The recent PHH Mortgage class action settlement resolves three separate class action lawsuits filed by primary plaintiffs Kevin Finch, Patrick Gallo, and Joseph Burroughs. All three primary plaintiffs allege PHH Mortgage committed several acts of claim and contract fraud. The plaintiffs also assert PHH Mortgage violated the federally mandated Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO), as well as consumer protection laws on the books in Illinois, California, and New Jersey.
The plaintiffs charge PHH mortgage with receiving unauthorized benefits derived from the company’s lender-placed insurance policies and the financial amount demanded from homeowners who took out lender-placed insurance policies. Lender-placed insurance policies have received criticism for years from insurance industry watchdogs. PHH Mortgage also is alleged to have received illegal kickbacks, such as expense subsidies and financial reimbursements that exceeded original costs.
A judge approved the consolidation of the three class action lawsuit in December of 2016. Several months of mediation produced a class action settlement agreed to by both parties. The court preliminarily approved the class action settlement in February of 2017. The class action settlement grants benefits in the form of cash payments to plaintiffs who PHH Mortgage overcharged. Despite approving the class action settlement, PHH denies breaking any laws.
What You Need To Know
According to class counsel, eligible class members who receive benefits from the class action settlement “include all U.S. borrowers who between Jan. 1, 2006 and July 31, 2015 were charged by PHH Mortgage under a hazard, flood, flood gap, or wind-only lender-placed insurance policy for a residential property. Qualifying persons who were charged premiums under a PHH Mortgage lender-placed insurance policy will be entitled to benefits worth 11.5 percent or six percent of the net premium they were charged between Jan. 1, 2006 and July 31, 2015.”
Eligible class members who paid some or all of the premiums charged by PHH Mortgage must submit a signed statement made by a witness, a copy of a photo identification, a copy of one or more PHH Mortgage statements, and a Notary Public verification of identity. The paperwork must accompany the submission of a valid and timely claim form, which has a deadline on October 27, 2017. The judge presiding over the class action lawsuit called In re: PHH Lender Placed Insurance Litigation, Case No. 1:12-cv-01117, in the U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey has scheduled the final hearing for the case on July 27, 2017. To learn what transpired during the final hearing, visit the class action website at www.PHHLenderInsuranceSettlementInfo.com. The website also lists the attorneys who comprise the class and defense counsels. Two separate firms handle the defense counsel for PHH Mortgage and the Assurant.
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