Housing Policy

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The Federal Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA) is the leading debt collection practices act, serving as the lynchpin of federal consumer protections in the area of debt collection as well as serving as a model for numerous state enactments. Not surprisingly, litigation often focuses on the crucial questions of who is a “debt collector” and what is “debt collection” for purposes of the FDCPA. This area of law has received close scrutiny in recent years with published cases from the U.S. Supreme Court and the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit.

In Obduskey v. McCarthy & Holthus LLP, the Supreme Court had to decide whether “one principally involved in ‘the enforcement of security interests’ is . . . a debt collector” for purposes of the FDCPA. Obduskey v. McCarthy & Holthus LLP, 139 S. Ct. 1029, 1031 (2019). The Court concluded that the statutory language of the FDCPA’s definition of “debt collector” places:

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Continue Reading The Ninth Circuit Clarifies Its Approach in FDCPA Cases Concerning Foreclosure

In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, the federal and state governments as well as many local governments have established regulations to temporarily suspend foreclosure and eviction activities. Perkins Coie has created an easy-to-use state-by-state guidance tracker for eviction and foreclosure orders related to COVID-19.

The California Homeowner Bill of Rights (“HOBR”), codified in Sections 2920.5 et seq. of the Civil Code, became effective January 1, 2013. The statutes impose certain pre-foreclosure loss mitigation duties on mortgage servicers as well as trustees and deed of trust beneficiaries. Certain provisions of the HOBR were repealed as of January 1, 2018. While the legislature enacted new statutes to replace repealed provisions, not all requirements survived the January 2018 enactments, and expired as of the sunset date. But not long after expiration, many repealed provisions were given new life again through SB818 passed by Senator Beall. These statutes—revived with their original terms or with amendments—went into effect on January 1, 2019. We explore some of the repealed, later-revived statutes and notable appellate court decisions over the past year.
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Continue Reading The Homeowner Bill of Rights—A Year in Review