BAKER, C.J.
In April 2005, Mary Beth and Perry Lucas (the Lucases) entered into a consumer mortgage loan transaction (the Loan) with Argent Mortgage Company, LLC, (Argent). An escrow account was established from which the hazard insurance and property taxes were to be paid.
Unfortunately, less than four months after the Lucases closed on the Loan, disputes began to occur between the Lucases and the loan servicer regarding the escrow account. These disputes continued for several years despite numerous attempts to resolve them. Finally, on January 15, 2009, the mortgage holder filed a complaint seeking to foreclose on the mortgaged property.
In the Lucases’ answer, they raised several counterclaims against the mortgage holder and third-party claims against the loan servicer asserting that each had violated various federal and state statutes and state common law. The Lucases also requested a jury trial, which was denied by the trial court and is the subject of this interlocutory appeal.
While a foreclosure action is essentially equitable and it is well settled that equitable claims are tried to a court rather than to a jury, the fact that a cause contains a foreclosure action does not necessarily draw the entire cause into equity. Indeed, when, as here, the essential features of the cause are not equitable, a party is entitled to a jury trial on the legal claims.
Appellants-defendants Mary Beth Lucas and Perry Lucas appeal the trial court’s denial of their motion for a jury trial. Specifically, the Lucases argue that the essential features of the cause are not equitable and that even if they are, their legal claims are sufficiently distinct and severable from the foreclosure action such that they are entitled to a jury trial on their legal claims. Inasmuch as the essential features of the cause are not equitable, we reverse the judgment of the trial court and remand with instructions that the Lucases be granted a jury trial on their legal causes of actions.
. . . .
. . . [T]o determine whether a party has the right to a jury trial in a civil case, we must first consider whether the essential features of the suit are equitable. If we determine that they are, we must then decide if there are distinct and severable legal causes of action such that Rule 38(A) requires a jury trial on those claims. Only if this court determines that the essential features of the suit are equitable and that there are no distinct and severable legal causes of action will the right to a jury trial be summarily extinguished.
In this case, U.S. Bank requested foreclosure and, to date, “the vast weight of authority holds that foreclosure actions are essentially equitable.” Id. at 69. Nevertheless, Songer did not establish bright line rules based on specific causes of action; instead, the Songer analysis must be applied on a case-by-case basis.
In the Lucases’ Answer, they assert that “U.S. Bank has not produced the original, properly executed promissory note with assignments to prove its security interest in the Defendants’ property” and “has not produced a valid and properly executed assignment of mortgage perfecting its security interest in the Defendant’s [sic] home.” Appellants’ App. p. 49. The Lucases sought dismissal of U.S. Bank’s complaint based on this failure. We agree with U.S. Bank that this assertion is so intertwined with a foreclosure action that it is essentially equitable.
Nevertheless, the Lucases also allege that U.S. Bank violated TILA, RESPA, and that they are entitled to relief under the Civil Damages Statute because U.S. Bank committed conversion and deception. The Lucases also claim that U.S. Bank breached its duty of good faith and fair dealing and breached its contractual obligations to them.
Likewise, the Lucases assert third-party claims against Litton for breach of contract and breach of duty of good faith and fair dealing. In addition, the Lucases maintain that Litton violated FDCPA, RESPA, and that they are entitled to relief under the Civil Damages Statute because Litton committed conversion.
These claims against U.S. Bank and Litton are grounded in federal and state statutory law and state common law, all of which are legal causes of action. Additionally, although the Lucases requested an injunction against U.S. Bank and Litton, which is an equitable remedy, the majority of the relief requested is money damages, which is a legal remedy. Prime Mortgage USA, Inc. v. Nichols, 885 N.E.2d 628, 644 (Ind. Ct. App. 2008).
Moreover, the nature of many of the Lucases’ claims is different from U.S. Bank’s request to foreclose insofar as they are grounded in consumer protection statutes. Specifically, the purpose of TILA is “to assure a meaningful disclosure of credit terms so that the consumer will be able to compare more readily the various credit terms available to him and avoid the uninformed use of credit.” 15 U.S.C. § 1601(a). Likewise, Congress enacted RESPA “to insure that consumers . . . are provided with greater and more timely information on the nature and costs of the settlement process and are protected from unnecessarily high settlement charges.” 12 U.S.C. § 2601(a).
Congress enacted FDCPA because “[t]here is abundant evidence of the use of abusive, deceptive, and unfair debt collection practices by many debt collectors. Abusive debt collection practices contribute to the number of personal bankruptcies, to marital instability, to the loss of jobs, and to invasions of individual privacy.” 15 U.S.C. § 1692(a). Accordingly, these consumer protection statutes exist not only to make the consumer whole, but also to deter practices and behavior that negatively impacts society. In light of the nature of the claims, the rights and interests involved, and the majority of the relief requested, we cannot say that the essential features of this cause are equitable.
Consequently, applying Songer, we must conclude that the Lucases are entitled to a jury trial on their legal claims. See Songer, 771 N.E.2d at 66 (holding that “[w]here equity does not take jurisdiction of the essential features of a cause, a multi-count complaint may be severed, and different issues may be tried before either a jury or the court at the same proceeding. This is consistent with the language and spirit of Rule 38(A)”).
The judgment of the trial court is reversed and remanded with instructions to grant the Lucases’ motion for a jury trial on their legal claims.
NAJAM, J., and MATHIAS, J., concur.