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Commitments and Contingencies | 3 Months Ended
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Mar. 31, 2019
Commitments and Contingencies Disclosure [Abstract] |
Commitments and Contingencies | 18. Commitments and Contingencies Litigation and Regulatory Matters The Company and its subsidiaries are routinely and currently involved in a significant number of legal proceedings, including, but not limited to, judicial, arbitration, regulatory and governmental proceeds related to matters that arise in connection with the conduct of Company’s business. The legal proceedings are at varying stages of adjudication, arbitration or investigation and are generally based on alleged violations of consumer protection, securities, employment, contract, tort, common law fraud and other numerous laws, including, without limitation, the Equal Credit Opportunity Act, Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, Fair Credit Reporting Act, Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act, National Housing Act, Homeowners Protection Act, Service Member’s Civil Relief Act, Telephone Consumer Protection Act, Truth in Lending Act, Financial Institutions Reform, Recovery, and Enforcement Act of 1989, unfair, deceptive or abusive acts or practices in violation of the Dodd-Frank Act, the Securities Act of 1933, the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, the Home Mortgage Disclosure Act, Title 11 of the United States Code (aka the “Bankruptcy Code”), False Claims Act and Making Home Affordable loan modification programs. In addition, along with others in its industry, the Company is subject to repurchase and indemnification claims and may continue to receive claims in the future, regarding alleged breaches of representations and warranties relating to the sale of mortgage loans, the placement of mortgage loans into securitization trusts or the servicing of mortgage loans securitizations. The Company is also subject to legal actions or proceedings related to loss sharing and indemnification provisions of its various acquisitions. Certain of the pending or threatened legal proceedings include claims for substantial compensatory, punitive and/or statutory damages or claims for an indeterminate amount of damages. The Company’s business is also subject to extensive examinations, investigations and reviews by various federal, state and local governmental, regulatory and enforcement agencies. The Company has historically had a number of open investigations with these agencies and that trend continues. The Company is currently the subject of various governmental or regulatory investigations, subpoenas, examinations and inquiries related to its residential loan servicing and origination practices, bankruptcy and collections practices, its financial reporting and other aspects of its businesses. These matters include investigations by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (the “CFPB”), the Securities and Exchange Commission, the Executive Office of the United States Trustees, the Department of Justice, the Office of the Special Inspector General for the Troubled Asset Relief Program, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, the multi-state committee of mortgage banking regulators and various State Attorneys General. These specific matters and other pending or potential future investigations, subpoenas, examinations or inquiries may lead to administrative, civil or criminal proceedings or settlements, and possibly result in remedies including fines, penalties, restitution, or alterations in the Company’s business practices, and in additional expenses and collateral costs. Responding to these matters requires the Company to devote substantial resources, resulting in higher costs and lower net cash flows. For example, the Company continues to progress towards resolution of certain legacy regulatory matters involving examination findings for alleged violations of certain laws related to the Company’s business practices. The Company has been in discussions with the multi-state committee of mortgage banking regulators and various State Attorneys General concerning a potential resolution of their investigations. The Company is continuing to cooperate with all parties. In connection with these discussions, the Company previously recorded an accrual. These discussions may not result in a settlement of the matter; furthermore, any such settlement may exceed the amount accrued as of March 31, 2019. Moreover, if the discussions do not result in a settlement, the regulators and State Attorneys General may seek to exercise their enforcement authority through litigation or other proceedings and seek injunctive relief, damages, restitution and civil monetary penalties, which could have a material adverse effect on the Company’s business, reputation, financial condition and results of operations. Further, on April 24, 2018, the CFPB notified Nationstar that, in accordance with the CFPB’s discretionary Notice and Opportunity to Respond and Advise (“NORA”) process, the CFPB’s Office of Enforcement is considering whether to recommend that the CFPB take enforcement action against the Company, alleging violations of the Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act, the Consumer Financial Protection Act, and the Homeowners Protection Act, which stems from a 2014 examination. The purpose of a NORA letter is to provide a party being investigated an opportunity to present its position to the CFPB before an enforcement action may be recommended or commenced. The CFPB may seek to exercise its enforcement authority through settlement, administrative proceedings or litigation and seek injunctive relief, damages, restitution and civil monetary penalties, which could have a material adverse effect on the Company’s business, reputation, financial condition and results of operations. The Company has not recorded an accrual related to this matter as of March 31, 2019 because it does not believe that the possible loss or range of loss arising from any such action is estimable. The Company is continuing to cooperate with the CFPB. Similarly, the Company is in discussions with the Executive Office of the United States Trustees concerning certain legacy