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DannLaw: CFPB/Wells settlement is welcome, but big bank will continue to abuse homeowners

Consumer Fraud

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DannLaw founder Marc DannWhile the $3.7 billion settlement between Wells Fargo and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is welcome news, it doesn’t resolve all the issues surrounding the bank’s bad behavior–a point made by CFPB Director Rohit Chopra who noted that Wells’ rinse-repeat cycle of violating the law has harmed millions of American families.” He also said the company is a serial offender that puts one third of American households at risk of harm and that finding permanent resolution to this bank’s pattern of unlawful behavior is a top priority.
As most of you know, holding Wells accountable is also a top priority for DannLaw. We successfully represented clients in a class action suit related to the same issues outlined in the CFPB order and we are currently pursuing cases in California and New Jersey.
In addition, we continue to recieve calls and emails from homeowners who are involved in home mortgage disputes with Wells. If Wells is your lender or servicer and you believe you are being abused by the bank please contact DannLaw today by calling Lisa at 216-250-4012, emailing [email protected], or visiting https://dannlaw.com/contact/ to schedule a no-cost consultation that will enable us to determine if you are entitled to financial compensation.
Under the terms of the agreement with the CFPB Wells will provide $2 billion in compensation to consumers for engaging in the following activities:
• Unlawfully repossessing vehicles and bungling borrower accounts: Wells Fargo had systematic failures in its servicing of automobile loans that resulted in $1.3 billion in harm across more than 11 million accounts.
• Improperly denying mortgage modifications: During at least a seven-year period, the bank improperly denied thousands of mortgage loan modifications, which in some cases led to Wells Fargo customers losing their homes to wrongful foreclosures.
• Illegally charging surprise overdraft fees: For years, Wells Fargo unfairly charged surprise overdraft fees – fees charged even though consumers had enough money in their account to cover the transaction at the time the bank authorized it.
• Unlawfully freezing consumer accounts and mispresenting fee waivers: Customers affected by these account freezes were unable to access any of their money in accounts at the bank for an average of at least two weeks.
The terms of the agreement require Wells to contact its victims. Eligible consumers don’t have to take any action.
We wish we could say we believe Wells will now clean up its act. But we don’t. We know the bank is taking advantage of homeowner and consumers every day. If you are one of them, please contact DannLaw today wo we can protect your rights, your family and fight for the compensation you deserve.

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The End of Covid Forbearance is here. Time to rework your loan. 

DannLaw founder Marc DannMortgage forbearance and other programs made available to homeowners during the COVID-19 pandemic are about to end. That means millions of homeowners are or will soon be pursuing loan modifications or other work out options with their lenders. Karen Ortiz, Roberto Rivera, and DannLaw’s highly experienced and knowledgeable legal staff are here to help families navigate the complicated process and select the payment structure that best meets their needs. Please contact us to arrange a no-cost, no-obligation consultation by calling 216-373-0539 or completing our contact form.

Changes at DannLaw

We are sad to announce that Attorney Whitney Horton is leaving DannLaw after being a valuable member of our team for more than seven years. If Whitney has been working on your case, a notice of substitution of counsel will be filed in the next few weeks. Whitney Kaster, who was at DannLaw before the pandemic is returning to the firm on Monday April 24. Attorney Kaster will work me and Emily White on foreclosure defense matters and with Brian Flick on Consumer Protection cases.  In addition, Amanda Severt who has been our administrative assistant has been promoted and will now work as a paralegal assigned to foreclosure cases and state court litigation.

 Student Loan Changes

The U.S. Department of Education is making changes to the Income Based Repayment program for Federal Student Loans that should enable lower income borrowers to fulfill their obligations faster and qualify for Public Service or other Loan forgiveness programs sooner. You may read about the changes here. Richard Cordray who served as Ohio Treasurer and AG before being named the first director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and is now in charge of Student Loan Issues at the DOE drafted and implemented these significant improvements.  

Foreclosures Are Ramping Up 

Along with forbearance and other relief programs, foreclosure stays are ending.  That means hundreds and perhaps thousands of new judicial foreclosure actions will be filed in Ohio, New Jersey and other states. We have the experience, expertise, and knowledge needed to save your home.

