Groundbreaking: CFPB Issues First Ever Appeal Decision In Mortgage Kickback Case

This month, Consumer Financial Protection Bureau Director Richard Cordray issued a groundbreaking decision in the first ever appeal of an administrative enforcement proceeding.  In his decision, Cordray largely affirmed the November 2014 judgment of Administrative Law Judge Cameron Elliot.  Judge Elliot had found that PHH Corp., a mortgage lender, violated the Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act ("RESPA"), 12 U.S.C. §§ 2601-2617, by referring consumers to mortgage insurance companies in exchange for kickbacks in the form of mortgage insurance reinsurance premiums paid to PHH subsidiaries.  After both parties appealed, Cordray heard oral arguments on March 9 – an event previously reported on here.