issues with respect to bankruptcy servicing practices. In connection with these discussions, the Company is undertaking certain voluntary remediation activities with respect to loans at issue in these matters. While the Company and the Executive Office of the United States Trustees are engaged in discussions to potentially resolve these issues, there is no guarantee a resolution will occur. Moreover, if the discussions do not result in a resolution, the Executive Office of the United States Trustees may seek redress through litigation or other proceedings and seek injunctive relief, damages and restitution in addition to the remediation activities, which could have a material adverse effect on the Company’s business, reputation, financial condition and results of operations. However, the Company believes it is premature to predict the potential outcome or to estimate the financial impact to the Company in connection with any potential action or settlement arising from this matter, including the voluntary remediation activities undertaken and to be undertaken by the Company. In addition, the Company is a defendant in a class action proceeding originally filed in state court in March 2012 and then removed to the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Washington under the caption Laura Zamora Jordan v. Nationstar Mortgage LLC. The suit was filed on behalf of a class of Washington borrowers and challenges property preservation measures the Company took, as loan servicer, after the borrowers defaulted and the Company’s vendors determined that the borrowers had vacated or abandoned their properties. The case raises claims for (i) common law trespass, (ii) statutory trespass, and (iii) violation of Washington’s Consumer Protection Act, and seeks recovery of actual, statutory, and treble damages, as well as attorneys’ fees and litigation costs. On July 25, 2018, the Company entered into a settlement agreement to resolve this matter. The parties are currently seeking approval of the final settlement from the court. The Company is pursuing reimbursement of the settlement payment from the owners of the loans it serviced, but there can be no assurance that the Company would prevail with any claims for reimbursement. The Company is a defendant in a proceeding filed on January 2, 2018 in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California under the caption Collateral Analytics LLC v. Nationstar Mortgage LLC et al. The plaintiff alleges that the Company misappropriated plaintiff’s intellectual property for the purpose of replicating plaintiff’s products. The case raises federal and state law claims for misappropriation of trade secrets and breach of contract and seeks an award of actual damages, unjust enrichment, lost profits and/or a reasonable royalty, exemplary damages and injunctive relief preventing further misuse or disclosure of plaintiff’s intellectual property. The Company believes it has meritorious defenses and will vigorously defend itself in this matter. The Company is also a defendant in a proceeding filed on October 23, 2015 in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California under the caption Alfred Zaklit and Jessy Zaklit, individually and on behalf of all others similarly situated v. Nationstar Mortgage LLC et al. The plaintiff alleges that the Company improperly recorded telephone calls without the knowledge or consent of borrowers in violation of the California Penal Code. On July 24, 2017, the court certified a class comprised of California borrowers who, from October 2014 to May 2016, participated in outbound telephone conversations with the Company’s employees who recorded the conversations without first informing the borrowers that the conversations were being recorded. The class seeks statutory damages and attorney’s fees. On September 10, 2018, the Company reached an agreement in principal to settle this matter, and the parties are currently seeking approval of the settlement from the court. The Company seeks to resolve all legal proceedings and other matters in the manner management believes is in the best interest of the Company and contests liability, allegations of wrongdoing and, where applicable, the amount of damages or scope of any penalties or other relief sought as appropriate in each pending matter. The Company has entered into agreements with a number of entities and regulatory agencies that toll applicable limitations periods with respect to their claims. On at least a quarterly basis, the Company assesses its liabilities and contingencies in connection with outstanding legal and regulatory and governmental proceedings utilizing the latest information available. Where available information indicates that it is probable, a liability has been incurred, and the Company can reasonably estimate the amount of the loss, an accrued liability is established. The actual costs of resolving these proceedings may be substantially higher or lower than the amounts accrued. As a legal matter develops, the Company, in conjunction with any outside counsel handling the matter, evaluates on an ongoing basis whether such matter presents a loss contingency that is both probable and estimable. If, at the time of evaluation, the loss contingency is not both probable and reasonably estimable, the matter will continue to be monitored for further developments that would make such loss contingency both probable and reasonably estimable. Once the matter is deemed to be both probable and reasonably estimable, the Company will establish an accrued liability and record a corresponding amount to legal-related expense. The Company will continue to monitor the matter for further developments that could affect the amount of the accrued liability that has been previously established. Legal-related expense for the Company and Predecessor, which includes legal settlements and the fees paid to external legal service providers, of $11 and $4 for the three months ended March 31, 2019 and 2018, respectively, was included in general and administrative expenses on the consolidated statements of operations. For a number of matters for which a loss is probable or reasonably possible in future periods, whether in excess of a related accrued liability or where there is no accrued liability, the