Remember this important point: The filing of a foreclosure lawsuit is the beginning, not the end of the process. Please reach out to DannLaw or another attorney as soon as you know a foreclosure action has been filed against you. If you’ve been served with a foreclosure complaint you have a short time–28 Days in Ohio–to retain a lawyer and file an answer. The vast majority of people who retain us because they want to stay in their home are able to do exactly that.

In addition to defending the foreclosure action, we conduct a thorough investigation to determine if your mortgage loan servicer has followed all applicable rules and laws that govern mortgage lending. If we discover violations, we can bring and pursue claims against the mortgage company. Our foreclosure clients pay an affordable monthly payment into our trust account to cover the fees that we earn in their cases. We offer a free consultation. If you or anyone you know has been sued for foreclosure please contact us here, or call us at 216-373-0539. To schedule an appointment with me visit calendly.com/mdann.

 Regulation F Changes the Game for Debt Collectors and Consumers 

 The CFPB has enacted new strict rules that govern the manner in which debt collectors may contact you by mail, email, text, telephone or social media. You can read about the new regs here. In addition, Credit Reporting Agencies will no longer report most medical debt. This should help consumers improve their credit score. If you believe a debt collector has made a misrepresentation to you or contacted you by phone, letter, text, or email at an inappropriate time you may be entitled to financial compensation. Please feel free to contact us to discuss your situation.

 Data Breach Cases

Multiple courts have selected DannLaw to serve as Class Counsel in data breach Cases. A data breach occurs when a company fails to properly safeguard its customers’ personal information. Our legal staff devotes considerable time and resources to pursuing and securing just compensation for the inconvenience, expense, and aggravation data breach victims endure.

I have a new perspective on that today. I’ve been ensnared in multiple data breaches. Someone obtained my personal information and “took over” my bank account. I’ve spent 20 hours sorting out payments, ACHs and was forced to visit my bank three times. I have a renewed passion to ensure that companies who allow breaches to occur are held accountable for their actions.  If you are notified that your information is at risk due to a breach, contact us immediately so we can take all available legal steps to secure just compensation for you and other data breach victims.

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DannLaw founder Marc DannDannLaw Founder and former Ohio Attorney General Marc Dann today expressed satisfaction with the $12.9 million settlement that has been reached in the firm’s class action lawsuit against Well Fargo Bank, N.A. Judge Timothy Black of the Federal District Court for the Southern District of Ohio signed an order approving the settlement on January 25, 2022. More than 1,800 class members will receive between $1,000 and $19,000. While Wells agreed to the settlement, the company admitted to no wrongdoing in the matter.

DannLaw’s complaint in Ethan Ryder et. al. v Wells Fargo may be viewed and downloaded here1413000-1413765-wells complaint (2)

DannLaw and a number of other firms filed the suit in August 2019 on behalf of thousands of homeowners who qualified for but were not offered a home loan modification or repayment plan under the U.S. Department of Treasury’s Home Affordable Modification Program (HAMP) due to what Wells Fargo termed a “glitch” in the computer software the bank used to evaluate applications.

“In addition to being a major victory for consumers, this case underscores the importance of the fee-shifting provisions of the federal laws and regulations that govern the mortgage industry,” Dann said. “Those provisions enable us to fight for working-and middle-class families by holding big banks accountable when they act irresponsibly. Without fee shifting, clients like ours would be left with little or no recourse when lenders and servicers break the rules.”

Wells Fargo

Dann also noted that multi-million-dollar settlements strengthen consumer protection laws by deterring bad behavior in the financial services industry. “State and federal regulators simply don’t have the manpower or resources to pursue all the bad actors in the financial services sector,” Dann said. “The civil justice system empowers DannLaw and other consumer protection firms to police the industry and secure justice and just compensation for people who have been abused—no matter how many challenges we encounter or how much time and effort it takes to win.”

Dann praised the work of DannLaw Managing Partners Brian Flick, Dan Solar, and Javier Merino as well as the firms that co-counseled on the case. “I’m incredibly proud of our performance and our total commitment to our clients,” the former Ohio AG said. “The fact that a team of talented, tireless consumer lawyers can take on the biggest ‘white shoe’ law firms in the country and win demonstrates why the American legal system is the best in the world and why we will continue to use it to protect homeowners and consumers for years to come.”

