Drakopoulos, et al. v. U.S. Bank National Association, et al. (Lawyers Weekly No. 10-126-13)

NOTICE:  All slip opinions and orders are subject to formal revision and are superseded by the advance sheets and bound volumes of the Official Reports.  If you find a typographical error or other formal error, please notify the Reporter of Decisions, Supreme Judicial Court, John Adams Courthouse, 1 Pemberton Square, Suite 2500, Boston, MA 02108-1750;  (617) 557-1030; SJCReporter@sjc.state.ma.us     SJC‑11271   SUSANNE DRAKOPOULOS & another[1]  vs.  U.S. BANK NATIONAL ASSOCIATION, trustee,[2] & another.[3],[4]     Essex.     March 4, 2013.  ‑  July 12, 2013. Present:  Ireland, C.J., Spina, Cordy, Botsford, Gants, Duffly, & Lenk, JJ.   Massachusetts Predatory Home Loan Practices Act.  Consumer Protection Act, Mortgage of real estate.  Real Property, Mortgage.  Mortgage, Assignment.  Assignment.       Civil action commenced in the Superior Court Department on May 28, 2009.   The case was heard by Robert A. Cornetta, J., on motions for summary judgment.   The Supreme Judicial Court granted an application for direct appellate review.     Paul R. Collier, III (Pamela A. Lebowitz & Max Weinstein with him) for the plaintiffs.   Peter F. Carr, II, for the defendants. Martha Coakley, Attorney General, Glenn Kaplan, Aaron Lamb, & Gabriel O’Malley, Assistant Attorneys General, for the Commonwealth, amicus curiae, submitted a brief.   LENK, J.  In 2006, the plaintiffs, Susanne and Peter Drakopoulos,[5] refinanced their family home in Haverhill through Aegis Lending Corporation (lender), entering into a stated income home mortgage loan secured by a first mortgage on the home.[6]  The total monthly payment on this loan proved to be approximately $ 600 greater than the plaintiffs’ total monthly income.  Less than six months after the mortgage was funded, it was sold and assigned to the defendant U.S. Bank National Association (bank) as trustee of the Credit Suisse First Boston Mortgage Securities Corp., Home Equity Pass-Through Certificates, Series 2007-1 (trust).  The loan was serviced by the defendant Select Portfolio Servicing, Inc. (servicer).  The plaintiffs fell behind in their payments and defaulted on the loan; in November, 2008, the bank foreclosed on the mortgage.   The plaintiffs thereafter brought this action, asserting, inter alia, violations of the Predatory Home Loan Practices Act, G. L. c. 183C (act); the Consumer Protection Act, G. L. c. 93A; and the Borrower’s Interest Act, G. L. c. 183, § 28C,  The plaintiffs also asserted that the loan was unenforceable because it was unconscionable, and they sought damages and rescission for predatory lending practices.  A Superior Court judge granted the defendants’ motions for summary judgment on all claims, based in large part on the ground that the defendants, as assignees, had no liability for the acts of the lender.  The plaintiffs appealed.  Because we conclude that the bank is not shielded from liability as a matter of law by virtue of its […]

Read more...