12 U.S.C. § 4907 — Civil liability
submitted 28 years ago by Pub. L. 105-216 to r/title-12-BANKS-AND-BANKING · 426 words · no verdicts yet
A servicer, mortgagee, or mortgage insurer that violates this chapter may owe damages, statutory damages, costs, and attorney fees. A mortgagor generally must sue within two years after discovering the violation, subject to limits on a servicer’s liability for another party’s failure.
(a) In general. A servicer*, mortgagee*, or mortgage insurer* that violates this chapter is liable to each affected mortgagor* for:
(1) In an individual action, or in a class action against a liable party that is not subject to section 4909, the mortgagor’s actual damages caused by the violation, including court-determined interest from the date the violation began.
(2) Statutory damages:
(A) In an individual action, an amount the court allows, up to $2,000; or
(B) in a class action—
(i) against a liable party subject to section 4909, an amount the court allows, but the total recovery for the same violation by the same party, in one or more class actions, cannot exceed the lesser of $500,000 or 1 percent of that party’s net worth, as determined by the court; or
(ii) against a liable party not subject to section 4909, an amount the court allows, up to $1,000 for each class member, but the total recovery for the same violation by the same party, in one or more class actions, cannot exceed the lesser of $500,000 or 1 percent of that party’s gross revenues, as determined by the court.
(3) The costs of the action.
(4) Reasonable attorney fees, as determined by the court.
(b) Timing of actions. A mortgagor may not bring an action under subsection (a) more than two years after discovering the violation involved in the action.
(c) Limitations on liability.
(1) In general. For a residential mortgage transaction*, a servicer’s failure to comply with this chapter because a mortgage insurer or mortgagee failed to comply with it is not treated as a violation by the servicer.
(2) Rule of construction. Paragraph (1) does not impose any additional requirement or liability on a mortgage insurer, mortgagee, or holder of a residential mortgage*.
Any servicer*, mortgagee*, or mortgage insurer* that violates a provision of this chapter shall be liable to each mortgagor* to whom the violation relates for—
in the case of an action by an individual, or a class action in which the liable party is not subject to section 4909 of this title, any actual damages sustained by the mortgagor as a result of the violation, including interest (at a rate determined by the court) on the amount of actual damages, accruing from the date on which the violation commences;
in the case of—
an action by an individual, such statutory damages as the court may allow, not to exceed $2,000; and
in the case of a class action—
in which the liable party is subject to section 4909 of this title, such amount as the court may allow, except that the total recovery under this subparagraph in any class action or series of class actions arising out of the same violation by the same liable party shall not exceed the lesser of $500,000 or 1 percent of the net worth of the liable party, as determined by the court; and
in which the liable party is not subject to section 4909 of this title, such amount as the court may allow, not to exceed $1,000 as to each member of the class, except that the total recovery under this subparagraph in any class action or series of class actions arising out of the same violation by the same liable party shall not exceed the lesser of $500,000 or 1 percent of the gross revenues of the liable party, as determined by the court;
costs of the action; and
reasonable attorney fees, as determined by the court.
No action may be brought by a mortgagor under subsection (a) later than 2 years after the date of the discovery of the violation that is the subject of the action.
With respect to a residential mortgage transaction*, the failure of a servicer to comply with the requirements of this chapter due to the failure of a mortgage insurer or a mortgagee to comply with the requirements of this chapter, shall not be construed to be a violation of this chapter by the servicer.
Nothing in paragraph (1) shall be construed to impose any additional requirement or liability on a mortgage insurer, a mortgagee, or a holder of a residential mortgage*.
Source credit: (Pub. L. 105–216, § 8, July 29, 1998, 112 Stat. 905.)
- 1998Enacted · Pub. L. 105-216 · 112 Stat. 905
A history note hasn’t been published yet. The record shows enactment by Pub. L. 105-216 on 1998-07-29.
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