As part of the recent fiscal cliff deal, the federal Mortgage Forgiveness Debt Relief Act has been extended another year, to Jan. 1, 2014. For purposes of the class actions my colleagues and I have filed relating to Texas home equity loans, that means that the big lenders still have a chance to help borrowers take advantage of principal forgiveness to the extent the law applies. In fact, it's an open question whether past-due interest and escrows that are illegally turned into loan principal even trigger a tax obligation, but if they do, the extension of the debt relief act is a boon to borrowers who get their loans cured.