Weimer v. Nationstar Mortgage, LLC (2020) 47 Cal.App.5th 341.

In this case the court notes that a financial institution as a general rule does not have a duty of care to a borrower when it is simply a lender of money. However, when there is also a “special relationship” a duty may exist. A special relationship may be found based on the following factors: 1) the extent to which the transaction was intended to affect the plaintiff, 2) foreseeable harm to the plaintiff, 3) the degree of certainty that plaintiff suffered injury, 4) the closeness of the connection between the defendant’s conduct and the injury suffered, 5) the moral blame attached to the defendant’s conduct, and 6) the policy of preventing future harm. This special relationship may occur when a lender or servicer has voluntarily undertaken to renegotiate a loan modification but has breached the duty to exercise reasonable care in processing the loan modification application.

Related Attorney(s):
Gregory L. McCoy