Company may be able to estimate a range of possible loss. In determining whether it is possible to provide an estimate of loss or range of possible loss, the Company reviews and evaluates its material legal matters on an ongoing basis, in conjunction with any outside counsel handling the matter. For those matters for which an estimate is possible, management currently believes the aggregate range of reasonably possible loss is $14 to $36 in excess of the accrued liability (if any) related to those matters as of March 31, 2019. This estimated range of possible loss is based upon currently available information and is subject to significant judgment, numerous assumptions and known and unknown uncertainties. The matters underlying the estimated range will change from time to time, and actual results may vary substantially from the current estimate. Those matters for which an estimate is not possible are not included within the estimated range. Therefore, this estimated range of possible loss represents what management believes to be an estimate of possible loss only for certain matters meeting these criteria. It does not represent the Company’s maximum loss exposure and the Company cannot provide assurance that its litigations reserves will not need to be adjusted in the future. Thus, the Company’s exposure and ultimate losses may be higher, possibly significantly so, than the amounts accrued or this aggregate amount. In the Company’s experience, legal proceedings are inherently unpredictable. One or more of the following factors frequently contribute to this inherent unpredictability: the proceeding is in its early stages; the damages sought are unspecified, unsupported or uncertain; it is unclear whether a case brought as a class action will be allowed to proceed on that basis or, if permitted to proceed as a class action, how the class will be defined; the other party is seeking relief other than or in addition to compensatory damages (including, in the case of regulatory and governmental investigations and inquiries, the possibility of fines and penalties); the matter presents meaningful legal uncertainties, including novel issues of law; the Company has not engaged in meaningful settlement discussions; discovery has not started or is not complete; there are significant facts in dispute; predicting possible outcomes depends on making assumptions about future decisions of courts or governmental or regulatory bodies or the behavior of other parties; and there are a large number of parties named as defendants (including where it is uncertain how damages or liability, if any, will be shared among multiple defendants). Generally, the less progress that has been made in the proceedings or the broader the range of potential results, the harder it is for the Company to estimate losses or ranges of losses that is reasonably possible the Company could incur. Based on current knowledge, and after consultation with counsel, management believes that the current legal accrued liability within payables and accrued liabilities, is appropriate, and the amount of any incremental liability arising from these matters is not expected to have a material adverse effect on the consolidated financial condition of the Company, although the outcome of such proceedings could be material to the Company’s operating results and cash flows for a particular period depending, on among other things, the level of the Company’s revenues or income for such period. However, in the event of significant developments on existing cases, it is possible that the ultimate resolution, if unfavorable, may be material to the Company’s consolidated financial statements. Other Loss Contingencies As part of the Company’s ongoing operations, it acquires servicing rights of forward and reverse mortgage loan portfolios that are subject to indemnification based on the representations and warranties of the seller. From time to time, the Company will seek recovery under these representations and warranties for incurred costs. The Company believes all balances sought from sellers recorded in advances and other receivables and reverse mortgage interests represent valid claims. However, the Company acknowledges that the claims process can be prolonged due to the required time to perfect claims at the loan level. Because of the required time to perfect or remediate these claims, management relies on the sufficiency of documentation supporting the claim, current negotiations with the counterparty and other evidence to evaluate whether a reserve is required for non-recoverable balances. In the absence of successful negotiations with the seller, all amounts claimed may not be recovered. Balances may be written-off and charged against earnings when management identifies amounts where recoverability from the seller is not likely. As of March 31, 2019, the Company believes all recorded balances for which recovery is sought from the seller are valid claims, and no evidence suggests additional reserves are warranted at this time. Loan and Other Commitments The Company enters into IRLCs with prospective borrowers whereby the Company commits to lend a certain loan amount under specific terms and interest rates to the borrower. The Company also enters into LPCs with prospective sellers. These loan commitments are treated as derivatives and are carried at fair value. See Note 9, Derivative Financial Instrument, for more information. The Company and the Predecessor had certain reverse MSRs, reverse MSLs and reverse mortgage loans related to approximately $27,014 and $28,415 of UPB in reverse mortgage loans as of March 31, 2019 and December 31, 2018, respectively. As servicer for these reverse mortgage loans, among other things, the Company is obligated to fund borrowers’ draws to the loan customers as required in accordance with the loan agreement. As of March 31, 2019 and December 31, 2018, the Company’s maximum unfunded advance obligation to fund borrower draws related to these MSRs and loans was approximately $3,005 and $3,128, respectively. Upon funding any portion of these draws, the Company and the Predecessor expect to securitize and sell the advances in transactions that will be accounted for as secured borrowings.

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