Black v. Financial Freedom Senior Funding Corp.

I. Introduction

In 1994, Charles T. Black and Corinne E. Black (the Blacks), then 68 and 67 years of age respectively, entered into a reverse mortgage with Freedom Investment Fund, Inc. (Freedom Investment), using their home as the basis for the mortgage. In 1998, the Blacks, as trustees for the Charles T. Black and Corinne E. Black Trust Agreement, brought this action against Freedom Investment and a host of other corporations, companies and individuals, alleging that the manner of their marketing of the reverse mortgage violated various state laws. The defendants moved for summary judgment, arguing that the Blacks’ claims were preempted by three federal statutes and their implementing regulations: the Alternative Mortgage Transaction Parity Act of 1982 (the Parity Act) ( 12 U.S.C. §§ 3801-3806 ), the Truth in Lending Act (TILA) ( Pub.L. No. 90-321, § 101 (May 29, 1968) 82 Stat. 146 ; see also 15 U.S.C. §§ 1601 -1667f) and the Depository Institutions Deregulation and Monetary Control Act of 1980 (DIDMCA) ( Pub.L. No. 96-221, § 1 (Mar. 31, 1980) 94 Stat. 132 (codified as amended in scattered sections of 12 U.S.C. & 15 U.S.C.)). The trial court granted the motion. This…