Saika v. PHH Mortgage Corporation

CourtDistrict Court, N.D. Illinois
DecidedAugust 14, 2020
Docket1:18-cv-03888
StatusUnknown

This text of Saika v. PHH Mortgage Corporation (Saika v. PHH Mortgage Corporation) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, N.D. Illinois primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Saika v. PHH Mortgage Corporation, (N.D. Ill. 2020).

Opinion

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE NORTHERN DISTRICT OF ILLINOIS EASTERN DIVISION

IZUMI SAIKA and MOHAMMAD SHAKIBAI, ) ) Plaintiffs, ) 18 C 3888 ) vs. ) Judge Gary Feinerman ) PHH MORTGAGE CORPORATION, ) ) Defendant. )

MEMORANDUM OPINION AND ORDER Izumi Saika and Mohammad Shakibai, a married couple, filed suit against their mortgage loan servicer, Ocwen Loan Servicing, alleging that it violated the Illinois Consumer Fraud and Deceptive Business Practices Act, 815 ILCS 505/1 et seq. (“ICFA”), and breached the parties’ contract. Doc. 1-1. (PHH Mortgage Corporation substituted for Ocwen as defendant, Doc. 98, but the court will continue to refer to Ocwen.) The court dismissed the contract claim but allowed the ICFA claim to proceed. Docs. 29-30 (reported at 357 F. Supp. 3d 704 (N.D. Ill. 2018)). Ocwen moves for summary judgment, Doc. 100, and to strike portions of Plaintiffs’ Local Rule 56.1(b)(3)(C) statement of additional facts, Doc. 124. The summary judgment motion is granted and the motion to strike is denied as moot. Background The court recites the facts as favorably to Plaintiffs as the record and Local Rule 56.1 permit. See Johnson v. Advoc. Health & Hosps. Corp., 892 F.3d 887, 893 (7th Cir. 2018). At this juncture, the court must assume the truth of those facts, but does not vouch for them. See Gates v. Bd. of Educ. of Chi., 916 F.3d 631, 633 (7th Cir. 2019). On December 21, 2007, Saika received from IndyMac Bank a $151,050.00 purchase money mortgage loan owned and guaranteed by the Federal National Mortgage Association (“Fannie Mae”). Doc. 112 at ¶¶ 10, 13. Both Saika and Shakibai signed the mortgage and Saika signed a promissory note. Id. at ¶ 10. Repayment was secured by real property co-owned by

Plaintiffs. Id. at ¶ 11. In the note and deed of trust, Saika agreed to make monthly payments of $954.74 for principal and interest, plus fluctuating monthly payments for escrow items such as real estate taxes and hazard insurance. Id. at ¶ 12. Saika also agreed how the payments were to be applied, when a suspense account could be used, and when the loan would be considered in default. Ibid. Because Fannie Mae owned and guaranteed the loan, the loan servicer was obligated to adhere to Fannie Mae guidelines. Id. at ¶ 14. The guidelines set forth a loan modification process providing, in pertinent part, that: only a loan that is delinquent or in imminent default is eligible for a Fannie Mae Home Affordable Modification Program (“HAMP”) modification; if the loan is in imminent default, the borrower can qualify for a HAMP modification only by

adhering to a trial period plan (“TPP”) with payments lower than the regular, pre-TPP monthly payments; the loan must be reclassified, which appears to involve moving it from a performing pool to a non-performing pool; the loan must be four months delinquent prior to reclassification; and a borrower has only one opportunity to obtain a HAMP modification. Id. at ¶¶ 15, 53. Ocwen became Plaintiffs’ loan servicer on September 1, 2013. Id. at ¶ 20. Ocwen’s website provided access to an online payment system. Id. at ¶¶ 26-29. At the time Ocwen became Plaintiffs’ loan servicer, Plaintiffs themselves were not making monthly payments on the loan; rather, government funds were covering the payments because Plaintiffs had been granted relief under the Illinois Hardest Hit Fund, which assists homeowners who experience a 15% reduction in income due to a qualifying event. Id. at ¶ 21; Doc. 123 at ¶¶ 3b-c. The Illinois Hardest Hit Fund payments ended in January 2014. Doc. 112 at ¶ 24. In February 2014, with Ocwen’s assistance, Saika set up online automatic withdrawals from her

