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88 Florida Minority Certified Business MIAMI-DADE & BROWARD COUNTIES 786-499-6994 www.REOPitStop.com Luis@ContinentalRealtors.com RESNET ID: 106089 | Equator ID: 272261 Luis F. Guzman Broker/Owner FLORIDA Black Knight Integrates eSigning Tech into LOS Jacksonville, Florida's Black Knight Finan- cial Services has integrated Solex, a mobile- friendly eSigning solution from Docutech, into its LOS. Both Black Knight's LoanSphere Em- power LOS and its LoanSphere Expedite Portal will feature the new integration, which offers eSign capabilities, as well as access to Docutech's ConformX interface. ConformX auto-populates data to make document gen- eration easier and more efficient. e integration of the two organizations' technologies was a natural fit, according to Jerry Halbrook, President of Origination Technologies and Enterprise Business at Black Knight. "By integrating both Empower and the Expedite Portal with Docutech's Solex e-sign solution, we are further delivering on the digitized loan process consumers want," Halbrook said. "Together, Black Knight and Docutech are committed to offering innova- tive lending solutions that facilitate an easier, more convenient loan process for both lenders and consumers." According to Ty Jenkins, CEO of Docutech, the partnership offers a significant step toward a fully digitized mortgage process for lenders across the country. "Docutech is dedicated to providing lend- ers with an easy-to-use, comprehensive eSign process that will enable them to manage their document needs more efficiently while main- taining the highest level of compliance and showing their customers a more modernized loan experience," Jenkins said. "Given the high volume of lenders utilizing Black Knight's services, these integrations will bring the mortgage industry one step closer to electronic mortgage processes becoming more widely adopted." Municipal FHA Suits in Questionable Territory By Lauren Riddick Municipalities may be experiencing whiplash from a recent U.S. Supreme Court ruling which both permits and prevents certain suits based on the Federal Housing Act (FHA). In Bank of America Corp., et. al. v. City of Miami, No. 15-1111 (May 1, 2017), the City of Miami alleged that certain lenders violated the Federal Housing Act by engaging in discriminatory practices. e city then stated these alleged discriminatory practices resulted in a slew of repercussions ranging from negatively impacting the city's racial composition and interests in promoting fair housing, to causing foreclosures and vacancies, which in turn caused financial injury via decreased property values and tax revenues while simultaneously increasing municipal spending. e high court first held that the city's claims of financial injury from lost tax revenue and increased municipal expenses were permissible claims as they were within the zone of interests protected by the FHA. Although not directly stated, the court implied that only the alleged economic injuries were sufficient claims under the FHA, as opposed to the more subjective arguments, such as the claimed negative impact to the racial composition. e main question before the court then became whether causation existed or the harm alleged was close enough to the wrong- doing to justify damages. In other words, how far back in a chain of causation should liability be allowed to reach? e city was essentially arguing that "the Bank's allegedly discriminatory mortgage-lending practices led to defaulted loans, which led to foreclo- sures, which led to vacant houses, which led to decreased property values, which led to reduced property taxes and urban blight." e lower appellate court had ruled that the city had adequately proven causation because although there were "several links in the causal chain," all were foreseeable. e Supreme Court, however, disagreed and held that foreseeability alone is not enough to establish liability. e court stated that FHA violations may cause ripples of harm, but that allowing recovery "for any foreseeable result of an FHA violation would risk massive and complex damages litigation." Although the court stopped shy of directly stating that liability didn't exist here, choosing to remand the case back down to the Appellate Court instead, it certainly implied that result. e dissent argued that Miami's claimed injuries were not only outside the FHA's scope of protection, but were far too remote from the bank's alleged misconduct, stating that, "[t]he Court of Appeals will not need to look far to discern other, independent events that might well have caused the injuries Miami alleges…" erefore, although municipality FHA suits are permitted for at least economic inju- ries, they will likely be unsuccessful unless a direct link can be shown. Lauren Riddick handles contested foreclosure matters as a member of the Codilis & Associates Contested Litigation Unit and also assists with title matters. She joined the firm in August 2013. Prior to joining the firm, she was an Adjunct Professor of Law with several colleges and a Securities Attorney for a large broker-dealer in Florida. Riddick is a member of the Illinois and Florida Bar Associations. She received her Juris Doctorate in from the University of Florida THE LEADER IN DEFAULT SERVICING NEWS Help shape the next issue of DS News. Drop us a line at Editor@DSNews.com.

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