The Supreme Court of the United States surprised many industry and legal observers late last month by deciding it would not take on a key dispute under the Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act. “The writ of certiorari is dismissed as improvidently granted,” the high court said in a terse announcement. At issue in First American Financial v. Edwards is whether someone who has not suffered any actual damages from alleged RESPA violations has the legal standing to sue in federal court. The SCOTUS decision to not rule on the case, after deciding a year ago to take it on, means the...