An individual has been awarded $3.6 million in damages after accusing a loan servicer of violating the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, the Illinois Consumer Fraud Act, and the Real Estate Settlement and Procedures Act.
The primary problem in the case involved a mortgage servicer that mistakenly coded an account with a “dismissed” bankruptcy notation instead of a “discharged” notation, which resulted in the servicer attempting to collect on the pre-petition arrears, even after the individual and her bankruptcy attorney contacted the company to alert them of the error.
A jury deliberated for seven hours following the eight-day trial, and awarded $500,000.00 in compensatory damages, $70,000.00 in non-economic damages, $12,000.00 in economic damages and $3,000,000.00 in punitive damages.
The plaintiff, Monette Saccameno, was represented by Atlas Consumer Law.
The law firm included this statement in a press release announcing the verdict:
The outcome of this trial should come as good news to all consumers who have struggled with aggressive mortgage servicing tactics throughout the ongoing financial crisis. The litigation team was meticulous and methodical in its litigation approach, and was able to obtain a punitive damages award for Saccameno and against Ocwen – an award that is meant to punish and deter future misconduct – under the Illinois Consumer Fraud Act.
