Category Archives: Event

DBA Webinar to Provide State Legislative, Regulatory Update

Sept. 10, 2015 — Maurice Wutscher attorney Donald Maurice and David Reid, director of Government Affairs for DBA International, will give a state legislative and regulatory update for the receivables management industry today during a DBA webinar at 12 noon ET.

The webinar will discuss the work of the DBA International State Legislative Committee to educate legislators, regulators and their staffs on the intricacies of the receivables management industry and how subtle changes to the law can have profound effects on businesses and consumers.

The committee has tracked more than 100 legislative proposals so far this year. The webinar will review the successes, top challenges, and bills of continuing interest to the DBA membership including:

  • California
  • District of Columbia
  • Illinois
  • Maine
  • New York
  • North Carolina
  • Oregon
  • West Virginia

For more information and to register, click here.

Maurice Wutscher’s Ralph Wutscher to Discuss Origination and Servicing Claims at MBA Conference

Sept. 9, 2015 — Maurice Wutscher attorney Ralph Wutscher will participate in a litigation forum, “Origination and Servicing Claims,” at MBA’s Regulatory Compliance Conference 2015 in Washington, D.C. on Sept. 20. He will be among a panel of expert counsel who will speak on the range of origination and servicing claims being brought against mortgage lenders and how they are being addressed.

The conference will be held at the Grand Hyatt Washington from Sept. 20-22 and will provide comprehensive updates on new rules and current interpretations of previously released rules, as well as practical tips and guidance, from the policymakers and regulators who impact the mortgage banking industry.

For more information, click here.

Donald Maurice to Chair Presentation on Debt Collection Litigation

Sept. 9, 2015 — Maurice Wutscher attorney Donald Maurice will chair a presentation on the latest developments in debt collection litigation and regulation on Sept. 18 at the American Bar Association’s Consumer Financial Services Committee Meeting in Chicago.

The presentation is part of the ABA’s Business Law Section Annual Meeting, which features more than 70 CLE programs prepared and presented by practice-area experts; topical sessions covering the latest business law issues; social events designed to facilitate networking and establish new contacts; and hundreds of committee and subcommittee meetings addressing developments in all areas of business law.

Click here for more information.

Donald Maurice to Discuss Foreclosure Litigation at ACI Forum

Sept. 9, 2015 — Maurice Wutscher attorney Donald Maurice will participate in a panel survey exploring the latest developments in foreclosure litigation in hotbed jurisdictions at ACI’s 18th National Forum on Residential Mortgage Litigation and Regulatory Enforcement in Dallas on Sept. 17.

The panel will examine homeowners bills of rights, statute of limitations issues, HOA liens, state UDAAP claims, and other trends in foreclosure litigation.

The residential mortgage industry’s leading in-house and outside counsel will attend the meeting to gain insight into strategies, government enforcement and regulatory priorities, and judicial perspectives from top federal and state judges.

For more information and to register, click here.

Webinar to Discuss California’s One Form of Action Rule

Aug. 21, 2015 — Maurice Wutscher attorneys will present a webinar on Aug. 25 discussing California’s one form of action rule.

The Supreme Court of California is currently reviewing two significant appellate court rulings involving the “one form of action” rule: Coker v. JP Morgan Chase Bank, N.A., 218 Cal. App. 4th 1 (4th Dist. 2013) and First California Bank v. McDonald, 231 Cal. App. 4th 550 (5th Dist. 2014).

In Coker, to resolve a nonjudicial foreclosure, the mortgagee of a purchase-money loan conditioned a short sale on the borrower’s agreement to remain responsible for any deficiency. A copy of the Appellate Court’s ruling in Coker is available here: Link to Opinion.

McDonald involves a judicial foreclosure on a mortgage loan made to a husband and wife, where the husband was deceased, and the mortgagee did not obtain the consent of the deceased husband’s estate prior to liquidating part of the collateral owned exclusively by the wife. A copy of the Appellate Court’s ruling in McDonald is available here: Link to Opinion.

The issues presented for review before the Supreme Court of California in these two cases are:

1. Does a borrower waive the protection of the “security first” rule under California Code of Civil Procedure section 726 by agreeing to a short sale?

2. Can a servicer condition a short sale on waiver by the borrower of the anti-deficiency protections under California Code of Civil Procedure section 580b?

3. Does a servicer violate California Code of Civil Procedure section 726 when it consents to a borrower’s voluntary ″short sale″ of her own property without obtaining the consent of a co-borrower who has no ownership interest in that property?

4. When there is a violation of Section 726, should alternate remedies, short of the servicer losing its right to pursue a deficiency judgment, be available to the courts where the servicer acted in good faith and there has been no prejudice to the co-borrower?

5. Does Pacific Valley Bank v. Schwenke (1987) 189 Cal. App. 3d 134, remain good law after the California Supreme Court’s decision in Security Pacific National Bank v. Wozab (1990) 51 Cal. 3d 991, which bars a loss-of-debt penalty in the absence of evidence of lender bad faith?

For more information and to register, click here.

Webinar to Review Credit Reporting Risks in Bankruptcy

Aug. 7, 2015 — Maurice Wutscher will give a webinar for the credit and collections industry on Aug. 19, “Credit Reporting and Bankruptcy – Latest Risks for Furnishers.”

