1st Alliance Lending, LLC v. Dept. of Banking

Citations

• 342 Conn. 273

Syllabus

Pursuant to statute (§ 36a-492 (c)), the Commissioner of Banking ''shall automatically suspend the [license] of a mortgage lender'' on the date that its surety bond is cancelled, but no automatic suspension shall occur if, prior to that date, the lender either provides proof of reinstatement of the bond or secures a new bond, or the lender ''has ceased business and has surrendered [its license] in accordance with subsection (a) of section 36a-490 . . . .'' Pursuant further to statute (§ 36a-490 (a) (1)), any mortgage lender that holds a mortgage lender license and intends to permanently cease engaging in the business of mortgage lending shall file a request to surrender the license, and no surrender is effective until accepted by the Commissioner of Banking. The plaintiff, a mortgage lender, appealed from the trial court's dismissal of its administrative appeal from the decision of the Commissioner of Banking to revoke the plaintiff's mortgage lender license. In 2018, the plaintiff and the defendant Department of Banking had been engaged in an enforcement proceeding that concerned the revocation of the plaintiff's license for reasons unrelated to the present appeal. In May, 2019, the issuer of the plaintiff's surety bond, which a lender is required to have in order to maintain its mortgage lender license, sent a notice to the plaintiff and the department, stating that the plaintiff's bond was going to be cancelled effective July 31, 2019. Upon receiving that notice, the department created a routine entry in the Nationwide Mortgage Licensing System and Registry (NMLS), indicating that the plaintiff's failure to replace or reinstate the bond would result in an automatic suspension and revocation of the plaintiff's license. The department also sent a letter to the plaintiff on June 7, 2019, stating that its failure to have a bond in effect on July 31, 2019, would result in the automatic suspension of its license. The plaintiff delayed in responding to the letter but ul