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The Federal Reserve Board recently announced final rules designed to protect mortgage borrowers from unfair and deceptive practices by loan originators. The new rules target a lender compensation scheme in which loan originators receive more money if a borrower accepts an interest rate higher than the rate required by the […]

Representative Brad Miller of North Carolina has introduced a bill, the Mortgage Servicing Conflict of Interest Elimination Act. The bill would prohibit a company that services a loan it does not own from holding any other mortgage on that property. The proposed legislation would eliminate a built-in conflict of interest […]

The Federal Reserve Board recently approved a final rule to protect credit card users from unreasonable late payment and other penalty fees. The rule also requires credit card issuers to reconsider any interest rate increases imposed since the beginning of 2009. The final rule represents the third stage of the […]

North Carolina Governor Beverly Perdue signed into law the Homeowner and Homebuyer Protection Act. The Act is intended to provide important protections to those at risk of losing their homes to foreclosure. Such distressed homeowners are too often victimized by foreclosure rescue scams. The Act provides that it is unlawful […]

Here’s a break from the generally serious tone of our blogs. The Consumer Attorneys of California recently produced a video entitled ‘A World Without Lawyers.’ The video dispels myths about lawyers and highlights the important role lawyers serve in protecting consumers. We’re not only fighting in court against the powerful […]

This month, President Obama signed into law the most important financial and consumer protection law in years as part of Congress’s Wall Street reform legislation. The Wall Street reform legislation contains many provisions designed to prevent future taxpayer-funded bailouts and curb unfair tactics banks perpetrate on consumers. Important aspects of […]

In an opinion issued April 27, 2010, the United States Supreme Court held that arbitrators could not allow class arbitration where an arbitration clause is silent as to whether class arbitration is permitted. The decision in Stolt-Nielsen S.A. v. Animalfeeds Int’l Corp. is a significant blow to consumers and class […]

Two Countrywide mortgage servicing companies have agreed to pay $108 million to settle Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”) charges that they collected excessive fees from homeowners whose loans Countrywide serviced. The $108 million settlement represents one of the largest judgments imposed in an FTC case. The funds will be used to […]

Countrywide Financial Corp., a mortgage lender acquired by Bank of America, has agreed to a $624 million settlement of a lawsuit which accused the lender of misleading investors about its lending practices. The class action lawsuit was led by several pension funds. In the lawsuit, the plaintiffs alleged that Countrywide […]

On April 26, 2010, the United States Supreme Court heard oral arguments in a case addressing whether an arbitrator has authority to determine whether an arbitration clause is unenforceable due to unconscionability. The case, Rent-A-Center, West, Inc. v. Jackson, has far-reaching implications because it has been traditionally held that courts, […]