Recent litigation suggests that both the content and the timing of furnished information before, during and after a consumer bankruptcy poses a unique risk to the credit and collections industry. The webinar will explore issues arising from recent litigation and how furnishers can contain their risk and enhance their credit reporting compliance.

For more information and to register, click here.

Maurice Wutscher’s Donald Maurice to Speak on Litigation Risks for Debt Buyers at DBA International Executive Summit

July 30, 2015 — Maurice Wutscher attorney Donald Maurice will discuss litigation risks for debt buyers and more at the DBA International Executive Summit in Park City, Utah, Aug. 11-13.

Mr. Maurice will participate in a panel review of top litigation risks for debt buyers, including collecting interest on purchased debt, time-barred debt, settlement offers and the TCPA. He also will present on ethics and its role in a robust compliance management system and will discuss the CFPB’s recent consent order with JP Morgan Chase.

For more information and to see the agenda, click here. 

Webinar to Explore FDCPA and Estimates of Mortgage Lenders’ Costs

June 24, 2015 — Maurice Wutscher will give a webinar on July 9, exploring the FDCPA and estimates of mortgage lenders’ costs.

Providing statements of the amount due, or of the amount required to cure a default – such as in Notices of Intention to Foreclose, periodic statements, and the like — has become risky for mortgage servicers under a recent ruling from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit.

The ruling, Kaymark v. Bank of America, involved a foreclosure complaint, which included projected fees and costs that had not yet been incurred at the time the complaint was filed. Ultimately the costs were incurred, but the court found that the foreclosure complaint’s inclusion of the projected fees and costs in the amounts due stated a claim for violation of the federal Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA).

Kaymark likely impacts what a mortgage servicer can include in periodic statements, Notices of Intent to Foreclose, and other disclosures of amounts due or amounts required to cure a default, at least in the Third Circuit (Delaware, New Jersey, Pennsylvania and the Virgin Islands).

For more information and to register, click here.

Webinar to Examine FCC’s TCPA Declaratory Rulings

July 13, 2015 — Maurice Wutscher will give a webinar on July 17 on the FCC’s TCPA declaratory rulings, which are expected to have a substantial impact on the financial services industry. The webinar has been rescheduled due to the delay in the release of the package of rulings.

The webinar will examine:

Dialer Technology

What do the rulings say about predictive dialers, preview dialers and future dialing technology? What does the FCC mean what it talks about “capacity” and “calling from a list of numbers?” Can you ever be certain that your equipment is not an ATDS?

Consent

What do the rulings mean for the manner, content or means a businesses must use to obtain prior, express consent to call a customer’s cellphone using an “automated telephone dialing system” or prerecorded message? And who provides the consent?

Revocation of Consent

The rulings allow consent to be withdrawn orally or in writing “through any reasonable means.” The FCC interprets the TCPA as not allowing callers to define the manner in which revocation can occur. We’ll discuss how revocation issues have been litigated and how that litigation will likely evolve as a result of the rulings.

Relief from Liability for Calling Reassigned Numbers

The risks of dialing a reassigned number using an ATDS remain large and it is likely to stay that way given the limited relief provided by the rulings. We’ll explore the “one call” exception and give our take on what role it can play going forward.

“Urgent” Information Calls

ATDS calls that would alert a consumer to certain events get special treatment. We will look at what kind of calls can qualify.

“Dual Purpose” and Telemarketing Calls

The rulings address the content of prior express written consent for “dual purpose” and telemarketing calls as well as whether all forms of prior express written consent obtained before the October 2013 rule change are effective. The rulings’ interpretation of these issues will be of special interest to lenders and loan servicers.

For more information and to register, click here.

Webinar to Examine FDCPA Risks of Collecting Statutory Prejudgment Interest

May 28, 2015 — Maurice Wutscher attorneys Donald Maurice and Thomas R. Dominczyk will give a webinar on June 18, examining the FDCPA risks of collecting statutory prejudgment interest.

According to a decision earlier this month from the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, collecting prejudgment interest in California did not violate the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act. The decision, Diaz v Kubler, rejected the debtor’s contention that interest allowed by a California statute could not be collected unless a judgment was first entered.

While the decision brings clarity when collecting prejudgment interest in California, it does not authorize the collection of prejudgment interest under other state statutes.

Absent a federal law controlling the imposition of statutory interest on a debt, these varying state requirements and conditions mean there is no national standard for the collection of prejudgment interest.

The webinar will examine court decisions from around the nation, explore state statutes and answer questions. For more information and to register, click here.

Donald Maurice to Discuss Unsecured Consumer Debt at Northwest Bankruptcy Institute

April 30, 2015 — Maurice Wutscher attorney Donald Maurice will discuss emerging issues in the enforcement of unsecured consumer debt at the Northwest Bankruptcy Institute in Portland, Ore. on May 2. He will speak with representatives from the Office of the U.S. Trustee, the CFPB and the Oregon Department of Justice. The panel will be moderated by U.S. Bankruptcy Court Judge Frank Alley.

The event is cosponsored by the Oregon State Bar Debtor-Creditor Section and the Washington State Bar Association Creditor Debtor Rights Section.