Court gets novel question on definition of ‘consumer’

Trial Notebook

By Steven P. Garmisa

Hoey & Farina

Posted June 30, 2020 10:26 AM

As successor trustee of an inter vivos trust created by her late sister, Maxine Gilliam borrowed money from Joel Levine to repair the residence that was owned by the trust and occupied by Gilliam’s niece, the trust’s beneficiary. The question of first impression when Gilliam sued Levine for alleged violations of the Truth in Lending Act and the Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act was whether the loan failed to qualify as a “consumer credit transaction” under TILA and RESPA because Gilliam didn …

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