Tag Archives: Mortgage Law
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Webinar: Maurice Wutscher’s Kevin Hudspeth to Discuss Assignment of Rents Enforcement After a Commercial Mortgage Default
Oct. 11, 2022 — Maurice Wutscher attorney Kevin Hudspeth will be speaking in an upcoming Strafford live video webinar, Assignment of Rents Enforcement After a Default: Receivership, Foreclosure, and Bankruptcy Issues on Tuesday, Oct. 25, from 1 pm – 2:30 pm ET. The program is eligible in most states for 1.5 CLE credits.
Mr. Hudspeth will join a panel in discussing the different approaches that state and bankruptcy courts have taken to the exercise of assignment of rent remedies and how those approaches should inform the drafting of an assignment of rents and leases document in a commercial mortgage transaction.
After the presentation, the speakers will engage in a live question and answer session with attendees.
To register to attend the program at half off click here. Or call 1-800-926-7926 and ask for Assignment of Rents Enforcement on 10/25/2022 with promo code ZDFCA.
Kevin Hudspeth is a principal at national business and financial services law firm Maurice Wutscher LLP. He has substantial litigation experience in federal and state courts across the country, predominantly related to consumer protection claims, real estate issues, commercial business disputes, Uniform Commercial Code litigation, loan repurchase litigation, and contested foreclosures. He has handled and overseen cases at all levels, including federal appeals, class action lawsuits, and complicated trial level matters involving complex facts or difficult legal questions. He has also drafted amicus briefs for industry trade associations filed in the U.S. Supreme Court and the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals. Mr. Hudspeth is a former Assistant Attorney General with the Office of the Illinois Attorney General.
Maurice Wutscher’s Ralph Wutscher Named American Bar Foundation Fellow
Dec. 15, 2021 — Maurice Wutscher partner Ralph Wutscher has been named a Fellow of the American Bar Foundation.
The Fellows of the American Bar Foundation is a global honorary society of attorneys, judges, law faculty and legal scholars whose public and private careers have demonstrated outstanding dedication to the highest principles of the legal profession and to the welfare of their communities.
Membership in the Fellows is limited to one percent of lawyers licensed to practice in each jurisdiction. Fellows are nominated by their peers and elected by the Board of the American Bar Foundation.
Ralph Wutscher focuses his practice primarily on representing consumer and commercial financial services companies, including depository and non-depository mortgage lenders, fintech companies of various kinds, credit card issuers, and loan servicers, as well as financial asset buyers and sellers, and other financial services providers. He also has substantial experience representing depository and non-depository auto finance companies. He represents the lending and financial services industry as a litigator, and as regulatory compliance counsel.
Maurice Wutscher’s Kevin Hudspeth Discusses Massachusetts Foreclosure Challenges in Business Law Today
April 15, 2021 — Maurice Wutscher attorney Kevin Hudspeth has written an article for the American Bar Association’s news magazine Business Law Today in which he discusses the Massachusetts foreclosure process and complications that arise for lenders when a note is lost.
In “Much Obliged: Massachusetts Lenders Shouldn’t Have to Lose It Over Lost Notes,” he writes, “a mortgage secures the borrower’s obligation to repay the debt, not the lender’s ability to enforce the note serving as evidence of the debt. Accordingly, the Massachusetts statutory power of sale should allow lenders who can prove that they own a lost mortgage note to foreclose even if they cannot show that the UCC would allow them to enforce the lost note.”
Mr. Hudspeth writes that harmonizing a ruling from the Massachusetts Supreme Court in Eaton v. Fannie Mae with the state UCC “should allow a lender who can demonstrate that it owns a lost mortgage note using ‘principles of the law of property’ to exercise the statutory power of sale. If the lender could not demonstrate its entitlement to enforce the lost note under Massachusetts’ UCC, it presumably could not collect any deficiency after the sale or otherwise obtain a judgment on the note, but reading Eaton together with the Massachusetts UCC should allow the lender to foreclose under the statutory power of sale as long as it can demonstrate that it owns the mortgage note.”
Kevin Hudspeth is of counsel to Maurice Wutscher LLP. He has substantial litigation experience in federal and state courts across the country, predominantly representing national mortgage loan servicers on a wide variety of issues. He regularly litigates cases involving issues such as real estate litigation, commercial business disputes, Uniform Commercial Code litigation, loan repurchase litigation, and contested foreclosures.
Maurice Wutscher’s Kevin Hudspeth Discusses MERS Mortgages in Business Law Today
April 21, 2020 — Maurice Wutscher attorney Kevin Hudspeth has written an article for the American Bar Association’s news magazine Business Law Today in which he discusses a line of judicial opinions from Maine’s Supreme Court that calls into question the ability of foreclosing lenders to rely on mortgage assignments from MERS when proving ownership of the mortgage.
