## Facts

- Three married couples obtained mortgage loans from Quicken Loans in 2007.
- At closing, Quicken charged fees labeled “loan discount fee,” “loan origination fee,” and “loan processing fee.”
- The borrowers alleged the fees were “unearned” because no services were provided in exchange.
- The borrowers did not allege that Quicken shared, split, or divided the challenged fees with any other person.
- The consolidated cases were removed to federal court, where the district court granted summary judgment to Quicken; the Fifth Circuit affirmed.

## Issues

1. Whether RESPA § 8(b), 12 U.S.C. § 2607(b), prohibits a settlement-service provider from charging and retaining an allegedly unearned fee when the fee is not divided with another party.
2. Whether a plaintiff must show that a settlement charge was split between two or more persons to establish liability under RESPA § 8(b).
3. Whether HUD’s interpretation extending § 8(b) to undivided “unearned” fees warrants deference.

## Decision

- The Supreme Court unanimously affirmed the Fifth Circuit.
- The Court held that a RESPA § 8(b) violation requires that a settlement-service charge be divided between two or more persons.
- Because the borrowers alleged only that Quicken charged and kept the fees itself, their § 8(b) claims failed as a matter of law.
- The Court rejected HUD’s contrary interpretation because the statutory text was unambiguous.

## Legal Principles

- RESPA § 8(b) reaches only the giving or accepting of a “portion, split, or percentage” of a settlement-service charge, which presupposes at least two parties sharing a fee.
- A single provider’s retention of an allegedly unearned fee, without any division of the charge, does not violate § 8(b).
- When statutory language is unambiguous, courts do not defer to agency interpretations that expand the statute beyond its text.

## Conclusion

RESPA § 8(b) targets fee-splitting arrangements for settlement-service charges and does not create liability for unilateral “unearned” fees retained entirely by one provider; absent an allegation of a divided charge, borrowers cannot recover under § 8(b).


Freeman v. Quicken Loans, Inc., 566 U.S. 624 (2012)