Filed-Rate Doctrine Bars Force-Placed Insurance Lawsuit, N.J. Federal Judge Rules

TRENTON, N.J. — The filed-rate doctrine bars a lawsuit accusing a mortgage provider, a reinsurance broker, and an insurer of conspiring to overcharge lenders for force-placed hazard insurance coverage, a New Jersey federal judge has ruled, because they impermissibly challenge rates approved by state regulators.

In an Aug. 15 order, Judge Anne Thompson of the U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey further found the plaintiffs’ claims cannot proceed because they seek to obtain a lower premium rate than other lenders.

Edward Leo and Clifford Marchion each took out reverse mortgages on their properties in New Jersey and …