It Takes Two To Tango (Or To Split A Fee)

In a major win for the mortgage lending industry last week, the United States Supreme Court ruled unanimously that the prohibition under the Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act ("RESPA") on splitting fees requires at least two or more persons to satisfy the statutory requirement of Section 8(b), 12 U.S.C. § 2607(b). In its ruling in Freeman, et al. v. Quicken Loans, Inc., No. 10-1042, May 24, 2012, the Court found the statutory language to be plain and unambiguous, and rejected the efforts of HUD and of the United States to establish a more expansive theory of liability.

12 U.S.C. § 2607(b) specifically provides as follows: