Frequently Asked Questions

Records show that you paid either Cenlar or AmeriHome a convenience fee for accepting a payment on your mortgage loan by telephone or by the internet between the dates specified above. The lawsuit is pending in the United States District Court for the District of Maryland.

This lawsuit is about whether Cenlar or AmeriHome acted improperly by charging convenience fees for accepting a payment by telephone or by the internet. Cenlar and AmeriHome deny that they acted improperly.

In a class action, one or more people called "Class Representatives" (in this case, the Class Representative is Tonda Baxter) sue on behalf of other people who have similar claims. The people together are a "Class" or "Class Members." Tonda Baxter, who has sued, is called the Plaintiff. The entities that she sued, in this case, Cenlar and AmeriHome, are called the Defendants. The proposed settlement resolves the class issues for everyone in the Class, except for those people who choose to exclude themselves from the Class. In this case, there has been no determination by the Court of the Defendants’ liability or the amount of damages, but the parties have agreed to settle the claims. The Settlement is not effective unless and until the Court approves it.

The Court permitted this case to proceed as a class action for settlement purposes. The Court found that for purposes of settlement only, the case meets the requirements of the Federal Rules which govern class actions in the Federal courts.

In the lawsuit, the Plaintiff claims that Cenlar and AmeriHome improperly charged convenience fees for accepting mortgage payments by telephone or by the Internet.

Cenlar and AmeriHome deny that they did anything wrong.

The Court has not decided whether the Plaintiff or Cenlar and AmeriHome are correct. Instead, the parties agreed to settle the case subject to the Court’s approval. The Court has certified a class for settlement purposes so that it may decide whether to approve this Settlement after the Class is notified and class members have an opportunity to be heard as set forth herein. The Court has made no determination as to the merits of the claims.

Cenlar and AmeriHome have agreed to a settlement that provides that they will pay $85,961.20 that will be divided among all class members with the result that approximately 66% of the convenience fees collected during the relevant timeframes will be paid to each class member. AmeriHome and Cenlar will also pay for all costs of administration and pay attorneys’ fees in an amount no to exceed $82,500.00, subject to court approval. You may view a copy of the entire Settlement Agreement located on the Case Documents Section of this website

If a Notice about this Settlement was sent to you via email or mail by Simpluris (settlement administrator), then according to the records of Cenlar and AmeriHome, you are a class member.

If you are still not sure whether you are properly included in the Class, you may get free help by contacting the Plaintiff's lawyers in this case, Phillip R. Robinson, Phone: (301) 448-1304, Email: phillip@marylandconsumer.com or E. David Hoskins, Phone: (410) 662-6500, Email:davidhoskins@hoskinslaw.com.

To be included as a Class Member, you do not have to do anything.

If you do nothing, you will be included in the Class and if the Court approves the Settlement, you will receive the benefits of the settlement provided for Class Members. Any claims you may have arising out of your payment of convenience fees to Cenlar or AmeriHome will be deemed released, which means you will not be able to sue Cenlar or AmeriHome about the convenience fees in the future. The Court will hold a hearing to decide whether to approve the Settlement on November 30, 2023, at 10:00 A.M. in the United States District Court for the District of Maryland, 101 W. Lombard Street, Baltimore, MD 21201. You do not need to attend the hearing in order to receive a settlement payment.

If you do not want to be included, then you must provide a written statement (known as a "Request for Exclusion") setting forth your name, address, telephone number and your signature, with a statement that says "I WANT TO BE EXCLUDED FROM THE SETTLEMENT CLASS IN THE BAXTER CASE" or words to that effect. Requests for Exclusion must be personally signed by the person requesting exclusion from the Class and any co-borrower(s) on their mortgage loan and must include the requestor’s full name and current address, the full name and current address of any co-borrower(s) on their mortgage loan, and if different, the address of the property which secured their mortgage loan no later than November 7, 2023. For any loan that is subject to this Settlement for which there is more than one borrower, any request for exclusion must be signed by each borrower or it will not be sufficient to remove that loan and all its co-borrowers from the Class. If you timely elect not to participate, then you will not be giving up any right you have to pursue your own claims at your own expense, but you will not receive any of the benefits of the settlement

