Today Padgett Law Group (PLG) announces that Marissa M. Yaker, Esq. will leave her role as Deputy General Counsel of Regulatory Affairs effective January 30, 2024. Yaker leaves PLG to join VRM Mortgage Services in a new role as Senior Corporate Compliance Officer.

Over her eight-year tenure at PLG, Yaker held various leadership roles within the firm, most recently as leader of PLG’s Regulatory Affairs Practice, which supports mortgage servicers and other default vendors with servicing-related regulatory compliance matters. While at PLG, Yaker was recognized twice by DS News in its annual feature, the “Top 25 Women inLaw”; awarded a “Stand-out Junior Professionals & Executives” award by the American Legal & Financial Network (ALFN); awarded the “Rising Star” award for Women in Housing Leadership by the Five Star Institute; featured as a special honoree at the 45th anniversary celebration of Women in Housing and Finance; and recognized in the annual list “Elite Women” by magazine Mortgage Professional America.

“It has been an honor to support Marissa throughout her career and to be part of her growth to become one of the industry’s most sought-after thought leaders on agency compliance matters and regulatory affairs. During her time at PLG, I am most proud of the work she performed while helping launch our Regulatory Affairs division. Her passion for agency-related matters and the vision we shared for delivering this component to our clients have been unparalleled. We wish her the utmost success in her new role at VRM Mortgage Services. As her career continues to evolve, we look forward to new ways in which Marissa will serve the industry,” said Robyn Padgett, Chief Executive Officer of PLG.

In her new role at VRM Mortgage Services, Yaker will continue in her volunteer position as Chairperson of the Advisory Board for the American Institute of Servicing & Legal Executives (AISLE), a think tank devoted to advocacy issues critical to the mortgage servicing industry.

“I am grateful to my colleagues at PLG who have supported me over the years, and I am excited to see the new and innovative ways in which the firm will continue to redefine what ‘industry leader’ means in this space. My own journey at PLG is a testament to the firm’s belief that hard work, client service, and merit are the hallmarks of success,” said Yaker, reflecting on her tenure at PLG.

All future client inquiries for PLG Regulatory Affairs should now be directed to attorney Hadi Seyed-Ali, Chief Counsel, Client Legal Consulting and Compliance. He can be reached by contacting [email protected].

There has been a recent flurry of activity within the 135th General Assembly of the Ohio Legislature, all in its infancy.
 
Beginning with House Bill No. 182, titled in short as, “Regards precomputed consumer installment loans,” and sponsored by Representatives Hillyer and Barhorst, the Bill seeks amend section1321 of the Revised Code regarding precomputed consumer installment loans.

​The Consumer Installment Loan Act (CILA), regulates loans that are for a term of at least six months, require equal monthly payments, have an interest rate less than a specified maximum, and cannot be refinanced within the first 120 days of the loan term. The CILA excludes specific transactions, such as secured transactions.
House Bill No. 182 affects the acceleration, conversion, interest rates, refinance charges, and immunity from violations of lending laws under specified circumstances. The Bill also permits recovery of reasonable attorney's fees incurred as a result of a suit or lawful activity to collect a loan or any lawful activity to realize on a security interest after default.
Most notably, much like the Fair Debt Collection Practices act does for debt collectors, the Bill protects a lender that makes an error in connection with a loan which would otherwise constitute a violation of ORC 1321 from liability for that violation if the lender establishes that the violation was not intentional and resulted from a bona fide error, notwithstanding the maintenance of procedures the lender reasonably adapts to avoid any such error, and takes certain steps to remedy the error.

The Alabama Supreme Court limited jurisdiction of the County Probate Courts in Skidmore v. Skidmore, 2024 Ala. LEXIS 147, 2024 WL 3909389 (Ala. Sup. Ct. Aug. 23, 2024): In this recently decided case, the Marshall County Probate Court resolved an estate dispute by avoiding a recorded deed to the real property, along with other equitable relief. The Supreme Court, without reaching the merits of the case, held that the probate court did not have the jurisdiction to adjudicate conflicting claims of title to real property, order the sale of real property not owned by a decedent at the of their death, or grant equitable relief.  Although the Supreme Court acknowledged that probate courts have both original and general jurisdiction over matters relating to the administration of an estate, the Court noted that that jurisdiction is not without limits. These limits on the probate court’s jurisdiction in Alabama are important to take note of when determining which court is the appropriate venue to allocate real property disputes.

This post was prepared by Rebekah Beal, Esq.

Amendments have been proposed for seven Florida Rules of Civil Procedure. If these amendments take effect, it will change how foreclosures are handled in the State of Florida. Below, please find a synopsis of the proposed amendments and their potential impacts as evaluated by PLG: ​

The Rural Housing Service (RHS or the Agency), a Rural Development (RD) agency of the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) issued a demonstration program that will establish a new loss mitigation retention option, referred to as the Payment Supplement Account (PSA).  Per RHS: “this demonstration program helps struggling borrowers that are delinquent on their mortgage payments are unable to obtain a payment reduction utilizing the currently available loss mitigation options.”

Highlights of the Spring 2024 Unified Regulatory Agenda:
The information contained herein is being provided as a courtesy only and does not constitute financial or legal advice nor is it intended to be relied upon as such.  The information is general in scope. Please note that there may be additional facts, circumstances or jurisdictional considerations not addressed in this communication.