In Baehr v. Creig Northrop Team, P.C., 953 F.3d 244, 258 (4th Cir. 2020), the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals held that on the record in that case paying kickbacks in real estate transactions for their homes was no injury in fact to the plaintiffs who complained about paying kickbacks. Therefore, the court ruled, the plaintiffs could not sue as a result of being charged kickbacks.
The plaintiffs sued under the Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act or RESPA. Congress expressly prohibited kickbacks in RESPA. The Fourth Circuit panel held that Congress did not mean to prohibit kickbacks in all cases. This was one of the outlier cases in their eyes.
No complaints, please. Just pay the kickbacks.
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