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Ocwen logo
Ocwen/PHH: The bad guys who tried to steal Riad Ghosheh’s home. Nearly 12,000 consumers have lodged complaints about the company with the CFPB.

In 2010 Kim Naimoli of Geneva, New York who was struggling to make her mortgage payments in the wake of the 2007-2008 collapse of the housing market, applied for a loan modification under the provisions of the federal Home Affordable Modification Program (HAMP). Over the next six years Ms. Naimoli did everything right: she completed and returned forms, complied with document requests, made her house payments on time, and, in accordance with the law, filed a “Notice of Error” (NOE) when Ocwen the company that was servicing her loan made mistakes.

During that same period Ocwen, now known as PHH, did everything wrong. The company failed to register mortgage documents, refused to abide by the terms of the loan modification agreement it had approved, did not acknowledge or respond to correspondence from Ms. Naimoli or her legal counsel, began refusing to accept her mortgage payments, revoked the loan mod agreement, and rejected an NOE requesting that the firm correct its blatant errors.

In 2017 DannLaw, one of the nation’s leading consumer protection law firms, sued Ocwen/PHH on Ms. Naimoli’s behalf in the Federal District Court for the Western District of New York alleging the company had committed multiple violations of the federal Real Estate Sales Practices Act (RESPA). In April of 2020 Judge Elizabeth A. Wolford granted the company’s motion for summary judgement and dismissed the case.

DannLaw immediately appealed and, in what DannLaw founder and former Ohio Attorney General Marc Dann hailed as a major victory for homeowners, the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit reversed Judge Wolford and held that Ocwen/PHH had indeed violated the law. According to Dann the decision, handed down on January 7, 2022, will have wide-ranging impact on the mortgage servicing industry because the New York City-based Second Circuit is one of the most influential courts in the federal judicial system.

The significance of the case is underscored by the fact that the judges asked the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau to a file a brief after oral argument. In the brief the CFPB essentially supported DannLaw’s position.

Javier Merino, leader of the DannLaw team that litigated the case said Ocwen/PHH never denied engaging in the conduct that nearly cost Ms. Naimoli her home. “The record is clear: the company made numerous errors, would not correct them, and then used their mistakes as justification for walking away from the loan mod they had previously approved,” he said. “Once we got them into court, they contended that because their admitted misdeeds were related to the denial of the loan mod and not mortgage servicing they weren’t covered by RESPA. Fortunately, the Second Circuit saw through that specious argument and ruled in our favor.” The decision may be viewed here.

“Ocwen/PHH is perennially ranked among the worst mortgage servicers in the U.S. so I’m certainly not surprised that their bad acts served as a catalyst for this landmark decision,” Marc Dann noted. “I find it both incredibly satisfying and ironic that the company’s persistent and willful violations of the law will strengthen and expand the protections offered by RESPA and benefit homeowners who are too often abused by the mortgage servicing industry.”

Dann said the case, which took years to move through the courts, demonstrates the importance of RESPA’s fee-shifting provisions which balance the legal playing field. “Contingency fee arrangements ensure that homeowners like Ms. Naimoli have the opportunity to seek and secure justice and receive the financial compensation they need and deserve,” he said. “They enable plaintiff’s law firms like ours to stand toe-to-toe with and defeat the white shoe law firms that represent the financial services industry case after case, year after year.”

Dann also said the case illustrates why borrowers must document in writing and preserve all communications and interactions they have with lenders. “The records Ms. Naimoli retained, including delivery receipts and originals and copies of all correspondence, allowed us to present clear and convincing evidence of Ocwen/PHH’s conduct to the Court. The value of those records and the role they played in our victory cannot be understated.”

For more information please contact Marc Dann at 216-373-0539 or email [email protected]

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Atty. Andrew Wolf AnnouncementDannLaw founder and former Ohio Attorney General Marc Dann announced today that Attorney Andrew Wolf of North Brunswick, New Jersey has become an “Of Counsel” member of DannLaw’s Consumer Protection and Class Action Litigation Practice groups. Wolf, who has earned a reputation as one of the nation’s most effective consumer advocates will be based in DannLaw’s New Jersey/New York office.

