The relevant text of the agreement ordered by the Court is as follows:
1. Upon the filing of a chapter 13 bankruptcy petition, the amounts outstanding on a debtor’s loan will be divided into two new, internal administrative accounts. The first account will contain the sums to be paid under debtor’s plan by the Chapter 13 Trustee; typically the pre-petition past due amounts including past due interest, costs, charges, and fees (“Account One”). The opening balance on Account One should directly correlate to the amounts reflected on Wells Fargo’s proof of claim. Account One will also include any amounts added by subsequent court order to the plan for payment by the Trustee during the case’s administration. All payments made by the Trustee will be applied to the reduction of the amounts owed on Account One.
The second account will reflect the principal amount due on the petition date (“Account Two”). No other sums should be owed on Account Two at the start of the case. Account Two will include post-petition interest accrual, post-petition property insurance or property tax expenditures, and other court authorized postpetition charges as provided in paragraph 2 below. A debtor’s regular monthly note payments will be posted to this account, reducing post-petition interest accrual, postpetition property and tax expenditures, and principal. The account’s first posting will typically be the first installment payment due on the loan following the petition date.
Wells Fargo may maintain, post-petition, its customary records on the loan provided that the two new internal accounts shall control the loan’s administration during the pendency of the case.
2. With the exception of post-petition property taxes and property insurance expenditures, Wells Fargo may provisionally accrue, but not assess or collect, any post-petition charges, fees, costs, etc. allowed by the note, security agreement and state law. Post-petition property tax and insurance expenditures may be assessed against debtor’s account and collected after the delivery of a ten day written notice to debtor, debtor’s counsel, and the Trustee. The assessment and collection of expenditures for post-petition property inspections and taxes will not require approval of the bankruptcy court unless a written objection is filed within ten days of the notice of assessment and collection. If authorized by Wells Fargo’s note, security agreement, and state law, the collection of amounts necessary to pay postpetition insurance and property tax expenditures may be made in advance through the use of escrow accounts. If escrows are utilized, Wells Fargo must give a written accounting of the amounts collected at the time it seeks to apply the escrowed funds to payment of the insurance or property tax expenditures.
As to Post-Petition Charges, annually, between January 1 and February 28 of each year during a case’s administration, Wells Fargo shall file with the Court and serve
upon the debtor, debtor’s counsel, and the Trustee, notice of any Post-Petition charges (which do not include property taxes or insurance), accrued in the preceding calendar year. The notice shall contain an itemization describing the charge, amount provisionally incurred, the date incurred, and if relevant, the name of the third party to whom the charge was paid. The notice will also provide a direct reference to the provisions of the note, security agreement, or state law under which Wells Fargo asserts its authority to assess each type of charge.
The notice shall also state that debtors, the Trustee, and any other interested party, shall have 30 days within which to object to any or all assessments outlined in the notice. It shall contain a statement to the effect that debtor may elect to add the charges to his plan with approval of the bankruptcy court, satisfy the charges directly outside the plan, or defer repayment until the conclusion of his case. If no objection to the amounts provisionally assessed is filed, or if filed, upon entry of an order approving some amount of the provisional charges, Wells Fargo may submit a proposed ex parte order authorizing assessment of the Post-Petition Charges as set forth in its notice or as approved by the court, as applicable. However, Wells Fargo may not collect on any approved Post-Petition Charges unless the debtor voluntarily delivers payment separate and above from that due as a regular monthly installment or obtains approval of the court to modify the plan and satisfy the amounts due through periodic payments by the Trustee. If the approved Post-Petition Charges are to be paid through the modified plan, they will be added to Account One and satisfied by the Trustee. If to be paid by the debtor, they may be added to Account Two.
If no provision for payment is made by a debtor, the collection of the approved Post-Petition Charges must be deferred until the close of the case or relief from the stay is obtained.
3. If Wells Fargo does not issue a notice of Post-Petition Charges, in accordance with paragraph 2, for any given year of the case’s administration, then Wells Fargo shall be prohibited from collecting or assessing any charges accrued against the debtor for that year and shall treat the debtor as fully current at the time of discharge.
4. Upon the issuance of a discharge, Wells Fargo shall adjust its permanent records to reflect the current nature of debtor’s account. Provided however, that if debtor elected to defer the payment of approved Post-Petition Charges until the conclusion of the case’s administration, then Wells Fargo shall be authorized to collect said sums in accordance with the provisions of its note, security instrument, and state law.
The court was deciding whether to impose massive punitive damages (in the millions of dollars). Wells Fargo said, "we'll agree to an order like this if you agree not to impose massive punitive damages." So, this order was entered. The order further states: "Wells Fargo also offered to memorialize this agreement into an order of the Court, enforceable in any case pending or subsequently filed before any court in the country." The court took them up on this offer and agreed not to impose a multi-million dollar punitive damage award.
If Wells Fargo fails to abide by this order in any case in the country, they could be subject to punitive damages, because they are disobeying a court order, and more than that, an agreed court order, and even more than that, an agreed court order entered for the purpose of avoiding multi-million dollar sanctions. Wells Fargo better comply or there will be a deluge of suits alleging violation of this agreement.
