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Banking

Cetto v. LaSalle Bank Nat. Ass’n, 518 F.3d 263 (4th Cir. 2008).
Docket No. 06-1720, decided February 29, 2008.

The plaintiffs sought to rescind the refinancing of their home on the bases that their loan was a “high cost mortgage”—defined by the federal Truth in Lending Act as one in which the “points and fees” exceed 8% of the total loan amount—and that they did not receive the specific disclosures and terms to which borrowers receiving “high cost mortgages” are entitled. They argued that the settlement agent’s title search and title binder fees should be considered “points and fees” because the settlement agent was affiliated with the mortgage broker, whom they alleged was a “creditor” under the Act. However, the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit held that because it did not lend any money to the plaintiffs, the mortgage broker was not a “creditor” under the Act, and therefore the title search and title binder fees were not part of the “points and fees” used to compute whether a loan is a “high cost mortgage.” Because the loan was not a “high cost mortgage” without the inclusion of the title search and title binder fees as “points and fees” under the Act, the court affirmed the district court’s grant of summary judgment to the lender.

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