Longbridge, Mutual of Omaha to dismiss reverse mortgage lawsuit

"Longbridge filed the lawsuit in September 2024, alleging that Mutual of Omaha maintained a series of deceptive websites that violated the Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act (RESPA) and guidance from the Federal Trade Commission (FTC). The complaint alleged that websites operated by California-based Review Counsel LLC and Delaware-based Advisory Institute LLC—entities also named as defendants—presented ratings of reverse mortgage lenders as if they were independent, while in fact being owned or controlled by Mutual of Omaha."

"According to a joint filing on Tuesday in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of California, the companies agreed to dismiss each and every claim and cause of action in the case, including counterclaims, effective immediately. The filing states that the parties will bear their own costs and seeks dismissal with prejudice, meaning that Longbridge cannot refile a case with the same claims in the future."

"In a January 2025 response, Mutual of Omaha denied the allegations and filed counterclaims. The company accused Longbridge of intentionally interfering with its business relationships by targeting Mutual of Omaha's presence across the Google search ecosystem, and it alleged that Longbridge violated the same RESPA provisions it claimed Mutual of Omaha had breached."

Longbridge Financial and Mutual of Omaha Mortgage, two major reverse mortgage lenders, jointly moved to dismiss a federal lawsuit filed in September 2024 in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of California. Longbridge had alleged that Mutual of Omaha operated deceptive websites through Review Counsel LLC and Advisory Institute LLC that presented biased reverse mortgage lender ratings as independent while being controlled by Mutual of Omaha, violating RESPA and FTC guidance. Mutual of Omaha denied the allegations and filed counterclaims accusing Longbridge of intentionally interfering with business relationships and violating the same RESPA provisions. The joint dismissal filing requests dismissal with prejudice, meaning Longbridge cannot refile identical claims. Both parties will bear their own costs, and the dismissal became effective immediately following private mediation in January 2025.

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