Conroy v. Wells Fargo Bank, N.A.
Facts: After refinancing a residential mortgage secured by a deed of trust, a borrower experiences a substantial drop in income and defaults on their mortgage. The borrower applies for a mortgage modification multiple times. During the modification application process, the borrower speaks with several representatives who handle the borrower’s application paperwork. Each request to modify the mortgage is rejected by the mortgage holder and foreclosure proceedings begin.
Claim: The borrower seeks to prevent foreclosure, claiming the mortgage holder was negligent and misrepresented the mortgage terms since it failed to provide the borrower with a single point of contact during the application process.
Counterclaim: The mortgage holder claims it was not required to provide a single point of contact since the borrower did not specifically request it.
Holding: A California court of appeals holds the mortgage holder was not negligent by failing to provide the borrower a single point of contact since the statute requires a borrower to explicitly request a single point of contact for mortgage servicing. [Conroy v. Wells Fargo Bank, N.A., (August 1, 2017)_CA4th__]
