Real Property « South Carolina Lawyers Weekly

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Real Property – Mortgages – Foreclosure – Civil Practice – Standing – Mortgage Servicer – Holder – Amount

By S.C. Lawyers Weekly staff
Published: June 10,2013

Bank of America, N.A. v. Draper Where the plaintiff bank is the servicer of the defendant-borrower’s loan, the bank has standing to foreclose on the mortgage

Real Property – Mortgages – Entireties Property – Only Husband’s Signature – Equitable Remedies Inapplicable

By S.C. Lawyers Weekly staff
Published: June 3,2013

Chase Home Finance, LLC v. Risher Although defendant Cassandra Risher’s name was on several closing documents, including the deed, only her (now deceased) husband was asked to sign the purchase money note and mortgage; now that the loan is in default, equity does not allow the holder of the note and mortgage to recover from Mrs. Risher or her one-half undivided interest in the property.

Real Property – Mortgages – Included Tracts – Question of Fact

By S.C. Lawyers Weekly staff
Published: May 7,2013

Penza v. Pendleton Station, LLC There was a question of fact as to whether the original mortgage in favor of plaintiff was intended to encumber Tract A in addition to Tract B. The mortgage referenced both tracts. When the mortgage was re-recorded a year later to delete references to Tract A, plaintiff was not contacted.

Real Property – Municipal – Condemnation & Demolition – Gross Negligence – Ongoing Construction

By S.C. Lawyers Weekly staff
Published: May 7,2013

Chakrabarti v. City of Orangeburg Viewed in the light most favorable to plaintiffs, the record shows the defendant-city issued a building permit to plaintiffs six months before demolishing their house, and the city produced no evidence of a date when substantial construction on the property had ceased for any significant period, much less for the two years required by the city’s building maintenance code.

Real Property – Homeowners’ HAMP & Contract Claims Dismissed

By S.C. Lawyers Weekly staff
Published: April 26,2013

Spaulding v. Wells Fargo Bank NA Maryland homeowners who were denied a mortgage loan modification under the federal Home Affordable Modification Program cannot sue their mortgage servicer Wells Fargo Bank under HAMP or under various state law theories of recovery, and the 4th Circuit upholds dismissal of their lawsuit.

Real Property – Equitable Mortgage – Disproved – Siblings – Loans & Deeds

By S.C. Lawyers Weekly staff
Published: April 17,2013

Walker v. Brooks Although the respondent-nephews made a prima facie showing that the deeds their father gave to their appellant-aunt were part of an equitable mortgage, the aunt was able to rebut the showing based on the timing of the documents and the informal nature of the dealings between her and her brother.

Real Property – HOA Wins Challenge to Exclusive Cable Contract

By S.C. Lawyers Weekly staff
Published: April 12,2013

,em>Lansdowne on the Potomac HOA Inc. v. OpenBand at Lansdowne A cable provider’s exclusive contract to provide cable services to a real estate development violated an FCC order that prohibited such exclusivity arrangements, and the 4th Circuit affirms judgment for the homeowners’ association that successfully challenged the contract.

Real Property Partition – Trusts & Estates – Expenses – Accounting

By S.C. Lawyers Weekly staff
Published: March 29,2013

Brown v. Brown : The master-in-equity failed to give sufficient reasons for ordering that the parties’ real property be partitioned by sale without first issuing a writ of partition to commissioners. We affirm the master-in-equity’s accounting of expenses related to the real property.

Real Property – Mortgages – Civil Practice – Standing – Bankruptcy

By S.C. Lawyers Weekly staff
Published: March 29,2013

Kain v. Bank of New York Mellon Where this matter concerns a negotiable instrument payable upon presentation by the holder in possession, the third-party debtors who are not beneficiaries of the pooling and servicing agreement (PSA) lack standing to challenge the holder’s rights to enforce the negotiable instrument due to any alleged invalidity in or noncompliance with the PSA. Moreover, under S.C. law, the debtors would not be subject to duplicative payment obligations because payment to the claimant would discharge the debtors’ liability to other claimants.

Real Property – Fraud Claim Not Preempted by HOLA

By S.C. Lawyers Weekly staff
Published: March 27,2013

McCauley v. Home Loan Investment Bank FSB A plaintiff who defaulted on her home loan and complained about an inflated appraisal, unfair loan terms and a rushed loan closing may sue the lender for fraud under state law, as that claim is not preempted by the federal Home Owners’ Loan Act, but her unconscionability claim is preempted under 12 C.F.R. § 560.2 and the 4th Circuit upholds dismissal of the latter claim.