Jesinoski v. Countrywide Home Loans

Under the Truth in Lending Act (TILA), a lender was required to provide mortgage-loan borrowers with a notice of right to cancel. TILA required that each borrower receive two copies of the notice. Hence, a lender was required to provide two borrowers with a total of four copies. Borrowers were permitted to rescind their loan within three years of the loan execution if the lender failed to provide the required number of copies. Larry and Cheryle Jesinoski (plaintiffs) secured a mortgage loan from Countrywide Home Loans, Inc. (Countrywide) (defendant). The Jesinoskis signed an acknowledgment form stating that they received the right-to-cancel notice. But the Jesinoskis did not remember how many copies they received. More than two years after the loan execution, the Jesinoskis took a file containing their loan documents to Mark Heinzman, a mortgage specialist. Heinzman told the Jesinoskis that the file contained only two copies of the notice. Within three years of the loan execution, the Jesinoskis filed suit to rescind their loan, contending that Countrywide did not provide them with four copies of the right-to-cancel notice. At the district court, the Jesinoskis introduced Heinzman’s statement that the file contained only two copies of the notice. The out-of-court statement was offered to prove that Countrywide did not provide the Jesinoskis with four copies. Countrywide filed a motion for summary judgment, and the district-court judge granted the motion. The Jesinoskis appealed.