Moronta v. Nationstar Mortgage, LLC, et al. (Lawyers Weekly No. 11-175-15)
NOTICE: All slip opinions and orders are subject to formal revision and are superseded by the advance sheets and bound volumes of the Official Reports.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 13-P-1805 Appeals Court ELNEDIS A. MORONTA vs. NATIONSTAR MORTGAGE, LLC & another.[1] No. 13-P-1805. Norfolk. December 10, 2014. – November 5, 2015. Present: Katzmann, Hanlon, & Maldonado, JJ. Mortgage, Foreclosure. Real Property, Mortgage. Consumer Protection Act, Mortgage of real estate, Unfair act or practice. Practice, Civil, Consumer protection case, Summary judgment. Civil action commenced in the Superior Court Department on July 23, 2010. A motion for summary judgment was heard by John P. Connor, Jr., J., and a motion for reconsideration was heard by him; a motion for summary judgment was heard by Thomas A. Connors, J.; and judgment was entered by John P. Connor, Jr., J. Irene H. Bagdoian for the plaintiff. Dean J. Wagner for Signature Group Holdings, Inc. Jennifer J. Normand for Nationstar Mortgage, LLC. MALDONADO, J. Elnedis Moronta (the borrower) appeals from final judgments entered following the decisions of judges of the Superior Court granting motions for summary judgment for the defendants on the borrower’s claims that Fremont Investment & Loan (Fremont) and its assignee, Nationstar Mortgage, LLC (Nationstar), (i) violated an injunction imposed on Fremont and later extended to Fremont’s assignees foreclosing on his mortgage without the approval of the Attorney General, (ii) violated G. L. c. 93A by structuring a mortgage consisting of high-cost loans which Fremont had no reasonable expectation the borrower could repay, and misleading the borrower as to the viability of the transaction; (iii) violated c. 93A by using unfair and deceptive loan modification practices; and (iv) should be enjoined from evicting the borrower from his home. Because we conclude that the borrower has at least raised a question of fact on his c. 93A claim, we reverse. Background. On July 9, 2004, the borrower purchased the home located at 152 Independence Avenue in Quincy for $ 348,000 financed with a mortgage loan of $ 330,600 from Wells Fargo Bank, N.A. (Wells Fargo). The Wells Fargo loan was an adjustable rate loan with an initial rate of 5.25 percent and an initial monthly payment of $ 2,137.32, including taxes and insurance. The maximum interest rate was 11.25 percent. After the rate increased to approximately eight percent and his monthly payments increased to $ 2,884, the borrower had difficulty making his monthly mortgage payments along with his credit card debt of approximately $ 630 per month. […]