“Andrew Wolf’s impressive level of experience, skill, and knowledge will significantly enhance our ability to both fight for middle and working-class families and to handle the influx of cases that will be generated in the coming months as millions of Americans exit mortgage forbearance and the federal foreclosure moratorium sunsets,” Dann said. “We could not have picked a better time to add a talented attorney with Andy’s level of expertise in individual and class action consumer protection law to our outstanding team.”

Wolf, who has resolved hundreds of individual consumer protection cases and been named Class Counsel in more than 135 state and federal class actions since entering private practice 24 years ago, said he eagerly seized the opportunity to join the team of attorneys that has pioneered the use of the nation’s most complex laws to secure justice for consumers and hold corporate wrongdoers accountable for their actions.

“When I opened my first office in 1997, I wrote down a simple mission statement – I am going to be a consumer protection attorney whose goal is to help as many people as possible who have been ripped off or taken advantage of in some way,” Wolf said. “I knew that if I did that I would make a decent living. After accomplishing that goal for 24 years and helping tens of thousands of consumers along the way, my new goal is to continue doing that good work at DannLaw.”

“Our familiarity with and respect for Andrew’s body of work along with the synergies that existed between our two firms served as the catalyst for the discussions that resulted in our teaming up,” Dann said. “I’m confident our new relationship will benefit Andrew, DannLaw, and our existing and future clients while causing nothing but headaches for unscrupulous lenders, scam artists, and corporate miscreants of all types. Andrew and I wouldn’t have it any other way.”

Andrew Wolf’s biography may be viewed here.

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DannLaw founder Marc DannBlue Line Solutions, LLC, co-defendant with Girard, Ohio in a class-action lawsuit filed by DannLaw and Zimmerman Law Offices PC on behalf of 7,700 motorists wrongly cited for speeding while traveling through the city on Interstate 80, has agreed to pay $175,000 to settle claims made against the speed camera company according to DannLaw founder and former Ohio Attorney General Marc Dann. The city of Girard has not settled and remains a party to the suit.

The $175,000 payment from Tennessee-based Blue Line will be distributed after all class members have been notified that the settlement has been reached and when the remaining claims in the suit against Girard have been resolved. Those eligible for compensation will automatically receive checks unless they choose to opt-out of the settlement and pursue legal action against the city and company on their own.

DannLaw and Zimmerman Law Offices PC filed the class action in July 2018 after being approached by a number of motorists who were erroneously ticketed by the city and Blue Line between December 7, 2017 and January 7, 2018. “The speed limit on the stretch of I-80 that passes through Girard had been reduced to 55 miles per hour while The Ohio Department of Transportation was repairing the road,” Atty. Dann explained. “The limit was raised to 65 when work was completed on December 7, but for the next month the city and Blue Line continued to cite people for speeding through a construction that no longer existed.”

“As a result, thousands of people paid fines of $100 to $150 they did not owe, many were charged substantial late and collection fees and those who appealed the citations were hit with an additional fee of $25 even though they had done nothing wrong,” Atty Dann said. “The entire situation was inexcusable and outrageous.”

55 mile per hour sign“Filing the class action was the only way to secure justice and obtain compensation for motorists victimized by Girard and Blue Line,” Atty. Dann said. “City officials won’t admit they were wrong, continue to falsely claim they were not aware of the fact that construction had been completed and the speed limit raised to 65 MPH, and refuse to refund money they essentially pilfered from innocent people. Now that Blue Line has settled, we are going to focus our efforts on holding city officials accountable for their actions—no matter how long that may take.”

Atty. Dann noted that there is also a public policy aspect to the case. “Our suit and the evidence we developed in the course of pursuing justice, shines a spotlight on the dangers that accompany privatizing important public services like law enforcement,” he said. “Blue Line, which does not answer to voters or taxpayers, could care less that bogus tickets were being issued and unfortunately, city officials were more than willing to abdicate their responsibilities as long as the dollars were rolling in.”

“This sordid affair makes it easy to understand why the General Assembly has repeatedly attempted to rein-in the speed camera racket,” Atty. Dann said. “Hopefully the information we’ve uncovered while litigating this case will advance that cause.”