bank account to make her mortgage payments. Id. at ¶¶ 24, 30-31. Twice per month, Saika paid half the required monthly payment plus $100, resulting in her paying $200 more per month than what she was required to pay. Id. at ¶¶ 31-32. She received some payment confirmation emails. Id. at ¶ 33. In July 2014, Saika requested a modification assistance package, and Ocwen approved her for an unemployment forbearance plan on August 21, 2014. Id. at ¶ 34. Plaintiffs contacted Ocwen with questions, and the Ocwen representative encouraged them to apply for a loan modification. Id. at ¶ 35. On November 17, 2014, Plaintiffs requested a reduced mortgage interest rate of 4.25%. Id. at ¶¶ 36-37. In making that request, Saika represented that the loan payments were unaffordable because the amount she was receiving in unemployment benefits

was less than her income while she was employed. Id. at ¶ 38. On December 3, 2014, Ocwen offered Saika a HAMP TPP and told her that she could be eligible for a permanent loan modification if she satisfied the TPP and other conditions. Id. at ¶ 41. To accept Ocwen’s offer, Saika had to either (i) contact Ocwen by phone or in writing to accept or (ii) submit the first trial plan payment of $627.62. Id. at ¶ 42. The TPP contemplated four monthly payments of $627.62—hundreds of dollars less per month than what she had been paying under the terms of the note and deed of trust—and required that Saika “send the exact amount stated on each coupon.” Id. at ¶¶ 43-44. Plaintiffs contacted Ocwen on December 12, 2014, but were scheduled for a callback appointment. Id. at ¶ 45; Doc. 123 at ¶ 4a. Ocwen received from Plaintiffs an automatic payment in the amount of $690.17, not the $627.62 called for by the TPP, on December 8, 2014. Doc. 112 at ¶ 45. Another automatic payment was submitted that month, in the amount of

$685.20, and two $685.20 automatic payments were submitted in January 2015. Id. at ¶ 46. Ocwen did not change—or have the third-party payment processor change—the automatic payment amounts to correspond to the lower monthly amount owed under the TPP. Doc. 123 at ¶¶ 6a-b. On January 26, 2015, Ocwen notified Saika that she was eligible for a permanent loan modification and sent her a Modification Agreement for Plaintiffs to sign. Doc. 112 at ¶ 47. The material included with the Modification Agreement stated that, “[t]o accept this offer, you must sign and return both copies of the Modification Agreement to us before 2/11/2015,” and that, “[i]f you do not send both signed copies of the Modification Agreement by the above date, you must contact us if you still wish to be considered for this program and have your loan modified.”

Id. at ¶ 48; Doc. 103-14 at 2 (emphasis omitted). It further stated that, “[i]f the trial period payments are made after their due dates or in amounts different from the amount required, your loan may not be modified.” Doc. 112 at ¶ 48 (emphasis omitted); Doc. 103-14 at 2 (emphasis omitted). Plaintiffs contacted Ocwen in late January 2015 and February 2015 with questions about the Modification Agreement. Doc. 112 at ¶ 48; Doc. 123 at ¶ 8a. During those calls, Plaintiffs never said that they did not want or were rejecting the Modification Agreement. Doc. 123 at ¶ 8b. Plaintiffs found the process difficult and time-consuming, particularly because they often had to set up “call-back” times and be placed on hold, and their relationship manager changed during the process. Id. at ¶¶ 9a-e. Saika (but not Shakibai) signed the Modification Agreement in February 2015 and returned it to Ocwen. Doc. 112 at ¶ 49; Doc. 123 at ¶¶ 10a-b. In signing the Modification

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Bluebook (online)
Saika v. PHH Mortgage Corporation, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/saika-v-phh-mortgage-corporation-ilnd-2020.