[Congressional Bills 108th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 4719 Introduced in House (IH)]






108th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 4719

    To amend the Truth in Lending Act to limit the liability of any 
            assignee of a creditor, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             June 25, 2004

 Mr. Baker (for himself, Mr. Royce, and Mr. Hensarling) introduced the 
   following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Financial 
                                Services

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
    To amend the Truth in Lending Act to limit the liability of any 
            assignee of a creditor, and for other purposes.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Mortgage Market Protection Act of 
2004''.

SEC. 2. LIMITATION ON LIABILITY OF THE ASSIGNEE OF A CREDITOR.

    (a) Violations Apparent on Face of Disclosure Statements.--Section 
131(a) of Truth in Lending Act (15 U.S.C. 1641(a)) is amended--
            (1) by striking ``(a) Except as otherwise'' and inserting 
        ``(a) Civil Action Against Assignees--
            ``(1) In general.--Except as otherwise provided'';
            (2) by striking the 2nd sentence; and
            (3) by adding at the end the following new paragraph:
            ``(2) Violations apparent on face of documents.--For the 
        purpose of this section, a violation is apparent on the face of 
        the disclosure document if--
                    ``(A) the disclosure can be determined to be 
                incomplete or inaccurate from a comparison of any 
                disclosure provided pursuant to section 127, 127A, 128, 
                or 129, a uniform disclosure statement provided 
                pursuant to section 4 of the Real Estate Settlement 
                Procedures Act of 1974, the promissory note or other 
                instrument signed by the consumer under which credit 
                was extended, and any itemization of the amount 
                financed; or
                    ``(B) any disclosure provided pursuant to section 
                127, 127A, 128, or 129 does not contain terms required 
                to be used under this title.''.
    (b) Repeal of Right to Rescind Any Credit Transaction as Against an 
Assignee.--Subsection (c) of section 131 of the Truth in Lending Act 
(15 U.S.C. 1641(c)) is amended to read as follows:
    ``(c) [Repealed]''.
    (c) Limitation on Rights Upon Assignment of High Cost Mortgages.--
Subsection (d) of section 131 of Truth in Lending Act (15 U.S.C. 
1641(d) is amended--
            (1) by striking paragraph (1) and inserting the following 
        new paragraph:
            ``(1) In general.--Notwithstanding any other provision of 
        law, any person who purchases or is otherwise assigned a 
        mortgage referred to in section 103(aa) shall be liable, 
        jointly and severally with the original creditor and any prior 
        or subsequent assignee, for all material violations committed 
        by the original creditor, to the extent that the violation is 
        apparent on the face of the disclosure.'';
            (2) by striking paragraph (2) and inserting the following 
        new paragraph:
            ``(2) Limitation on damages.--Notwithstanding any other 
        provision of law--
                    ``(A) a cause of action for a liability described 
                in paragraph (1) may be asserted by the borrower only 
                in an individual action;
                    ``(B) in any such action the amount of relief shall 
                not exceed the sum of all of the amounts that the 
                borrower has paid in connection with the loan and 
                reasonable attorney's fees in such individual action;
                    ``(C) no such action may be brought after the end 
                of the 3-year period beginning on the the date of the 
                violation giving rise to the liability; and
                    ``(D) such cause of action shall constitute the 
                exclusive remedy of the consumer against an assignee of 
                a mortgage referred to in section 103(aa).''; and
            (3) by striking paragraph (3) and inserting the following 
        new paragraph:
            ``(3) Denial of rescission rights as against assignees of 
        high cost mortgages.--Notwithstanding any other provision of 
        this title, no provision of this title that permits a consumer 
        to void or rescind a mortgage referred to in section 103(aa) 
        shall apply with respect to any assignee of such mortgage.''.
    (d) Technical and Conforming Amendment.--Subsection (e) of section 
131 of the Truth in Lending Act (15 U.S.C. 1641(e)) is amended to read 
as follows:
    ``(e) [Repealed]''.
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