The Illinois Supreme Court recently reversed an appellate court opinion holding that a complaint filed by an unregistered collection agency is a nullity, and any judgment entered on such a complaint is void. LVNV Funding, LLC v. Trice, 2015 IL 116129 (Feb. 27, 2015) has an interesting procedural history. After…
Read More »The debt collector in Buchanan v. Northland Group, Inc., No. 13-2523 (6th Cir. Jan. 13, 2015) made a settlement offer to the debtor to resolve an unpaid debt without disclosing that the statute of limitations had run on the debt. The debtor sued claiming that the letter falsely implied that…
Read More »An Oregon Bankruptcy Court interpreting Section 11 U.S.C. §1322(b)(9) held that a bankruptcy plan that provid[ed] for the vesting of mortgaged property in a lender at the time of confirmation may be confirmed over the lender’s objection. In Re Watt, No. 14-31295-tmb13, (Bankr. D.OR. Oct.15, 2014). Debtors, in an effort…
Read More »The Chapter 13 debtor in In re LaGrone, Bankruptcy No. 13-B-21423; Adversary No. 14-A-00587, (Bankr. N.D. Ill. Jan. 21, 2015) brought an adversary proceeding against debt collector alleging that the debt collector violated the Fair Debt Collections Practices Act (FDCPA) when the debt collector filed a proof of claim on…
Read More »Bank successfully appealed a trial court’s order involuntarily dismissing its foreclosure with prejudice on the grounds that the successor servicer could not rely on the business records of prior servicers to prove-up the bank’s claim at trial. In reaching its conclusion, the appellate court in Bank of New York v.…
Read More »An Illinois appellate court recently held that a provision of the Illinois Probate Act (Act) relating to the disposition of a deceased mortgagor’s real estate trumps the state foreclosure law. The executor in In re Estate of LaPlume, 2014 IL App (2d) 130945 (Dec. 4, 2014) petitioned to sell the…
Read More »If the security instruments collateralizing a troubled account contain minor mistakes the lender is at serious risk of losing its right of enforcement if the debtor files bankruptcy. In re Duckworth, Nos. 14-1561 & 14-1650 Cons. (November 21, 2014) the Seventh Circuit reversed a decision by the district and bankruptcy…
Read More »A retroactive application of New Jersey law setting a time limit to enforce mortgage defaults resulted in a free house for the mortgagor In re Washington, No. 14-14573-TBA, (Bankr. D.N.J. Nov. 5, 2014). [W]ith figurative hand holding the nose a New Jersey Bankruptcy court granted a debtor’s motion for summary…
Read More »The debtor in In re Hernandez, No. 12-37496 (Bankr. S.D. Tex. Nov. 6, 2014) received a discharge in a chapter 7 bankruptcy but his servicer continued to send him monthly statements asking for payment on the loan. After debtor’s counsel sent several cease and desist letters, the servicer wrote that…
Read More »The Seventh Circuit recently held that a federal court does not lose jurisdiction where the defendant offers the individual plaintiff in an FDCPA class action more than she could hope to recover in her individual claim. In Smith v. Greystone Alliance, LLC, No. 14-1758 (7th Cir. Nov. 13, 2014) the…
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