In a ruling applauded by the National Association of REALTORS and other groups the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit ruled against the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) and vacated the $109 million penalty imposed by the CFPB on PHH Corporation for allegedly violating the Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act (RESPA) for paying referrals where there is a federally related mortgage.
The court held in favor of PHH, stating that payments for bona fide services provided and made at fair market value do not violate RESPA, reinforcing NAR’s support of marketing service agreements.
