Selene Finance Lender Placed Insurance Class Action Settlement

Persons who were charged by Selene Finance LP for lender placed insurance can now qualify for benefits from a class action settlement.

Named plaintiffs Robin McNeil and Lillian Marshall claim defendant Selene Finance accepted impermissible kickbacks from mortgage lenders in exchange for imposing lender placed insurance policies on mortgage borrowers.

Lender placed insurance is a type of homeowner’s insurance that is automatically engaged when a mortgage borrower fails to meet the lender’s insurance requirements. It’s a common requirement in many mortgage agreements.

Lender placed insurance may kick in automatically if, for example, the borrower fails to buy their own insurance, the insurance the borrower buys fails to meet the lender’s specifications, or the borrower fails to give the lender timely and adequate proof of insurance. When a lender placed policy is engaged, the borrower has to pay the premiums.

According to the settlement notice, Selene Finance used defendant Southwest Business Corp. to pay the premiums for lender placed insurance, then charged those premiums to the borrower.

McNeil and Marshall claim Selene Finance accepted unauthorized benefits from Southwest Business Corp. and defendant Great American E&S Insurance Co. when placing lender placed insurance policies. The plaintiffs also claim Selene imposed policies with excessive amounts of coverage, and as a result mortgage borrowers had to pay more in premiums than they should have had to.

All defendants continue to deny the plaintiffs’ claims. The court has made no decision as to liability.

Under terms of this Selene Finance class action settlement, qualifying Class Members who submit valid and timely claims can receive a payment worth a percentage of the premiums they paid or were billed for but did not pay during the applicable class period.

Claims may be submitted either by mail or by uploading the Claim Form and required documentation to the settlement website. Online claims require the claimant to provide a Claimant ID Number.

The deadline for objecting to the settlement or requesting to be excluded was Oct. 17, 2017.

Who’s Eligible

The settlement Class includes all borrowers in the U.S. who from June 1, 2015 through July 19, 2017:

• were charged by Selene Finance under a lender placed hazard, flood, flood gap, or wind policy issued by or through Southwest Business Corp. and Great American E&S Insurance Co. covering residential property; and
• either paid the net premium for that policy to Selene Finance, or did not pay the premium and still owe it to Selene Finance.

Persons who are not sure if they qualify as Class Members are invited to call the settlement administrator to confirm.

Potential Award

Varies.

Class Members can qualify to receive payments worth 8.5 percent of the net premium they were charged by Selene during the class period for lender placed insurance. The net premium is the original premium amount minus any refunds already paid to the borrower.

Proof of Purchase

Claimants are asked to verify their identity using either a witness signature, a copy of a valid form of ID, a copy of a Selene Finance mortgage statement, or a notarized verification stating that the claimant executed the Claim Form in the notary’s presence.

Claim Form

CLICK HERE TO FILE A CLAIM »

NOTE: If you do not qualify for this settlement do NOT file a claim.

Remember: you are submitting your claim under penalty of perjury. You are also harming other eligible Class Members by submitting a fraudulent claim. If you’re unsure if you qualify, please read the FAQ section of the Settlement Administrator’s website to ensure you meet all standards (Top Class Actions is not a Settlement Administrator). If you don’t qualify for this settlement, check out our database of other open class action settlements you may be eligible for.

Claim Form Deadline

2/14/2018

Case Name

Robin McNeil and Lillian Marshall v. Selene Finance LP, et al., Case No. 1:16-cv-22930-EGT, in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida

Final Hearing

11/16/2017

UPDATE: On December 1, 2017, the Selene Finance Lender Placed Insurance Class Action Settlement was granted final approval.  Please note that claims will not be paid until after the claim deadline, which is currently February 14, 2018.  Let Top Class Actions know when you receive a check in the comments section below or on our  Facebook page.

Settlement Website

www.SeleneSettlementInfo.com

Claims Administrator

According to the plaintiffs’ motion for final settlement approval, the settlement is being administered by Rust Consulting. They can be reached by phone at 1-866-430-8977.

Class Counsel

Adam M. Moskowitz
KOZYAK TROPIN & THROCKMORTON PA

Aaron S. Podhurst
PODHURST ORSECK PA

Lance A. Harke
HARKE CLASBY & BUSHMAN LLP

Defense Counsel

Counsel for Southwest Business Corporation:
Anthony Strasius
WILSON ELSER MOSKOWITZ EDELMAN & DICKER LLP

Counsel for Great American E&S Insurance Company:
Robyn Quattrone
BUCKLEY SANDLER LLP