We granted Regions Mortgage, Inc.’s application for interlocutory review of the trial court’s denial of its motion for summary judgment on Gisela and Harry Jackson’s complaint. The Jacksons sued Regions for reimbursement of certain fees, including late charges, and attorney fees, paid to Regions at the closing on the sale of the Jacksons’s house. Regions contends that the trial court erred in denying summary judgment because the claims were not listed as assets in the Jacksons’s bankruptcy and therefore are preempted by federal bankruptcy law and are barred by the doctrines of res judicata and judicial estoppel. Regions also contends that the claims are barred by the voluntary payment rule and that plaintiff Gisela Jackson lacks standing to pursue this action. After reviewing the record, we conclude that the trial court correctly determined that Gisela Jackson had standing to bring this suit, but incorrectly held that the claims were not barred by the voluntary payment rule. We do not reach the issues of res judicata and judicial estoppel. The Jacksons filed a bankruptcy petition on June 8, 1999. During the bankruptcy, the Jacksons were behind in their mortgage payments to Regions and they sought and obtained permission to sell their home. After the closing, the Jacksons sued Regions, claiming the fees were not authorized and were not disclosed before closing.
Regions filed a motion for summary judgment, contending that the fees were authorized by the loan documents and were disclosed to the Jacksons, that the Jacksons acknowledged knowing of the disputed fees at the time they filed bankruptcy but did not identify them in their schedules, that the Jacksons consented to a bankruptcy court order that provided for the payment of the fees, and that the Jacksons voluntarily paid the fees at the real estate closing despite their alleged disagreement with the fees. Regions also argued that Gisela Jackson did not have standing to bring this suit because the loan, note and security deed for the property were executed solely by Harry Jackson.
