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IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE DISTRICT OF MARYLAND DENISE MINTER, ET AL. V. WELLS FARGO BANK, N.A., ET AL. * * * CIVIL NO. WMN-07-3442

BRADLEY PETRY, ET AL. V.

* * CIVIL NO. WMN-08-1642

PROSPERITY MORTGAGE CO., ET AL. *

MEMORANDUM OPINION Before the Court is Plaintiffs' Motion to Remove the "Confidential" Designation from Discovery Documents or, In the Alternative, to Unseal Class Certification Papers in the above related cases. (ECF No. 182). The matter is fully briefed. At

defendants' request, the Court held a telephonic motions hearing on December 1, 2010. For the reasons set forth herein, the

Court hereby DENIES plaintiffs' request to remove the "confidential" designation from all discovery documents produced by defendants, GRANTS plaintiffs' request to unseal class certification papers and remove the "confidential" designation from exhibits attached thereto, and awards attorney's fees and costs against defendants in the amount of $10,000 for plaintiffs' expenses in bringing the motion. 1  

I. BACKGROUND The Minter and Petry cases share similar factual bases, and have the same defendants. Minter plaintiffs allege that Wells

Fargo, in conjunction with Long & Foster Real Estate, Inc., created Prosperity Mortgage -- a sham Affiliated Business Arrangement ("ABA") -- to facilitate collection of unlawful referral fees and kickbacks. (ECF No. 135, 3). According to

plaintiffs, Prosperity is not a mortgage company, but rather a "conduit" through which Long & Foster receives kickbacks for referring mortgages from Wells Fargo. (Id.). Unsuspecting

borrowers essentially pay the referral fee disguised as legitimate charges, for which they receive no additional goods or services -- a practice plaintiffs assert violates state and federal laws. (Id.). Petry plaintiffs allege that defendants

acted as both a mortgage broker and a lender and, in doing so, unlawfully collected "finder's fees" for originated loans. No. 135, 3); MD. CODE ANN., COMM'L LAW

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