We welcome the opportunity to aggressively advocate for our clients, and to protect their interests throughout the case. We are gratified when our clients are victorious. We enjoyed just such a result in a recent case decided by Maryland’s highest court.
In June, 2014, the case of Thompkins v Mountaineer Investments, LLC was decided by the Court of Appeals of Maryland. In this case, Mountaineer Investments, who is a client of Huesman, Jones and Miles, was sued by the Thompkins. The Thompkins claimed in their lawsuit that Mountaineer Investments, LLC was liable for breaches of the Secondary Mortgage Lender Law (the “SMLL”) that they alleged a predecessor to Mountaineer violated.
The SMLL is a piece of legislation in Maryland that is intended to protect borrowers from predatory lenders, by regulating, among other things, the fees they can charge to settle on a 2nd mortgage loan. In this case, the Thompkins never even alleged that Mountaineer Investments had ever violated these regulations. Instead, they alleged that a lender who had sold the Thompkins loan to Mountaineer had violated the law, many years earlier.
We argued in the Circuit Court for Baltimore City that the penalties provided in the law should not be imposed on parties who had not violated the law. The Circuit Court for Baltimore City agreed. The Thompkins appealed to the Court of Special Appeals of Maryland. There we made similar arguments and won again on behalf of our client. The Thompkins again appealed the case, this time to the Court of Appeals, the highest Court in the State of Maryland.
Our firm had the opportunity to argue before the Court of Appeals. The Court again agreed with us that it would be unfair to force a loan purchaser to risk the liability of its predecessor in interest.
We are very proud here at Huesman, Jones and Miles, of successfully arguing this complicated case before the highest court in the state, and of being victorious at every level. This is an important case for all lenders who purchase second mortgages in Maryland, as it protects them from liability when purchasing 2nd mortgages from other lenders. More than that, this case demonstrates our unwavering commitment to fight for our clients who have been wrongly sued.
For more information or to speak with one of our lawyers in Baltimore County, call 443-589-0150 or fill out the online contact form.
