Sweeney v. Savings First Mortgage, LLC
Lawsuit to hold mortgage brokers accountable for violations of state law and challenging defendant’s federal preemption defense.
On August 6, 2005, Maryland’s high court held 7-0 that the federal Depository Institutions and Deregulation Monetary Control Act of 1980 does not preempt Maryland’s Finder’s Fee Law, and that mortgage brokers must be held accountable for violations of state law. Public Justice’s Paul Bland and Leslie Bailey handled this preemption appeal, along with co-counsel Scott Borison of Frederick, Md., on behalf of a homeowner who had been charged 59 percent of the increased value of her refinancing loan in fees.
