[1] Stern & Eisenberg [1], a regional firm servicing New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware, West Virginia, Maryland, Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, Tennessee, Alabama, and the District of Columbia. A recent decision from the Maryland Court Of Appeals overruled the decision of lower courts in the consolidated cases of Blackstone v. Sharma, Shanahan v. Marvastian, O’Sullivan v. Altenburg, and Goldberg v. Neviaser.
The court ruled that “the legislative intent and history of the statute did not intend to force registration on foreign statutory trusts and remanded the case to the Circuit Courts to be reinstated and handled there consistent with the holding of the Court of Appeals.”
Kevin Hildebeidel, Esq., Regional Managing Attorney for Non-judicial and Quasi-judicial States for Stern & Eisenberg, hosted a webinar covering the recent ruling over the ruling, and the effects it held over the industry. With this win, certain restrictive license requirements were ruled inapplicable to the mortgage industry and trusts.
According to the presentation, what was decided was that the debt collection license requirements of MCALA don’t apply to the mortgage industry or to foreign statutory trusts holding mortgages. This decision, however, did not address any other consumer protection statutes, such as the Maryland Consumer Debt Collection Act (MCDCA) or the Maryland Consumer Protection Act (MCPA).
The discussion included the context of the decision in relation to its initial creation and following amendments, an analysis of the decision and how it affected operators, the impact of the court’s newest decision on the portfolios of those operating within the affected area, and forward-looking issues, such as “all mortgage investors, servicers, and trustees will still be subject to requirements of MDCA, MCPA, FDCPA and all other consumer protection statutes even under the main opinion.”
Click here [2] to access a recording of the webinar to learn more about the ruling, or to listen in to the live question and answer portion.