Tara and Nathan Keen purchased a house. Both signed the mortgage, but only Nathan signed the promissory note. Nathan subsequently conveyed his interest in the property to Tara. Tara kept up the payments for several years, but then defaulted and the mortgagee foreclosed. Tara filed suit in federal district court claiming violations of the Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act (“RESPA”). The district court dismissed her case because she was not a borrower and RESPA grants only borrowers a cause of action. She appealed to the 6th Circuit Court of Appeals.
In Keen v Helson, the appeals court applied the plain and ordinary meaning of the word “borrower” because RESPA does not define borrower. After reviewing several dictionary definitions, and after reading the word in the context of the entire statute, the court held that someone who signs a mortgage but not the promissory note is not a “borrower” within the meaning of RESPA. Since she was not a borrower, RESPA did not provide her a cause of action.