FAQ

You received this Notice because the Court has ruled that the Lawsuit may be maintained as a claim for monetary relief on behalf of the Class and because MBA’s records show that you are a potential member of the Class described below. This Notice is intended to generally describe the nature of the Lawsuit and your legal rights and obligations.

The Court in charge of the Lawsuit is the United States District Court for the District of Maryland, and the Lawsuit is known as Remsnyder, et al. v. MBA Mortgage Services, Inc.,, Civil Action No: 1:19-cv-00492-JRR.

The Plaintiffs in the Lawsuit allege that between 7/1/2009 and 12/31/2015, All Star paid kickbacks to MBA employees and/or agents in exchange for their agreement to refer MBA loans to All Star for title and settlement services. Plaintiffs allege that MBA received and accepted kickbacks in the form of more than $250,000 in monetary payments and other unlawful benefits. Plaintiffs also allege that MBA and All Star agreed to charge borrowers fraudulent title and settlement service charges on MBA loans and used the U.S. mail to solicit borrowers for this purpose. Plaintiffs seek to recover money damages for each borrower affected by MBA’s alleged conduct pursuant to 12 U.S.C. § 2607(d)(2) and 18 U.S.C. § 1964(c).

MBA denies the allegations in the Lawsuit and denies that it is or may be liable for any of the claims asserted. On December 6, 2023, a default order was entered against MBA.

The Court has not made any judgment or other determination of the liability of the defendant in the Lawsuit.

In a class action lawsuit, one or more people called Plaintiffs sue on behalf of others who may have similar claims. For a case to proceed as a class action, a court must certify a class. That is what has happened in this case. This ruling by the Court of a class action does not mean that any monetary relief will be obtained for the class members because these are contested issues that have not been decided. Rather, the ruling means that the final outcome of this lawsuit, whether favorable to Plaintiffs or Defendant, will apply in like manner to every member of the class who do not timely elect to be excluded from the class.

The Court has decided that everyone who fits this description is a Class Member:
All individuals in the United States who were borrowers on a mortgage loan originated or brokered by MBA Mortgage Services, Inc., for which All Star Title, Inc., provided a settlement service, as identified in Section 1100 on the borrower’s HUD-1 or on the Closing Disclosure between July 1, 2009 and December 31, 2015. Exempted from this class is any person who, during the period of July 1, 2009 through December 31, 2015, was an employee, officer, member and/or agent of MBA Mortgage Services, Inc. or All Star Title, Inc.; any judicial officer who handles this case, and the immediate family members of such judicial officer(s).
The RICO Subclass is comprised of all members of the MBA Class.
The RESPA Subclass is comprised of all members of the MBA Class who were borrowers on a federally related mortgage loan (as defined under the Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act, 12 U.S.C. § 2602).

The Class is represented by Class Representatives, who are Plaintiffs in the Lawsuit. The court-appointed Class and Subclasses Representatives are: Matthew Remsnyder, Kimberly McMillen, Lucy Strausbaugh, Vernon and Crystal Miller, Bonnie Vaughn, Edward and Karen Leech, Jr., Ellen Geiling, Ted and Andrea Doederlein, Randall Taylor, and Edward and Anna Barth, Jr.

The Court has also appointed Plaintiffs’ Counsel to serve as Class Counsel for the Settlement Class: Michael Paul Smith and Melissa L. English, of the law firm Smith Gildea & Schmidt, LLC, and Timothy F. Maloney and Veronica B. Nannis, of the law firm Joseph, Greenwald & Laake, P.A.

If you desire, you may also appear by your own attorney at your own expense. You may also seek to intervene individually and may advise the Court if at any time you consider that you are not being fairly and adequately represented by Plaintiffs and Class Counsel.

If you wish to remain a member of the class, you do not have to do anything. By remaining a Class and Subclass member, any claims against MBA for monetary relief arising from MBA’s conduct as alleged by the Plaintiffs will be determined in this case and cannot be presented in any other lawsuit. Your participation in any recovery, which may be obtained from MBA through trial or settlement, will depend on the results of this lawsuit. If no recovery is obtained for the Class and Subclasses, you will be bound by that result also.

You may be required as a condition of participation in any recovery through settlement or trial to present evidence respecting your membership in the Class and Subclasses, and the monetary relief to which you are entitled. You should, therefore, collect and preserve documents related to your mortgage transaction with MBA. If you have evidence you believe would be helpful to Counsel, you may communicate with Class Counsel regarding that evidence.

You will be entitled to notice of any ruling reducing the size of the Class and Subclasses in which you are a member and also to notice of, and an opportunity to be heard respecting, any proposed settlement or dismissal of the class claims. For this reason, as well as to participate in any recovery, you are requested to notify Class Counsel of any corrections or changes in your name or address.

Any member of the Class and/or Subclasses shall have the right to opt-out or exclude themselves from the Class and Subclasses by sending a written Request for Exclusion from the Class to the Notice Administrator at the following address:

MBA – All Star Title Settlement, The Casey Group, Ltd, PO Box 201, Lightfoot, VA 23090-0201

To be excluded from the Class and Subclasses, the Class Member must complete an Exclusion Request, sign the Exclusion Request, and mail the Exclusion Request to the Notice Administrator no later than the Exclusion Deadline of November 1, 2024. A separate request for exclusion should be completed and timely mailed for each person or entity electing to be excluded from the Class and Subclasses. Co-borrowers on a loan must both submit a timely and valid Request for Exclusion to be excluded from the Class.

If you submit a timely and valid Request for Exclusion from the Class, you will not be a part of the Class (or Subclass), will not be eligible to participate in the Lawsuit, will not be bound by any result obtained from this Lawsuit whether or not obtained in favor of Plaintiffs, and will not be precluded from legally pursuing MBA in an individual capacity.

If you have questions concerning the Lawsuit, including any corrections or changes of name or address, you should not contact the Court, but should contact, in writing, Class Counsel at:

Class Counsel
MBA – All-Star Title Settlement
600 Washington Avenue, Suite 200
Towson, MD 21204.

If you decide to remain a member of the Class and wish to communicate with Class Counsel as your attorney in this litigation, you may do so by writing or calling the following:

Michael Paul Smith, Esq. (Email: [email protected])
Melissa L. English, Esq. (Email: [email protected])
Smith, Gildea & Schmidt, LLC
600 Washington Avenue, Suite 200, Towson, MD 21204
telephone: (410) 821-0070

Timothy F. Maloney, Esq. (Email: [email protected])
Veronica B. Nannis, Esq. (Email: [email protected])
Joseph, Greenwald & Laake, P.A.
6404 Ivy Lane, Suite 400, Greenbelt, MD 20770
telephone: (301)220-2200