The biggest lawsuits facing mortgage players in 2026

December 31, 2025 1:49 PM

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Scandalous accusations and serious questions of law are likely to crop up in new lawsuits by mortgage consumers and lenders in 2026. But some cases today already carry plenty at stake for the industry.

Major players are accused of violating the Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act in stiffing borrowers and their own employees. Leading companies are being accused of defrauding thousands or more of their clients. And legal challenges to laws and lawmakers are heating up.

National Mortgage News highlights the court cases that have the biggest implications for the mortgage industry in 2026.

Big lenders tussle with RESPA claims

Loandepot is fighting a class action accusing the company of steering borrowers to higher rates, and punishing loan officers with little to no commission if they didn't follow through. Maryland consumers say the massive originator has hid the process that violates RESPA since 2019. After the lender slammed the initial complaint as "threadbare," plaintiffs cited testimony of ex-Loandepot LOs describing the illicit process.

Retail giant CrossCountry Mortgage is also facing six RESPA complaints in North Carolina for allegedly conspiring with a local real estate brokerage for a kickback deal. Borrowers, who claim direct evidence of the scheme, want to certify classes of homeowners who were overcharged after being steered to CCM originators.

Wholesale leader United Wholesale Mortgage meanwhile is also facing lingering RESPA questions, after a federal judge gutted a racketeering lawsuit stemming from 2024's explosive Hunterbrook report. Plaintiffs in each of the RESPA class actions against top lenders haven't specified damages but have hinted at seeking massive sums from the billion-dollar originators.

Megabuilder and lending affiliate face RICO counts

Upwards of 100,000 borrowers could be included in a developing case against D.R. Horton and its DHI Mortgage financing arm. Homeowners in Nevada sued the nation's largest builder this fall over a "unique" tax trick which saddles borrowers with eventually soaring escrow payments.

D.R. Horton makes its homes appear more affordable than its competitors through the racketeering activity, the complaint alleges. The untenable monthly payment surges also likely affected thousands of customers with government-sponsored loans. The company, which originated nearly 69,000 loans in-house in fiscal year 2025, has yet to formally respond to the accusations.

The war on Zillow

The ubiquitous listing giant has irked rivals and regulators and is battling litigation on numerous fronts. Competitor Compass filed an antitrust claim against Zillow this summer, in a battle over the way homes are marketed and sold. The Trump Administration also sued Zillow this year over a deal with rival Redfin which feds say impacts the multifamily rental market.

The firm is also entangled in its own RESPA suit, involving the Zillow Home Loans business. A November class action suggests Zillow pushes real estate agents and buyers to take out loans with the company's purportedly subpar financing arm. The company recently crossed into the billion-dollar origination mark, and has pledged to boost the mortgage line in question.

California law could disrupt second-lien market

In a prominent legal challenge to a new state law, the California Mortgage Association is leading a battle against the Golden State's new statute regarding zombie seconds. The regulation could freeze the secondary market, the lawsuit claims.

The state's Assembly Bill 130 defines specific lienholder conduct unlawful, in an attempt to protect borrowers from rising instances of trouble with long-dormant second liens. Servicers and small lienholders say they've already been hindered in foreclosure efforts because of the law. At-large, defendants say the regulation will inadvertently affect refinances, reverse mortgages, home equity lines of credit and more.

The California attorney general has defended the law, arguing that lienholders still have fair avenues to foreclosure. A hearing to determine whether the case will proceed is scheduled for February.

Class action targets Optimal Blue and lender partners

Four plaintiffs say a class of potentially millions of consumers exists for their claim against the so-called Optimal Blue "cartel." The complaint names 26 lenders as defendants who used the software in conspiring to price-fix and inflate costs in weighing rival pricing alongside their own.

Optimal Blue defended its products as fostering competition, but the technology provider and others have yet to file a formal response. The lawsuit claims impacted borrowers paid on average 2.68 basis points more for their loans versus non-Optimal Blue lenders.

Will the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau exist?

The longtime watchdog and sometimes foe of the home loan industry still faces an uncertain future almost a year after the Trump Administration halted most of the bureau's activities.

A federal appeals court will hear renewed arguments next year in a legal battle between CFPB Acting Director Russell Vought and the National Treasury Employees Union, over his attempts to fire employees en masse. Enforcement officials have been in limbo as courts, and the administration itself, have continually redefined how the bureau can work during its stasis.

The mortgage fallout of a shuttered CFPB is unclear, but deregulation has already permeated lending. Trade groups have praised moves such as nixing a nonbank registry, while attorneys and other experts have mulled the future of routine CFPB activities like examinations.