Dovenmuehle Mortgage Faces Lawsuit Over Alleged FCRA Violations

In a lawsuit filed on September 11, 2023, in the Circuit Court of Cook County, William Horn, the plaintiff, alleges that Dovenmuehle Mortgage, Inc., the defendant, mishandled routine servicing changes related to modified mortgage loan payments or forbearance agreements.

According to the complaint, Dovenmuehle Mortgage, a mortgage servicer, furnished inaccurate mortgage payment history information to consumer reporting agencies (CRAs). This allegedly created a false impression of delinquency, significantly impacting the credit scores of consumers. Horn, representing himself and others similarly affected, claims that when consumers disputed the inaccurate information, Dovenmuehle Mortgage failed to correct or delete it.

This, according to the plaintiff, is a violation of the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA). The FCRA, enacted in 1970, is a federal law that regulates the collection, dissemination, and use of consumer information, including consumer credit information. Section 1681s-2(b) of the FCRA, which Dovenmuehle Mortgage allegedly violated, requires entities that furnish information to CRAs to investigate consumer disputes received from CRAs, review all relevant information provided by the CRA regarding the dispute, and report the results of the investigation to the CRA. In the words of the plaintiff, Dovenmuehle Mortgage "fails to correct or delete the disputed information," violating this provision of the FCRA.

Further, the defendant allegedly failed to mark the disputed information as "disputed," causing additional harm to consumers' credit scores. The lawsuit also alleges that Dovenmuehle Mortgage mishandled mortgage payment information during the COVID-19 pandemic, a time when many consumers were struggling financially and relying on accommodations provided by the CARES Act. The CARES Act, signed into law in March 2020, provides relief for homeowners with federally backed mortgages. Homeowners experiencing financial hardship due to the pandemic may request forbearance, a pause, or a reduction in their mortgage payments, for up to 180 days.

The plaintiff represents two classes of individuals in this lawsuit. The first class, referred to as the CARES Act Accommodation Class, includes individuals with mortgage accounts subject to a CARES Act accommodation. These individuals allegedly had their late payment information inaccurately reported by Dovenmuehle Mortgage, and the defendant failed to correct or delete this information after receiving a notice of dispute from a CRA.

The second class, the Transferred Servicing Class, includes individuals whose mortgage payment information was furnished inaccurately by Dovenmuehle Mortgage to a CRA. According to the lawsuit, the defendant failed to correct or delete this information after receiving a notice of dispute from a CRA.

Horn seeks statutory, actual, and punitive damages for the alleged harm caused by Dovenmuehle Mortgage's actions, as well as attorney's fees and costs. The lawsuit does not specify the exact amount of damages sought but indicates that the amount will be determined at trial.