Sylvia C. Cohen v. JP Morgan Chase & Co.

Plaintiff Sylvia C. Cohen sued defendants JP Morgan Chase & Co. and JP Morgan
Chase Bank (hereinafter referred to collectively as "Chase") in the United States District
Court for the Eastern District of New York (Charles P. Sifton, Judge), alleging that Chase's
collection of an unearned "post-closing fee" in connection with its refinancing of her home
mortgage violated Section 8(b) of the Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act of 1974
("RESPA"), 12 U.S.C. § 2607(b), and New York General Business Law § 349. In a
judgment entered on March 16, 2005, Cohen v. J.P. Morgan Chase & Co., No. CV-04-
4098(CPS) (E.D.N.Y. Mar. 16, 2005), the district court dismissed Cohen's complaint on the
ground that it failed to state a claim under RESPA § 8(b) because (1) the fee at issue was
analogous to an "overcharge," which Kruse v. Wells Fargo Home Mortgage, Inc., 383 F.3d
49, 55-57 (2d Cir. 2004), held was not prohibited by § 8(b); and (2) plaintiff had, in any
event, failed to plead that the challenged fee represented part of a charge split between Chase and one or more third parties. The district court similarly concluded that Cohen failed to
state a deceptive practices claim under state law because the pleaded facts demonstrated that
the challenged fee was disclosed.