Mortgage, Consumer Fraud Litigation To Skyrocket With Passage Of Wall Street Reform Act?

LegalNewsLine.com reports:

• Homeowners gained leverage for litigation against mortgage lenders through the financial reform law Congress passed this summer. The Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act not only tightened mortgage rules, but it also multiplied potential damages against rule breakers.

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• Along with mortgage litigation, the bill invites consumer fraud litigation. Any state attorney general can enforce the state's consumer fraud law against a national bank or a federal thrift, the authors wrote. "This will subject national banks to state law requirements they otherwise would not be subject to," Taft said. "If they do not comply, there would be penalties under state and possibly federal law." [...] Whether a private citizen can pursue a cause of action for consumer fraud could depend on state or federal law, he said.

For more, see Dodd-Frank reform law invites new litigation opportunities against mortgage lenders.

See also Lexology: Mortgage Reform and Anti-Predatory Lending Act for an overview of this new consumer protection law (requires subscription; if no subscription GO HERE; or TRY HERE - then click link for the story).