Developments of Note
U.S. Court Of Appeals For Eleventh Circuit Certifies RESPA Yield Spread Premium Class
In Culpepper v. Irwin Mortgage Corporation, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit (the "Eleventh Circuit Court") ruled that the initial step under the HUD Broker Compensation Policy Statement’s two-step test for the legality of yield spread premiums is whether brokerage services were actually performed "as part of a services -for-money exchange," not just whether actual services were performed. Thus, the Eleventh Circuit Court held that there has to be a "tie" between the services performed and the compensation paid. Stating that "[t]here is no suggestion from the evidence or the argument here that [the lender] negotiates yield spread premiums loan-by-loan, rather than paying them according to terms and conditions common to all loans," the Eleventh Circuit Court held that the terms and conditions under which the lender pays the yield spread premium can determine
