Victor Balderas v. Countrywide Bank, N.A.

facts as recited in the complaint: Mor Cazakov, a mortgage broker, cold-called the Balderases, representing that he could refinance their home, switch them to a fixed rate mortgage and let them cash out $50,000, all without a penalty. Subse- quently, Soraya Qassim, a “duly authorized agent” of Coun- trywide Bank (Countrywide), filled out a uniform residential BALDERAS v. COUNTRYWIDE BANK 21511 loan application (URLA) for them and showed up unan- nounced at their home, urging the Balderases to sign it. But the form was in English, which they can’t read, and it overes- timated their income by over $40,000 per year. Qassim told them it was an informal document the bank needed, so the Balderases signed.

Three days later, on the evening of Monday, September 25, 2006, Cazakov showed up at their home with a notary public and loan documents also written in English. He told them that Countrywide “demanded” their signatures “that night” and he couldn’t and wouldn’t leave without getting them. The Balderases protested and asked to arrange the loan signing when their English-literate daughter could attend. But Caza- kov said that Countrywide had instructed him to stay until he…

Opinion by Chief Judge KOZINSKI; Concurrence by Judge IKUTA.

OPINION

The Balderases allege that they are immigrants who were rooked by a bank that signed them up for loans it knew they couldn’t afford, on terms they didn’t agree to. These are the facts as recited in the complaint: Mor Cazakov, a mortgage broker, cold-called the Balderases, representing that he could refinance their home, switch them to a fixed rate mortgage and let them cash out $50,000, all without a penalty. Subsequently, Soraya Qassim, a “duly authorized agent” of Countrywide Bank (Countrywide), filled out a uniform residential loan application (URLA) for them and showed up unannounced at their home, urging the Balderases to sign it. But the form was in English, which they can’t read, and it overestimated their income by over $40,000 per year. Qassim told them it was an informal document the bank needed, so the Balderases signed.

Three days later, on the evening of Monday, September 25, 2006, Cazakov showed up at their home with a notary public and loan documents also written in English. He told them that Countrywide “demanded” their signatures “that night” and he couldn’t and wouldn’t leave without getting…

concurring:

I concur in the opinion except for the penultimate paragraph, in which the majority takes the opportunity to give the Balderases some helpful legal advice. After clarifying that a lender must leave the TILA Notice of Right to Cancel with the *792 borrower in order to “deliver” it (an interpretation with which I agree), the majority worries that the broker may in fact have left the Balderases with two copies of the completed form, as per Exhibit 14 of the complaint. Maj. op. at 791. To address its concerns, the majority seizes on a footnote in the complaint, where the Balderases asserted that “[bjecause the signing occurred after midnight, the actual signing date was the 26th of September, 2006.” Although the Balderases’ counsel didn’t make anything of this fact, the majority opines that if the Notice of Right to Cancel was indeed signed on September 26th, but incorrectly dated September 25, the notice itself would violate TILA. See maj. op. at 791. Regardless whether the majority is better at spotting issues than the Balderases’ attorneys, it is not the job of judges to make up arguments and then purport to rule on them. See Greenwood v. FAA, 28 F.3d 971, 977 (9th…