Firm Alerts

The United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit has recently decided two cases regarding the meaning of a “firm offer of credit” under the Fair Credit Reporting Act (“FCRA”). In Sullivan v. Greenwood Credit Union, — F. 3d —, 2008 WL 726135 (1st Cir., Mar. 19, 2008) and Dixon v. Shamrock Financial Corp., — F.3d —, 2008 WL 902200 (1st Cir., Apr. 3, 2008), the court affirmed the lower courts’ decisions in favor of the creditors, which held that the creditors had extended firm offers of credit. The FCRA generally prohibits a creditor from obtaining a consumer’s credit information...

The Maryland Court of Appeals has held that the borrower-paid mortgage broker fee limits under the Maryland Finder’s Fee Law were not preempted by Section 501(a)(1) of the federal Depository Institutions Deregulation and Monetary Control Act (“DIDMCA”). Sweeney v. Savings First Mortgage, LLC , No. C-04-0471, 2005 WL 1866071 (Md. Aug. 9, 2005). The plaintiff borrower in the case brought suit against a mortgage broker alleging that the finder’s fee that the broker charged in connection with a refinance mortgage loan exceeded the 8% limitation provided for under the Maryland Finder’s Fee Law....