Last week, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that a defendant who prevails in a Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA) case may recover costs even without a court finding that the plaintiff sued in bad faith and for the purpose of harassment (Marx v. General Revenue Corp.) The Supreme Court rejected the plaintiff's (and CFPB's)…

The Senate voted 71-26 to confirm Jack Lew as Treasury Secretary last week. Lew previously served as White House Chief of Staff and before that as Director of the Office of Management and Budget, a position he also held in the Clinton cabinet from 1998 to 2001.

Illinois joins a growing number of states moving to pay tax refunds by issuing debit cards. Individual taxpayers filing their returns electronically for 2012 can receive a VISA prepaid debit card issued by Chase. While a taxpayer can still elect to receive a check or direct deposit refund this year, several other states have moved…

The Illinois Supreme Court has issued an order delaying the effective dates for two of its new mortgage foreclosure rules until May 1, 2013. Rules 113 and 114 create new filing and notice requirements for all mortgage foreclosure actions. Every foreclosure complaint will need to include a copy of the mortgage note, a “prove-up” affidavit of…

As part of the SMART Act Medicaid reform package, many Illinois employers soon will be required to file monthly wage reports in addition to their quarterly wage reports. While the Illinois Department of Employment Security (IDES) has announced that the monthly reporting only will apply to employers who are required to make electronic wage reports,…

Last week, the Central District Court of Illinois overturned last year's bad bankruptcy court decision in Crane vs. Gifford State Bank. The bankruptcy court had held that a mortgage instrument must state the promissory note's interest rate and maturity date on its face in order to be enforceable against a trustee in bankruptcy. The IBA…

The Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) has issued a final rulewhich formalizes a “disparate impact” approach to fair lending enforcement. Under this approach, statistical analysis alone can determine whether a housing practice violated the Fair Housing Act, without the need to prove intentional discrimination. The final rule will go into effect on March…

Earlier this month, VISA amended its rules so that merchants are now allowed to offer discounts based on which debit or credit card a customer uses for a transaction. Previously, VISA's rules had prohibited merchants from differentiating between cards or offering discounts to customers who used cards from certain banks. Under the new rules, merchants…

After two years of study, the Illinois Supreme Court announced last Friday that it is adopting three new rules for foreclosure filings. Effective March 1st, the rules will impose new filing and notice requirements for all mortgage foreclosure cases. Every foreclosure complaint will need to include a copy of the mortgage note, a “prove-up” affidavit of…

The Appraisal Foundation has released two new pamphlets providing insight into the appraisal process. A Guide to Understanding a Residential Appraisal was developed to provide consumers with an overview of residential appraisals and how they relate to the home buying process. Appraisers, Appraisals & You: A Lender's Guide to USPAP provides lenders working in the…