Banking Law

Lawyer learns the hard way about limits of bank safe-deposit box protection

The fine print in contracts for renting a bank safe-deposit box explain that valuables placed in them by customers, unlike ordinary checking and savings accounts, aren’t covered by the FDIC insurance. But a lot of people may not understand that. Among those who learned this information the hard way was…

Apr 26, 2013 4:35 PM CDT

Credit-ratings firm seeks dismissal of US suit, says its statements about independence were puffery

In a motion to dismiss a civil suit by the U.S. Justice Department, Standard & Poor’s is arguing that its statements about independence and objectivity were classic puffery. The agency said such statements were too general and vague to form the basis for a fraud claim, report the Wall Street…

Apr 23, 2013 12:18 PM CDT

Law firm, 2 attorneys sued by FDIC, accused of helping bank make $82M in illegal loans

The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. has sued a Florida law firm and two of its attorneys, contending that they failed to take note of “glaring red flags” when representing Orion Bank in making $82 million in illegal loans in 2009. Nason, Yeager, Gerson, White & Lioce, as well as a…

Apr 18, 2013 7:42 PM CDT

Home ownership becomes more elusive for those with student debt

In a reversal of past trends, Americans who borrowed money to finance their education are less likely to have mortgages at age 30 than their student-debt-free counterparts. The Federal Reserve Bank of New York issued the statistics on Wednesday, the Wall Street Journal (sub. req.) reports. The percentage who, at…

Apr 18, 2013 3:20 PM CDT

Some checks issued to homeowners in foreclosure settlement are bouncing

Banking regulators are urging homeowners to try once more to deposit settlement checks that bounced on the first try. The checks were issued as a result of a $3.6 billion settlement in January with the nation’s largest banks, according to the New York Times DealBook blog. The banks agreeing to…

Apr 18, 2013 2:56 PM CDT

Swiss lawyer is accused of helping Americans evade taxes on income from offshore accounts

A Swiss lawyer who is also licensed in New York is being accused of helping Americans hide money in overseas accounts. An indictment in Manhattan federal court describes lawyer Edgar Paltzer as a partner in a Swiss law firm. He is charged with one count of conspiracy, report the Wall…

Apr 17, 2013 1:37 PM CDT

Law firm fell victim to phishing scam, precipitating $336K overseas wire transfer, bank suit alleges

A North Carolina bank claims in a lawsuit that it isn’t responsible for a $336,600 wire transfer to Russia from a law firm account. The suit by Charlotte-based Park Sterling Bank claims the law firm of Wallace & Pittman fell victim to a phishing scam that began with a click…

Apr 4, 2013 10:40 AM CDT

Foreclosure attorney wins prize for uncovering ‘robosigning’

Thomas Cox’s career has traveled an arc of poetic justice, from writing a how-to foreclosure training manual to exposing industrywide mortgage fraud two decades later. Now his hard work on behalf of embattled homeowners has earned him a Purpose Prize, the country’s only large-scale award for creative problem-solvers age 60…

Apr 1, 2013 9:10 AM CDT

‘Extreme home takeover’: Company uses poorly punctuated ‘deeds’ to claim title to foreclosed homes

It seems obvious that Presscott Rosche may not actually hold legitimate title to the dozen or so foreclosed homes to which the company has claimed ownership rights through poorly punctuated “deeds” and other documents filled with legalistic jargon filed by an “attorney in fact.” But South Florida authorities have shown…

Mar 26, 2013 6:31 PM CDT

New government-issued debit cards impose many fees, may raise privacy issues

Government entities in California and Illinois have come up with a novel way to cut costs and, potentially, even raise money. New cards being issued to individuals—to pay transit fares, in Chicago, and for identification, in Oakland—will have an optional dual feature. Those who wish to can also use them…

Mar 20, 2013 6:41 PM CDT

Accused ringleader in scam that bilked $70M from law firms has taken plea

A foreign citizen accused of acting as a ringleader in a scheme in which prosecutors say U.S. and Canadian law firms were scammed out of some $70 million has pleaded guilty in federal court in Harrisburg, Pa. Emmanuel Ekhator, 42, pleaded guilty earlier this year to conspiracy to commit mail…

Mar 15, 2013 4:24 PM CDT

Judge axes ex-partners’ suit saying Citibank misled them about Howrey finances when making loans

A California judge has dismissed a lawsuit by two former Howrey partners who contended that Citibank misled them and should have disclosed more to them about their own law firm’s dismal financial situation before they took out loans to make capital contributions. Judge Peter Busch on Friday declined to give…

Mar 12, 2013 3:55 PM CDT

Prosecutorial misconduct allegations get huge ‘robo-signing’ case dismissed

A massive mortgage fraud case against two California title officers has been dismissed over allegations of prosecutorial misconduct by the Nevada attorney general’s office. Lawyers for the two defendants claimed that prosecutors in the attorney general’s office gave a grand jury an improper definition of what constitutes forgery and threatened…

Feb 28, 2013 6:57 PM CST

Sued by bank, lawyer says he was also victimized by client’s $297K check scam

An Ohio lawyer is now embroiled in litigation after apparently being victimized in an overseas check scam perpetrated by a purported client. F. Stephen Chamberlain says he deposited a $297,500 cashier’s check into his Union Bank trust account and, after being assured by a JPMorgan Chase Bank representative that the…

Feb 27, 2013 6:58 PM CST

Student debtor who lost fair debt case loses again in Supreme Court

Corrected: A collection agency that wins dismissal of a federal fair debt collection case can collect costs without a showing of bad faith or harassment by the plaintiff, the U.S. Supreme Court has ruled in a 7-2 decision. The decision is a loss for student debtor Olivea Marx, who had…

Feb 26, 2013 5:46 PM CST