October 25, 2006. The presentation slides that accompanied the discussion are available here. For a copy of the accompanying memorandum on organizing or acquiring a federal savings bank, plesae see here.

InfoBytes

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Books

• Introduction to Mortgage Lending (© American Bankers Association) (Andrea Lee Negroni & Jeremiah S. Buckley, co-authors)
• Residential Mortgage Lending: State Regulation Manual (© West Group) (Andrea Lee Negroni, principal author; John Kromer, co-author)
• Residential Mortgage Lending: Brokers (© West Group) (Andrea Lee Negroni & John Kromer co-authors)
• Pratt's State Regulation of Second Mortgages and Home Equity Loans (A.S. Pratt & Sons.) (John Kromer and Andrea Lee Negroni, co-authors).
• The Law of Electronic Signatures and Records (Jeremiah S. Buckley, Margo Tank, R. David Whitaker, and John Kromer, co-authors)
• Pratt's Mortgage Compliance Newsletter (Andrea Lee Negroni, Editor)

Recent Articles

• Andrea Lee Negroni wrote an article on the fiduciary duties owed by mortgage brokers to their borrower clients. It was published in the October 2007 issue of Mortgage Banking magazine. It is captioned “Mortgage Brokers – What Fiduciary Duties Exist?”
• A legal update, prepared by Joseph Lynyak and Clinton Rockwell, entitled "2006 California Legislative Developments for Financial Service Companies" is now available as a free resource. The update provides summary and analysis of statutory developments of interest to the financial services industry.
• An article co-authored by Margo Tank entitled "It's the Message, not the Medium!  Rules for Electronic Records and Signatures in Recorded Land Title Instruments" was published in The Computer & Internet Lawyer (Dec. 2006, Vol. 23, No. 12).  An earlier version of the article was published in The Business Lawyer in August 2005.
• An article written by Margo Tank and Frank Supik entitled "eMortgage Implementation Considerations" appeared in the July/August 2006 issue of Electronic Banking Law and Commerce Report. The article summarizes legal and business developments in an emerging field of mortgage banking. Electronic Banking Law and Commerce Report is a publication of Thomson/West LegalWorks and subscription information can be found at http://west.thomson.com/product/37005138/product.asp.
• "The Home Mortgage Disclosure Act: Its History, Evolution and Limitations" Presented at a Forum on "Home Mortgage Disclosure Act: Compliance, Agency Enforcement and Class Action Litigation" at the American Bar Association's Committee on Consumer Financial Services in Tampa, FL on April 6, 2006. (Joe Kolar and Jon Jerison)
• An article co-authored by Margo Tank entitled “It’s the Message, Not the Medium! Electronic Record and Electronic Signature Rules Preserve Existing Focus of the Law on Content, Not Medium of Recorded Land Title Instruments” was published in the American Bar Association’s “The Business Lawyer.” (August 2005, Vol. 60, No. 4)
• An article written by Jacob Thiessen and Kirk Jensen titled “New Requirement for Fannie and Freddie may mean suspicious activity reporting for mortgage lenders” was published in the October 5, 2005 edition of Consumer Financial Services Law Report. Reprinted with permission from LRP Publications, Inc. Copyright 2005 by LRP, 747 Dresher Rd, Horsham, PA 19044. All rights reserved. For more information on products published by LRP, please call (800) 341-7874 or visit us at www.shoplrp.com.
• An article written by Jacob Theissen and Kirk Jensen titled "New Illinois Bill Raises Serious Privace Concerns" was published in the National Home Equity Mortgage Association's July 7, 2005 Equity Update.
• An article written by Kirk Jensen titled "California Supreme Court Invalidates Class Arbitration Prohibitions" was published in the National Home Equity Mortgage Association's July 7, 2005 Equity Update.
• An article written by Jeff Naimon titled "RESPA Here We Go Again" was published in the July 6, 2005 issue of AllRegs Weekly Digest.
• An article written by Kirk Jensen titled "Emperical Evidence Indicates Individuals Fare Well in Arbitration" was published in the June 2005 edition of the North Carolina Bar Association's Dispute Resolution.
• An article written by Jerry Buckley titled "Two Ways to Help Consumers Understand Loans" was published in the May 6, 2005 edition of the American Banker.
• "Compromise is Needed on Data Security" American Banker, March 24, 2005 (Jacob G. Thiessen)
• "The Home Mortgage Disclosure Act: Its History, Evolution and Limitations" Presented at the Georgetown University Credit Research Center on March 14, 2005 (Joe Kolar and Jon Jerison)
• "Federal Preemption Under the ESIGN Act" February 2005 issue of Electronic Banking Law and Commerce Report (Jeremiah S. Buckley and R. Colgate Selden, co-authors)
• "Expediting Payoff Statement Delivery: Compensable “Special Service” or Unlawful Fee?" December 2004 issue of Servicing Management Magazine (Andrea Lee Negroni)
• "Translating Disclosures for the Hispanic Market, The Benefits of Translating Key Documents" December 2004 issue of Mortgage Originator (Andrea Lee Negroni and Camilo Munoz, co-authors)
• "Assignee Liability in Residential Mortgage Transactions" March 2003 issue of The Review of Banking and Financial Services (Jeffrey Naimon, Jacob Thiessen and Jennifer Beall, co-authors)
• "Risky Business: State Regulation of Money Transmitters" CLEAR News Spring 2003 issue (Andrea Lee Negroni)
• "Referendum on RESPA Reform" February 2003 issue of Mortgage Banking Magazine published by the Mortgage Bankers of America (Joseph M. Kolar and Nikita M. Pastor, co-authors)
• "Marketing Mortgages En Espanol" August 2002 issue of Mortgage Banking Magazine (Andrea Lee Negroni and Lorna M. Neill, co-authors).