McNary v. American Savings & Loan Ass'n

76 F.R.D. 644, 1977 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 12838
CourtDistrict Court, N.D. Texas
DecidedNovember 21, 1977
DocketCiv. A. No. CA-3-74-459-B
StatusPublished
Cited by6 cases

This text of 76 F.R.D. 644 (McNary v. American Savings & Loan Ass'n) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, N.D. Texas primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
McNary v. American Savings & Loan Ass'n, 76 F.R.D. 644, 1977 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 12838 (N.D. Tex. 1977).

Opinion

JOINT MOTION FOR FINAL APPROVAL OF COMPROMISE AND SETTLEMENT

HUGHES, District Judge.

The parties in this action, by and through their respective counsel, jointly petition this Honorable Court as follows:

[646]*6461. On August 30, 1977, this Court preliminarily approved the terms of a Stipulation of Compromise and Settlement which had been presented to the Court (the “Stipulation”), directed that notice be given to class members and set November 3, 1977 as the date for a settlement hearing.

2. The terms of the Court’s August 30, 1977 Order and the provisions of the Stipulation have been complied with.

3. Of the thousands of class members who received notice of the proposed settlement, only two objected and only one is now objecting to the settlement. The objection lacks merit and the settlement should be approved as just, fair, reasonable and adequate to the class.

4. The parties are desirous of settling and compromising the litigation on the terms and conditions embodied in the Stipulation, as amended by the “Notice of and Motion for Technical Amendment to Stipulation of Compromise and Settlement” filed September 13, 1977.

WHEREFORE, pursuant to Paragraph 7 of the Stipulation, the parties jointly move this Honorable Court to approve the proposed settlement finally as set forth in the Stipulation of Compromise and Settlement and the proposed Order annexed hereto.

FINDINGS OF FACT AND CONCLUSIONS OF LAW

In accordance with Rule 23 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, this matter was heard on November 3, 1977, pursuant to notice to the parties and class members, to determine the fairness, reasonableness, and adequacy of the proposed compromise and settlement of this action embodied in the Stipulation of Compromise and Settlement (hereinafter the “Stipulation”).

The Court having considered the pleadings, discovery, affidavits, exhibits and arguments submitted in connection with the Stipulation; the Court having heard from all interested persons who appeared at the hearing or who made written submissions to the Court; and the Court having considered the objection filed by one of the class members, makes the following Findings of Fact and Conclusions of Law pursuant to Rule 52 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure:

1. The plaintiffs’ theories of liability are that (a) the defendants agreed among themselves to preclude payment of interest to class members and not to capitalize their escrow payments; (b) the escrow service was tied to the extension of mortgage credit; (c) the defendants were contractually bound to pay interest on or to capitalize escrow payments made by the class members or not use the class’ funds; (d) the defendants breached a contractual, fiduciary and other duties by obtaining benefits from the use of the escrow funds; and (e) the escrow funds should be imposed with a constructive trust; (f) the defendants conspired to charge uniform origination and transfer fees.

2. The action is a class action on behalf of all persons who did not previously elect to be excluded from this litigation and who, at any time between May 20, 1970, and October 25,1976, inclusive held a residential mortgage under the terms of which accounts were established and maintained and into which mortgagors made monthly installment payments for annual real estate taxes and/or fire and/or hazard insurance premiums. Included within this class are persons who paid transfer fees in connection with the transfer of residential mortgages.

3. The matters underlying the claims of plaintiffs have been subjected to thorough review and analysis by the parties and the Court from and after the filing of this action in May, 1974. Plaintiffs have engaged in comprehensive discovery consisting of depositions, interrogatories, requests for admissions and extensive production and review of documents.

4. Additional information concerning the nature and profitability of the matters underlying plaintiffs’ claims is available to the Court as a result of other studies concerning those matters. U. S. Savings and Loan League, Factors Governing the Economics of Escrow Accounts, January, 1973; [647]*647Comptroller General of the United States, Study of the Feasibility of Escrow Accounts on Residential Mortgages Becoming Interest Bearing, 1973; Report of the Commissioner of Banks of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, April 21, 1972.

5. The record was further developed by the filing of the affidavits submitted by the plaintiffs and the defendants, plaintiffs’ counsel, and by certain class members and others with respect to the economics of the various defendant’s mortgage escrow operations.

6. The parties filed with the Court a Joint Motion for Preliminary Approval of Compromise and Settlement. Attached to the Motion was the Stipulation, which Stipulation details the terms of the proposed compromise and settlement. After meeting with counsel and considering the terms of the Stipulation, the Court, by its Order of August 30,1977, approved preliminarily the proposed compromise and settlement.

7. In addition, by its Order, the Court approved the form and method of notice to class members, set October 21, 1977 as the deadline for filing written objections to the proposed compromise and settlement, and scheduled a hearing to be held before this Court on November 3, 1977 for the purpose of determining whether the proposed compromise and settlement as provided in the Stipulation should be finally approved as being fair, reasonable and adequate and a judgment entered so ordering.

8. The Stipulation provides for the compromise, settlement and release of ■ all claims or causes of action asserted or which might have been asserted against the defendants, including but not limited to those related to or in connection with the establishment or maintenance of accounts into which payments are or have been made monthly equivalent to V12 of the annual real estate taxes and/or insurance premiums or the requiring, commingling or use of such payments without paying interest thereon or accounting for profits or charging interest on the mortgage indebtedness unreduced by such payments, or any payment, practice or procedure related to the transfer of any residential mortgage.

9. The terms of the settlement are set forth in detail in two (2) instruments:

(a) The “Stipulation”; and
(b) The “Notice of and Motion for Technical Amendment to Stipulation of Compromise and Settlement” filed herein September 13, 1977.

The full terms of both instruments are hereby approved by the Court and are incorporated by reference in these findings. Whenever the term “Stipulation” is used in any of the instruments defining, reflecting or referring to the disposition of this suit, the term “Stipulation” shall conclusively be deemed to include both the original Stipulation and the Notice of and Motion for Technical Amendment to Stipulation of Compromise and Settlement filed herein on September 13, 1977.

10.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
76 F.R.D. 644, 1977 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 12838, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/mcnary-v-american-savings-loan-assn-txnd-1977.