Maryland, Foreclosure, Financial Litigation, Title
Bizhan Beiramee
Md. App.: No statute of limitations for ...

Maryland intermediate appellate court reaffirms that there is no statute of limitations applicable to the foreclosures of mortgages. 2014 Amendments to statute of limitations confirmed that foreclosure proceedings were not subject to the 12-year limitations period, and was part of a statutory scheme to reduce the limitations period for post-foreclosure deficiency proceedings to three years.

Md. App.: No statute of limitations for foreclosure.
Title, Financial Litigation, Real Estate
Bizhan Beiramee
E.D. Pa.: Recipient bank of fraudulent wire ...

Buyer in a real estate transaction who is duped by fraudulent wiring instructions is not owed a duty by the transferee/recipient bank of the wire transfer: No duty to the sender/buyer to properly verify the identity of the person who opened the recipient bank account, nor a duty to take “preventable steps” before permitting the withdrawal of a large amount of funds from the newly opened bank account.

E.D. Pa.: Recipient bank of fraudulent wire transfer owes no tort duty to sender to validate account
U.S. Supreme Court, Debt Collection
Bizhan Beiramee
U.S. Supreme Ct. limits FDCPA applicability in ...

The U.S. Supreme Court held that “those who engage in only nonjudicial foreclosure proceedings are not debt collectors within the meaning of the [FDCPA],” save for § 1692f(6), which prohibits certain conduct in “effect[ing] dispossession or disablement of property.”  On the other hand, the bulk of the FDPCA’s prohibitions, including § 1692g(b)’s verification requirement, did not apply to such foreclosure firm.

U.S. Supreme Ct. limits FDCPA applicability in nonjudicial foreclosures
Maryland, Real Estate
Bizhan Beiramee
Md. Holds Covenant to Pay Lease Commissions ...

The Court of Appeals of Maryland determined that, after a foreclosure sale, commercial real estate brokers could not enforce a covenant to pay renewal leasing commissions against the new owner, because the right to renewal commissions were personal obligations of the Original Owner/Landlord, which did not run with the land.

Md. Holds Covenant to Pay Lease Commissions Extinguished By Foreclosure
Virginia, Title, Real Estate
Bizhan Beiramee
Va. holds deed's description of property based ...

The Supreme Court of Virginia held that a deed’s legal description referring to a boundary road, includes title to the center line of the road, unless a contrary intent is shown. A description of the square footage of the property that excluded the area of the road did not show a contrary intent, because square footage is the least certain mode of describing land, which must yield to a description by boundaries and distances.

Va. holds deed's description of property based upon boundary road includes title to the center line.

Financial Litigation

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Md. App.: Assignee of HELOC subject to licensing requirement; foreclosure not barred by merger, limitations, or non-negotiability

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Md. App.: Assignee of HELOC subject to licensing requirement; foreclosure not barred by merger, limitations, or non-negotiability

The Appellate Court of Maryland determined that an assignee of the Home Equity Line of Credit (HELOC) was subject to the licensing requirements under Maryland's Credit Grantor Revolving Credit Provisions, Md. Code, Comm. Law § 12-901, et seq.

However, the Court rejected challenges to the enforceability of HELOC as having merged with a prior judgment on the debt, was barred by a statute of limitations, or that Assignee lacked standing because the HELOC was non-negotiable.  According to the Court, a recorded assignment of the HELOC conclusively established ownership in the Assignee.

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D. Md.: Vague “corporate advances” in mortgage statements may violate FDCPA

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D. Md.: Vague “corporate advances” in mortgage statements may violate FDCPA

The Maryland federal district court held that vague "recoverable corporate advances" on mortgage statements may violate the FDCPA. The Court noted that while "debt collectors may not have an affirmative, specific legal duty to itemize, they are nevertheless obligated to avoid practices that would mislead an unsophisticated consumer, which may necessitate proper and sufficient itemization."

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Md. App.: Reverse Mortgage Entitled To Fire Insurance Proceeds To Satisfy Remaining Balance After Foreclosure

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Md. App.: Reverse Mortgage Entitled To Fire Insurance Proceeds To Satisfy Remaining Balance After Foreclosure

The Appellate Court of Maryland determined that a foreclosure of a reverse mortgage did not extinguish the Lender’s right to insurance proceeds for a casualty loss that had occurred presale, up to the amount of the remaining unpaid balance.  In doing so, the Court applied the “loss before foreclosure rule” to the reverse mortgage, notwithstanding the reverse mortgage’s prohibitions against collection of a deficiency judgment.