Defendants Denied Summary Judgment in Calif. Mortgage Reinsurance Case

SACRAMENTO — A California federal judge has denied a mortgage company and its captive reinsurer summary judgment in a lawsuit accusing them of entering fraudulent captive reinsurance arrangements that violated the Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act (RESPA), ruling that the separate issue of standing should be resolved in a bench trial.

In orders issued on Jan. 31, Judge M. Miller Baker of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of California further ruled that certain evidence proffered by the plaintiffs concerning the issue of standing is admissible.

In June 2008, a class of home loan borrowers sued PHH Mortgage …