General – Page 8 – Duane Morris Banking and Finance Law

December 21, 2015 by Richard C. Unger, Jr.

Banks Target Employee Behavior to Reduce Cyber Crime

As reported in the Wall Street Journal on December 21, banks are spending enormous sums on cybersecurity (Wells Fargo’s CEO John Stumpf says ‘It is the only expense where I ask if it’s enough’), and much of that is directed towards reducing risks from employees who unwittingly make it easier for hackers to breach a bank’s defenses. Employee error results in approximately 30% of data breaches, according to a survey released last month by the Association of Corporate Counsel. Banks in particular face substantial risk because they possess so much customer information, as well as huge sums of money.

Among the ways that cybercriminals gain access to protected data are out of office messages on work computers and phones , and vacation photos posted on social media ( which signal unmonitored computers ). A significant risk is posed by employees opening phishing emails, especially the increasingly sophisticated “spear phishing” emails, that appear to be requests from high-ranking bank officials. Many banks send employees simulated phishing attacks . The opening of one of these fake phishing emails may, for example, start a video to educate the employee on how they should have handled the situation.

These efforts are another indication that fighting cyber crime involves virtually all parts of an organization, not just the IT department.

November 12, 2015November 13, 2015 by Duane Morris

Duane Morris Receives TD Bank U.S. Legal Champion Award

Duane Morris received the first TD Bank “U.S. Legal Champion” Award, recognizing TD Bank’s strategic law firms that provide valued work and high performance in the categories of innovation, service, TD value investment and billing management.

TD Bank deputy general counsel Leo Doyle presented the award to Duane Morris partner Alexander Bono at the trial practice group session at Duane Morris’ annual firm meeting.

TD Bank’s Leo Doyle presents U.S. Legal Champion Award to Duane Morris’ Lex Bono and the team (from left Lynne Evans, Ryan Borneman and Michael Zullo)

To learn more about this honor, which was reported on in the November 12, 2015, issue of The Legal Intelligencer, please visit the Duane Morris website.

August 25, 2015November 21, 2019 by Duane Morris

Florida District Court Issues Key Ruling in Mortgage Foreclosure Case

Previously, Florida appellate courts were strictly enforcing the acceleration requirements in mortgages. In Gorel v. The Bank of New York Mellon, Case No. 5D13-3272 (Fla. 5th DCA May 8, 2015), a Florida appellate court has now held that the failure of a default notice to specify a date not less than 30 days by which the default must be cured does not constitute a valid defense where the defective notice did not prejudice the borrower, because he made no attempt to cure the default.

To read the full text of this Duane Morris Alert, written by Steven Ginsburg, please visit the Duane Morris website.

May 7, 2015 by Duane Morris

City of Philadelphia Requests Proposals to Implement Online Auction for Sale and Assignment of Delinquent Real Estate Tax Liens

The City of Philadelphia recently announced a request for proposals to implement an online auction for the sale and assignment of some of the city’s delinquent real estate tax liens. The auction will allow third parties to bid on the tax liens, with the successful bidder assigned the lien from the city upon the purchaser’s payment at the conclusion of the auction. Title to the property against which the delinquent tax lien is sold will not be transferred. The third-party assignee would then pursue the collection of the delinquent taxes from the property owner.

Click here to read the full Duane Morris Alert, written by Brett Messinger and Louise Melchor.

January 9, 2015 by Duane Morris

Playing Defense Against Restitution Orders

Duane Morris Attorneys Jason Ohta and Dan Terzian wrote this article about bank regulators and how the Treasury can order bankers to pay restitution for violating a law or for having a defective banking practice.

To read the full article, please visit the American Banker website.

August 22, 2014September 17, 2014 by Duane Morris

Businesses Around the United States Being Targeted for Alleged Inaccessible Websites

While plaintiff’s lawyers have been busy the past two years filing lawsuits around the United States alleging violations of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) related to physical barriers—including a wave of class action lawsuits against banks for inaccessible ATMs and against retailers for inaccessible point of sale devices (“POS devices”)—these lawyers are now turning their attention to company websites. Since May 2014, there has been a dramatic increase in the number of lawsuits and demand letters alleging that businesses have denied access to visually impaired customers by having websites that are inaccessible to them in some manner. Although the focus thus far has been primarily on website access for the visually impaired, website access issues may also arise for persons with mobility and hearing disabilities.

Click here to read the full Alert, written by Duane Morris partners Colin Knisely and Jonathan Petrakis.

