TCPA class action complaints hit more mortgage lenders

Small brokerages and big lenders are facing more lawsuits over annoying phone calls and text messages, in cases that could last years and cost companies millions of dollars. 

Consumers have filed at least eight Telephone Consumer Protection Act claims in recent months against mortgage players, including two lawsuits against United Wholesale Mortgage in December. The consumers all cite just a few unwanted calls or texts, but allege they're violations as they claim to be on the National Do Not Call registry. 

There's also few details as to whether the calls were made by actual representatives, or pre-recorded or artificial intelligence voices. However, each TCPA infraction could cost lenders $500, or $1,500 for knowing or willful violations. While many cases have been pending for years, or are instead quietly settled, other firms have paid hefty sums to large classes. 

While most of the recently accused shops have yet to formally respond to the claims, or even retain an attorney, UWM has quickly moved to quash one complaint. The megalender was accused last month in a Michigan federal court, by Andrew James McGonigle, of sending text messages by "Nick from UWM Partner" to the consumer on the DNC registry. 

In a motion to dismiss that complaint last week, UWM appeared to blame one of its wholesale clients for the texts, and did not identify who the sender could be. 

"On its face, this attribution suggests that UWM itself was not the sender," an attorney for UWM wrote. 

In a 37-page defense, the company also argued that McGonigle couldn't prove the lender benefited from the text anyway, for example if he originated a loan with UWM. The firm also questioned the identity of a second UWM employee a co-plaintiff claimed to have spoken to on the phone four times. 

Neither UWM nor attorneys for the parties returned requests for comment. The Pontiac, Michigan-based lender has also not responded to a second TCPA complaint also filed in December.

Who else is facing new TCPA lawsuits?

Five other lenders, and a sixth selling mortgage leads, were hit with federal TCPA claims within the past three months. Those lenders are: 

• 360 Lending Corp in Chatsworth, California; 
• Federal Savings Bank in Chicago
• Lending Force in Troy, Michigan; 
• Leadpoint, advertising mortgage leads, in Plano, Texas; 
• Royal United Mortgage in Indianapolis;
• E Mortgage Capital in Santa Ana, California

Some of those cases were filed by the same plaintiffs, while others were filed by the same attorneys. 
E Mortgage Capital, which counts almost 1,000 sponsored mortgage loan originators in public records, is facing three active TCPA complaints and has dismissed other telephone lawsuits in recent years. In a lawsuit filed Dec. 22, Pennsylvania resident Jake Galloway accuses the lender of sending him prerecorded voice messages and text messages, including screenshots of a preapproval for a different consumer by a real loan officer. 

The lender, and attorneys for Galloway, didn't respond to requests seeking comment. 

How lender TCPA are unfolding

Mortgage firms could be locked in TCPA litigation for years, although some industry cases are quickly dismissed with prejudice by the parties, indicative of a possible settlement. 

Other lenders have endured class action complaints from purported serial litigators, with mixed success. Rocket Mortgage last month asked a federal court to dismiss one TCPA complaint from a plaintiff who's filed dozens of other telephone lawsuits against numerous companies, allegedly via a fleet of residential numbers. 

And while Fairway Home Mortgage agreed to dismiss a TCPA complaint from plaintiff Chet Michael Wilson, Better Home & Finance and Mr. Cooper are still litigating complaints from the consumer. 

Lenders in recent years meanwhile have paid six- and seven-figure sums to settle claims of harassing phone calls. Freedom Mortgage paid a $502,000 sum to New Jersey in 2023, for allegedly pestering consumers to refinance between 2015 to 2022. 

Anywhere Real Estate last January agreed to a massive $20 million settlement to end a TCPA complaint before it went to trial. That agreement set aside $12.6 million for approximately 300,000 class members who received over 700,000 phone calls made by Coldwell Banker agents between 2015 and 2020.