In “MERS’s ‘Maine’ Purpose: Recognizing Key Differences Between MERS Mortgages,” Mr. Hudspeth writes, “Maine’s Supreme Court recently held that a foreclosing lender’s equitable interest in the mortgage does not by itself equate to ownership of the mortgage and does not allow courts to compel the mortgage’s assignment. Beal Bank USA v. New Century Mortg. Corp., 2019 ME 150, ¶ 15. The opinion revives concerns over the viability of foreclosing Maine mortgages involving Mortgage Electronic Registration Systems, Inc. (MERS).”
“Now that Maine’s Supreme Court has shot down the equitable trust argument, however, foreclosing lenders must seek alternative arguments to enforce their mortgage rights. Before they decide how to proceed, they should check their Maine mortgage to see how it describes MERS’s main purpose,” he writes.
Maurice Wutscher Attorneys Speak at ABA’s CFSC Winter Meeting
Jan. 8, 2018 — Maurice Wutscher’s Ernest P. Wagner and D. Sharmin Arefin spoke at the ABA’s Consumer Financial Services Committee winter meeting this week.
Mr. Wagner joined a panel in discussing the new federal Defend Trade Secrets Act’s impact on the recruiting practices of mortgage lenders, best practices for companies to employ in recruiting to minimize risk, and the latest updates on court opinions construing the new legislation.
Ms. Arefin moderated the panel discussion, “Diverse Legal Career Paths in Consumer Financial Services.” She chairs the CFSC’s Diversity Task Force and holds a number of other leadership positions within ABA.
Maurice Wutscher Attorneys to Speak at Consumer Financial Services Conference in Texas
Oct. 19, 2017 — Several Maurice Wutscher attorneys will speak at the Consumer Financial Services Conference at Texas A&M University School of Law, Nov. 2-3.
Donald Maurice will discuss the evolving landscape of first party collections. Ernest P. Wagner will moderate a panel on cybersecurity. Ralph T. Wutscher will moderate a panel on mortgage origination and servicing compliance.
Conference attendees will also hear from other leaders in consumer financial services law on such issues as limited English proficiency, ADA accessibility, vendor management, CFPB actions, RESPA, mortgage servicing litigation, FinTech, arbitration, collateral protection insurance in auto finance, fair lending, and the TCPA.
The conference is organized by the Conference on Consumer Finance Law. Twelve CLE credits will be provided, including one hour of ethics. For more information and to register, click here.
Maurice Wutscher’s Ralph Wutscher to Speak at MBA Regulatory Compliance Conference
Sept. 8, 2016 — Maurice Wutscher attorney Ralph Wutscher will discuss key developments in Homeowners Protection Act litigation and compliance at the national Mortgage Banker Association’s Regulatory Compliance Conference in Washington, D.C. on Sept. 18.
Mr. Wutscher will be among a panel of expert counsel who will review the latest cases involving mortgage compliance and discuss possible defenses.
The conference will be held Sept. 18-20 and will provide comprehensive updates on new rules and developments, including under the Home Mortgage Disclosure Act (HMDA) and in the fair lending space, as well as well as practical tips and guidance from policymakers and regulators who impact the mortgage banking industry.
For more information, click here.
Maurice Wutscher’s Brent Yarborough Speaks to Mortgage Banking Industry at Advocacy Day
April 19, 2016 — Maurice Wutscher’s Brent Yarborough was a panel speaker on April 18 at Advocacy Day 2016, a grass roots advocacy event for mortgage servicers and lenders in Washington, D.C.
The panel discussion, “Advocacy Super Session: How We Got Here,” prepared members of ALFN, USFN, NARCA, and REOMAC to meet with their congressmen about issues faced by attorneys representing the mortgage banking industry.
Mr. Yarborough discussed the federal regulation of the practice of law, including the practice-of-law exclusion under Dodd-Frank and the history of attorney regulation under the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act. He also discussed CFPB enforcement actions against attorneys and law firms.
Maurice Wutscher Attorneys to Speak at Consumer Financial Services Conference
Nov. 4, 2015 — Maurice Wutscher attorneys will discuss the Telephone Consumer Protection Act, mortgage servicing, and attorney ethics at the Consumer Financial Services Conference at Loyola University Chicago School of Law.
Ernest Wagner will share his experiences in TCPA litigation on Nov. 19. Ralph Wutscher will lead a panel discussion on mortgage servicing issues on Nov. 20 and Donald Maurice will present on attorney ethics for financial services lawyers the same day.
Conference attendees will also hear from other leaders in consumer financial services law on fair lending/HMDA, UDAAP, arbitration, cybersecurity, CFPB regulation of automobile financial services, TRID implementation, the latest on flood and forced-placed insurance regulations, developments in state regulation of debt collection, bankruptcy and credit reporting, debt sales after the Madden decision and more.
The conference is organized by the Conference on Consumer Finance Law. Twelve CLE credits will be provided, including one hour of ethics. To view the conference brochure, 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.