You must mail a copy of your Request for Exclusion to each of the following:

Cenlar AmeriHome Convenience Fee Settlement Administrator
PO Box 25226
Santa Ana, CA 92799
and
Phillip R. Robinson, Consumer Law Center LLC, 10125 Colesville Road, Suite 378, Silver Spring, MD 20901
and
Regina J. McClendon, 101 Montgomery Street, Ste. 1950,
San Francisco, CA 94104

If you do not ask to be excluded from the class and want to object to the settlement, you will need to file with the Court written objections to the settlement. Your written objections must be signed by you (or your attorney) and filed with the Court, located at 101 W. Lombard Street, Baltimore, MD 21201, no later than November 13, 2023. Your written objection should reference the case of Baxter v. Cenlar and AmeriHome, United States District Court or the District of Maryland (Case No. 1:22-cv-01098-SAG). All Objections must be personally signed by the person(s) making the objection, or a legal guardian authorized to act on their behalf, and must set forth in detail each component of the Settlement to which they object, the reasons for each such objection, Objections must also include the objector’s full name and current address, the full name and current address of any co-borrower(s) on their mortgage loan, and if different, the address of the property which secured their mortgage loan. If the person on whose behalf the objection is filed, or an attorney or legal guardian authorized to act on their behalf, intends to appear at the Final Settlement Hearing, the Objection must so state.

Further, any such Class Member must, within the same time period, provide a copy of the written objection to the Settlement Administrator, Class Counsel, and Counsel for Defendant. The written objection must state: your full name, address, telephone and e-mail address (if available), the reasons for your objection, and whether you intend to appear at the Final Approval Hearing on your behalf or through counsel. You must mail a copy of any written objections to each of the following:

Cenlar AmeriHome Convenience Fee Settlement Administrator
PO Box 25226
Santa Ana, CA 92799
and
Phillip R. Robinson, Consumer Law Center LLC, 10125 Colesville Road, Suite 378, Silver Spring, MD 20901.
and
Regina J. McClendon, 101 Montgomery Street, Ste. 1950,
San Francisco, CA 94104

If you file an objection, you do not have to attend the final hearing. The Court will consider all written objections. If you wish to attend the hearing at your own expense, you must state in your written objection that you plan to attend the hearing. The final hearing is set for November 30, 2023, at 10:00A.M. in the United States District Court for the District of Maryland, 101 W. Lombard Street, Baltimore, MD 21201.

The Court decided that Phillip R. Robinson of the Consumer Law Center LLC and E. David Hoskins of The Law Offices of E. David Hoskins, LLC are qualified to represent the Class Members. They are called the "Class Counsel." The Court has found that these lawyers are experienced in handling similar cases on behalf of consumers. They can be reached at either of the following:

Phillip Robinson, Consumer Law Center LLC, 10125 Colesville Road, Suite 378 Silver Spring, MD 20901; (301) 448-1304, phillip@marylandconsumer.com

E. David Hoskins, The Law Offices of E. David Hoskins, LLC, 16 E. Lombard St., Ste 400, Baltimore, Maryland 21202, Phone (410) 662-6500, davidhoskins@hoskinslaw.com.

You do not need to hire your own lawyer because Class Counsel is working on your behalf. However, you may hire your own lawyer at your own expense. For example, you can ask your own lawyer to appear in Court for you if you want someone other than Class Counsel to speak for you.

Class Counsel will be paid an amount not to exceed $82,500.00 and subject to court approval.

If you seek more information, you may contact Class Counsel. Their contact information is set forth in Question No. 15.

PLEASE DO NOT CONTACT AMERIHOME MORTGAGE COMPANY, LLC & CENLAR FSB OR THE COURT TO INQUIRE ABOUT THIS SETTLEMENT OR THE SETTLEMENT PROCESS.