Supreme Court Rules Against Couple Who Tried to Rescind Mortgage Loan

The Supreme Court ruled Tuesday that consumers facing foreclosure may not use the Truth-in-Lending Act to cancel a loan if the three-year right of rescission has expired.

"The act permits no federal right to rescind, defensively or otherwise, after the three-year period," Justice David Souter wrote for a unanimous court.

The dispute explored in Beach v. Ocwen Federal Bank began in 1991, when David and Linda Beach ceased making payments on a 1986 refinanced home loan. It escalated in 1992 when Great Western Bank, which later sold the loan to Ocwen, began foreclosure proceedings.

The Beaches fought back by trying to rescind the mortgage on the basis of what turned out to be a 58-cent overstatement of their monthly mortgage payment. They claimed the three-year deadline did not apply when used as a defense against foreclosures.

Michael F. Crotty, deputy general counsel for litigation at the American Bankers Association, praised the ruling, saying it should resolve several similar disputes now pending. The ABA was one of eight banking groups that signed a brief supporting Ocwen.

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