Carter v Welles Realty Co., 6th Cir. 20090121

On January 23, 2009 the 6th Circuit held that a plaintiff has Article
III standing to pursue a violation of RESPA's prohibition against
providing referral fees or kickbacks in connection with real-estate
settlement services even though the plaintiff was not overcharged for
the settlement services. Carter v. Welles-Bowen Realty, No. 07-3965
(6th. Cir., Jan. 23, 2009)

The court reasoned that RESPA "creates an individual right to receive
referral services untainted by kickbacks or fee splitting." p. 12. And,
because the the referral to the company that provided plaintiffs'
settlement services was "sullied by kickbacks in violation of RESPA,
they have article III standing [to sue]." p.13.

In re Figard, (Bkrtcy.W.D.Pa.)

Claims - Bankruptcy Code's claims allowance statute did
not implicitly repeal RESPA provision governing borrower information
requests.

The Bankruptcy Code's claims allowance statute, which allowed parties in
interest to file objections to proofs of claim filed in bankruptcy cases,
did not implicitly repeal the provision of the Real Estate Settlement
Procedures Act requiring loan servicers to timely reply to a borrower's
written request for information related to loan servicing. Congress did
not clearly express its intent to have the bankruptcy statute act as a
substitute means for debtors to gather information from mortgagees, and no
conflict existed between the two statutes.