Tillery
A seven-year-old Madison County Circuit class action over misapplied mortgage payments has settled.
Circuit Judge Dennis Ruth on Friday dismissed without prejudice a case brought by St. Louis attorney Stephen Tillery against First Union Home Equity Bank, a division of Charlotte, N.C.-based Wachovia.
Lead plaintiffs Paul and Connie Goewey, Mary A. Key and Rose M. Jackson had alleged that misapplied mortgage payments caused inflated interest fees and additional late charges.
On March 2, Ruth also granted the plaintiffs' motion for leave to amend the complaint.
Tillery and co-counsel Michael Klenov on Feb. 22 moved to amend the complaint asking that class action allegations be removed, to reflect that plaintiffs did not want to maintain the suit as a putative class action.
According to Ruth's order, the plaintiffs did not seek class certification, and therefore, no notice to alleged class members of the dismissal was required.
Tillery had also requested that an order be entered dismissing all claims, because all claims had been settled and compromised. Details of that settlement were not available in the case file.
First Union, represented by Roy Arnold of Pittsburgh and Robert Schultz of Edwardsville, stipulated to an order dismissing the plaintiffs' claims with prejudice.
The case is Madison Case number 05 L 205.