Monday, July 2, 2012

Court reviews whether a mortgage company wrongfully foreclosed on the plaintiff's home

GEORGE CLAY, III., v. FIRST HORIZON HOME LOAN CORPORATION (Tenn. Ct. App. June 26, 2012)

Plaintiff sued defendant mortgage company that held a mortgage on his home, on which defendant foreclosed. Plaintiff's alleged cause of action was that defendant had received money from the U.S. Treasury pursuant to the Troubled Asset Relief Program, and that defendant failed to properly consider him for a home loan modification pursuant to the federal acts and regulations.

Defendant moved to dismiss for failure to state a cause of action and the Trial Court dismissed part of plaintiff's complaint, but denied defendant's motion as to plaintiff's third party beneficiary claim, the negligent implementation of the HAMP claim and the wrongful foreclosure claim. Defendant sought a Tenn. R. App. P. 9 appeal, which was granted by the Trial Court and this Court and we hold that under the federal acts and regulations, there was no provision for a private right of action claim, and reverse so much of the Trial Court's judgment that holds otherwise.

Opinion available at:
https://www.tba.org/sites/default/files/clayg_062612.pdf