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Dozens of homeowners have reached a proposed $7 million settlement with Seterus Inc. in a class action lawsuit about threatening notices the company sent out regarding their home mortgage.
Lawyers for the 29 lead plaintiffs submitted the deal to the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of North Carolina on Dec. 17. If approved, it would cover an excess of 46,500 Class Members in 12 states who got the home mortgage notices when their loan payments fell more than 45 days behind.
The letters, sent between 2012 and 2019, said the company would accelerate the mortgages – making the entire outstanding balance due immediately – or foreclose on the property if the debt wasn’t satisfied immediately.
According to the homeowners’ class action lawsuit, the threats “violated Seterus’ actual policy to never accelerate a loan so long as any payment sufficient to bring the loan less than 45 days delinquent is made prior to the expiration date set forth in its Final Letter.”
They also violated the federal Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, according to the plaintiffs.
Under the terms of the proposed settlement, Class Members in North Carolina will likely net the largest amount from the deal, approximately $182 each. Those in Michigan, the state with the highest number of anticipate Class Members, are expected to net about $95. Class Members in Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri, New Jersey, New York and Pennsylvania will get roughly $63 each and those in California will get nearly $53.50 each.
The plaintiffs’ lawyers are slated to receive $2.3 million, representing one-third the overall payout, in compensation and another $66,271 in litigation costs. The settlement administrators who will handle distributing the payments to the Class Members will get $110,000 to do the job.
Another $55,000 of the proposed Seterus payout will go to the home mortgage owners who filed the case. It will be awarded at a rate of $3,500 for each set of named plaintiffs who provided discovery and were deposed, $2,500 for each set of who provided discovery only, and $1,000 for each “who were prepared to provide discovery yet never had to do so.”
“Given the litigation risks, the complexity of underlying issues, the skill of defense counsel, and the amount of money recovered for Settlement Class Members, the proposed settlement ensures a meaningful recovery,” the plaintiffs’ lawyers wrote in the request for the court’s approval.
The case began in 2017 and settlement conferences were held in February and June. The two sides reached an agreement in principle in November, according to the settlement proposal.
Have you received threatening notices from your mortgage lender? Tell us about it in the comment section below.
The lead plaintiff and Class Members are represented by Scott C. Harris and Patrick M. Wallace of Whitfield Bryson LLP and Edward H. Maginnis, Karl S. Gwaltney and Asa C. Edwards of Maginnis Law PLLC.
The Home Mortgage Class Action Lawsuit is Tracy Adams, et al. v. Seterus Inc., et al., Case No. 1:17-cv-995, in the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of North Carolina.
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29 thoughts on$7M Seterus Home Mortgage Class Action Settlement Proposed
I was with Seterus during that time frame. I am off in the summers. I was gone the whole 1st summer of being with Seterus. Upon my return home my house had already been in foreclosure and sold. My mortgage was electronically paid every month.
I was not behind on my mortgage. Seterus, took two payments from my checking and foreclosed on me in 2 months.
Later, I discovered those two payments which were returned to me via unclaimed property by state of Texas comptroller.
Hello I was with Seterus during this time frame. I always received threatening letters I always responded back so they would not foreclose on me for being 30 days late. They sold my loan to another company. Thank you.
I had an escrow account built into mortgage for taxes and insurance on my house. Seterus claimed my home was uninsured shortly after they received the mortgage from Chase. They took action to charge me for insurance and then raise my monthly payments from our agreement due to lack of coverage.
When I contacted them about this I was informed they mistakenly did not roll my escrow account over. I was also informed that the next bill had been generated and mailed. This mistake in billing would reflect an amount 3-4 times higher then actual monthly payments . I was told to ignore that invoice and wait for the correction to be processed.
That set into motion the series of events that ended in foreclosure , sheriff’s sale, and the lose of my beloved first home.
I was robbed.
How do I become a part of this lawsuit? I did receive letters in this time frame. Seterus was a terrible mortgage company, putting my payments in the “end of the loan” instead of current. Every person I spoke to told me something completely contradictory to the other person.
Seterus has put me through hell to say the least. After my father passed in 2012 seterus refused to deal with me. Leaving me no choice but to go into foreclosure and get in front of a judge. Days before the hearing seterus asked to have case dismissed and didn’t show in court. Judge restructured my loan and took it out of the estate name. Yet I was charged almost 15,000. In attorneys fee from seterus added to my mortgage. As of today I have gotten nowhere and it’s still in the estate of. I’m disabled now and can’t afford to fight these big corp. Not to mention the 9000.00 that disappeared from my escrow acct. Mr. Cooper never responded to my email inquiries and now its been sold to SPS. Can anyone help me
Me email address is Dazyblue42@gmail.com
Please add me. I had them during that time frame. I received this such letter.
Please add me in North Carolina. I received the threatening final letters.
Add me if Maryland is included mortgage was in my husband’s name until death 12 19 2009 then in the estate for him which I was listed
Same here
I live in California and had a home mortgage with Seterus during the time period stated. I alsp recieved letters threating
Loan accerations.
Thank You,
Mark S. King
1830 Hi Point St.
Los Angeles, CA 90035
(213) 448-8188