A group of mortgage borrowers have filed a third amended class action complaint against Wells Fargo over loan-modification issues dating back to 2010.

The latest action in Curry, et al. v. Wells Fargo Bank NA reiterates allegations related to Wells Fargo miscalculations around the cost of loss mitigation for multiple borrowers, but focuses more on purported damages caused to plaintiffs and unjust enrichment the bank received than past efforts, according to a court filing Tuesday.

The complaint identified three ways borrowers were allegedly injured, including acceptors of Wells Fargo's modifications, forgoers and a hybrid group. The document claimed the bank benefited from each by accepting excessive monthly payments, foreclosing upon homes or both, the claim said. The 14 plaintiffs seek damages, injunctive relief and restitution, among other relief, the document said.

Wells Fargo has not immediately responded to an inquiry about the new filing at the time of this writing.

The case history

The lawsuit was originally submitted in March 2024 on the backs of two others filed years prior over the faulty calculations Wells Fargo ran for hundreds of modifications between 2010 and 2015: Alicia Hernandez, et al. v. Wells Fargo and Ethan Ryder, et al. v. Wells Fargo Bank NA. The bank agreed to multimillion-dollar settlements for both lawsuits. 

While the source of the calculation errors are the same for all three lawsuits, the effects of these errors are different from those identified in either the Hernandez case or the Ryder case, addressing borrowers who were approved for modifications and overcharged, the court filing alleges.

"The fact that Wells Fargo's loss mitigation evaluation process does not work well is not in dispute, as Wells Fargo has repeatedly been the subject of successful regulatory actions and class action litigation arising from its bungled efforts," the document said.

Plaintiffs in the Curry lawsuit have filed two amended complaints. The second was submitted last January and dismissed in November due to a lack of factual evidence.

In the previous complaints, plaintiffs alleged Wells Fargo "purposefully under-invests in the back-office operations necessary to adequately evaluate borrowers for loss mitigation options, choosing instead to address problems after they arise, and only if Wells Fargo is forced to do so." The faulty calculations from the automated process included erroneous fees and charges, the plaintiffs claimed.

The third complaint added to this, saying Wells Fargo knew of these issues since 2013 but did not seek to address them until 2015, after the judge said it wasn't clear the bank knew of any wrongdoing.

Wells Fargo's responses

Wells Fargo issued several apology letters in 2023 and 2024, admitting to these errors and offering compensation, which the court filing by the plaintiffs alleges was "nominal" and "inadequate."

The bank also paid billions of dollars in a 2022 consent order with the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau stemming in part from the modification issues but also others involving auto loans and deposit accounts.