RESPA (Litigator Series)

This casebook contains a selection of 101 Federal Court of Appeals decisions that apply and interpret provisions of the Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act ("RESPA"). The selection of decisions spans from 2001 to the date of publication. For each circuit, the cases are listed in the order of frequency of citation. The most cited decisions appear first.

RESPA was enacted in 1974 with the goal of ensuring that consumers "are provided with greater and more timely information on the nature and costs of the settlement process and are protected from unnecessarily high settlement charges caused by certain abusive practices that have developed in some areas of the country." 12 U.S.C. § 2601(a). Congress sought to accomplish this by mandating certain disclosures to help consumers become better shoppers for settlement services and by prohibiting "kickbacks or referral fees that tend to increase unnecessarily the costs of certain settlement services." Id. § 2601(b). Howland v. First American Title Ins. Co., 672 F. 3d 525 (7th Cir. 2012)

Congress enacted RESPA, in part, to eliminate "kickbacks or referral fees that tend to increase unnecessarily the costs of certain settlement services." 12 U.S.C. § 2601(b)(2). RESPA § 8(a) prohibits kickbacks for referrals of real estate settlement business. See RESPA § 8(a), 12 U.S.C. § 2607(a). A violation of § 8(a) involves three elements: (1) a payment or thing of value; (2) given and received pursuant to an agreement to refer settlement business; and (3) an actual referral. [Citations omitted.] Further, when there is a violation of § 8(a), § 8(d) provides a private right of action to "the person or persons charged for the settlement service involved in the violation in an amount equal to three times the amount of any charge paid for such settlement service." RESPA § 8(d), 12 U.S.C. § 2607(d). [Citation omitted.] (RESPA § 8(a) and (b) "are enforceable through, inter alia, actions for damages brought by consumers of settlement services against '[a]ny person or persons who violate the prohibitions'" of these sections. Galiano v. Fidelity Nat. Title Ins. Co., 684 F. 3d 309 (2nd Cir. 2012)