Is a lender liable for emotional distress as a result of a wrongful foreclosure?

The Debtor relies on Pintor v. Ong, 211 Cal. App. 3d 837, 841 (1989), but it is distinguishable. There, the California court of appeal held that the rule of tort damages applied to the defendant's violation of a statutory duty, "namely, that all detriment proximately caused by breach of a legal duty is compensable, including damages for emotional distress." Id. at 841-42. That case did not involve wrongful foreclosure. Instead, Pintor involved breach of a specific statutory duty - the failure to reconvey a deed of trust after satisfaction of the debt - which, in turn, gave rise to strict liability for all damages sustained as a result of the violation.¹⁵ See id. at 843. There is no such strict liability statute in connection with wrongful foreclosure.

On this record, the bankruptcy court did not err in denying damages for emotional distress.

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