6 legal disputes for mortgage professionals to watch

Two separate lawsuits filed this month accuse Pingora Loan Servicing of failing to protect personally identifiable information in a breach that lasted 41 days in the fall of 2021.

“Due to defendant’s negligence, cyber criminals obtained everything they need to commit identity theft and wreak havoc on the financial and personal lives of thousands of individuals,” said William Federman, an attorney with Federman and Sherwood.

Victims in both cases are suing for negligence, breach of implied contract and unjust enrichment.

Read more: Mortgage servicer sued by borrowers over data breach

Federal investigators are looking into Wells Fargo’s hiring procedures after a report that the firm was conducting “fake interviews” with nonwhite and female job applicants. The civil rights unit at the U.S. attorney’s office in Manhattan is leading the probe, according to the New York Times.

In a statement Thursday, Wells Fargo said that “no one should be put through an interview without a real chance of receiving an offer, period.”

Allegations of poor hiring practices are not new for Wells Fargo. Sen. Sherrod Brown of Ohio wrote to CEO Charlie Scharf in May asking him to “once and for all address Wells Fargo’s governance, risk management, and hiring practices — weaknesses that have plagued the bank for almost a decade.”

Read more: Wells Fargo faces criminal probe over interview practices: Report

After it was accused of raiding talent from two of its competitors, Ohio-based CrossCountry is suing one of its accusers, Guild Mortgage, for allegedly persuading a departing employee to divert loans and information before leaving the firm. This comes after a previous lawsuit last October in which Guild sued CrossCountry over an alleged raid of Guild’s Kirkland, Washington branch. 

“On information and belief, Guild has perfected its scheme and will continue to harm CCM unless stopped,” said Marc Cwik, an attorney with Lewis, Brisbois, Bisgaard & Smith, LLP, on behalf of CrossCountry.

Separately, Dallas-based Caliber Home Loans is suing CrossCountry for allegedly stealing more than 80 of its employees responsible for more than $2.3 billion in annual mortgage originations. 

Read more: Lenders take more poaching accusations to court