July 15, 2014August 12, 2014 by Louise Melchor

PA Mechanics Lien Law Amended to Clarify Open-End Construction Loan Mortgage Priority

In May 2012, the Pennsylvania Superior Court issued its decision in Commerce Bank/Harrisburg, N.A. v. Kessler, effecting fundamental change in the previously understood priority of open-end construction loan mortgages over mechanics liens. At the time of the Kessler decision, the Mechanics Lien Law (“MLL”), 49 P.S. 1101, et seq. provided that, although a mechanics lien for construction of improvements generally has priority as of the date of visible commencement of work, it was subordinate to an open-end mortgage “the proceeds of which are used to pay all or part of the cost of completing erection, construction, alteration or repair of the mortgaged premises…”. The Kessler court interpreted the statute to mean that, in order for the exception to priority to be applicable, all of the loan proceeds secured by the open-end mortgage must be used for such “hard costs,” and none of the loan proceeds could be used for other purposes, such as closing costs, satisfaction of an existing mortgage, or payment of other judgments and liens. As a result of the Kessler decision, lenders have sought to structure transactions to allow for title insurance coverage against mechanics liens for construction loans when visible work commenced prior to the mortgage recording date.

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June 9, 2014August 12, 2014 by Walter J. Greenhalgh

U.S. Supreme Court Decision Answers Question Arising Out of Stern vs. Marshall Decision

In Executive Benefits Insurance Agency, petitioner vs. Peter H. Arkison, Chapter 7 Trustee, Case No. 12-1200, 573 U.S. __(2014) the United States Supreme Court ( Court) delivered its opinion as a follow up to its landmark decision in Stern v. Marshall. In Stern v. Marshall, the Court held that even though bankruptcy courts are statutorily authorized to enter final judgments on a class of bankruptcy related claims, Article III of the Constitution prohibits bankruptcy courts from finally adjudicating certain of those claims. Under Stern’s reasoning, the Constitution does not permit a bankruptcy court to enter final judgment on a bankruptcy related claim, the relevant statute does permit a bankruptcy court to issue proposed findings of fact and conclusions of law to be reviewed de novo by a federal district court. Because the District Court conducted the de novo review that petitioner demanded, the Court affirmed the judgment of the Court of Appeals upholding the District Court’s decision. The following information has been extracted from the syllabus prepared by the Reporter of Decisions and does not represent the actual written decision by the Court.

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March 11, 2014August 12, 2014 by J. Colin Knisely

Banks Previously Sued in Title III ADA Class Action Lawsuits Now Getting Sued Again in Second Wave of Accessibility Lawsuits

A Pittsburgh-based law firm, that has filed well over 100 class action lawsuits under Title III of the Americans with Disability Act (“ADA”) in federal District Courts throughout the country against banks on behalf of a plaintiff who alleged that the banks’ ATMs were inaccessible, is back at it and is filing more ADA Title III class actions against banks. The new ADA Title III class actions claim that the defendant banks’ branch locations are physically inaccessible to individuals in wheelchairs. In the past few weeks, the Carlson Lynch law firm has filed seven such class action lawsuits in the Federal District Court in Pittsburgh, all against banks the law firm had previously sued for alleged ATM accessibility violations. All of the new lawsuits involve the same plaintiff, Damian M. Zipf, who, according to the Complaints, is dependent upon a motorized wheelchair for mobility. Zipf alleges that he has been deterred from patronizing the bank branches because of certain accessibility barriers. In these newly filed wheelchair accessibility class actions, the plaintiff is alleging a variety of general ADA accessibility violations, including, but not limited to, inaccessible parking lots, handicap signs that are too low, inaccessible door hardware and entrances, and obstructed accessible routes. In each lawsuit, the Plaintiff claims to have visited a number of bank branches and has alleged specific ADA violations at each location.

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September 25, 2013August 12, 2014 by Louise Melchor

Commonwealth Court Vacates Order Authorizing Sheriff Sale Due To Failure Of City To Comply With Tax Sale Laws

A Commonwealth Court ruling earlier this month, in City of Philadelphia v. Manu, 2013 Pa. Commw. LEXIS 363, may have a significant effect on the City’s procedures in tax sales, and the success of owners and lienholders in setting aside or staying such sales if statutory requirements are not followed.

In January 2011, the City filed a petition seeking to sell a rental property owned by Agnes Manu free and clear of all encumbrances, pursuant to the Municipal Claims and Liens Act (the “Act”), 53 P.S. §7101, et seq. The City first alleged the amount of delinquent water and sewer rents was $0.00 and attached to its petition an “amended” claim of $657.54, plus interest and penalties for “City taxes”. In addition to the property owner and other tax lien holders, several mortgagees had an interest in the property. However, the show cause order that issued on the petition was only directed to the property owner. Further, service of the petition and rule was made only by posting on the property.

Continue reading “Commonwealth Court Vacates Order Authorizing Sheriff Sale Due To Failure Of City To Comply With Tax Sale Laws”