Banking Law

Judge: Bank of America Must Repay $500M Seized From Lehman Bros in ‘Brazen’ Action

Saying that he considered it “astonishing” that a major lender would act in such “brazen … unauthorized and impermissible” conduct, a federal judge yesterday ordered Bank of America Corp. to return $500 million, plus interest, that it seized from a cash collateral account after Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. filed for…

Nov 17, 2010 5:28 PM CST

Fla. Courts Open Doors to Public in Foreclosure Cases After Rolling Stone Pens Expose

Following a Rolling Stone expose about how a judge in one Florida court handled foreclosure cases on Jacksonville’s “rocket docket,” officials swiftly made changes to improve public access. The issue, which hit the newsstands Friday, was followed by a flurry of letters from the American Civil Liberties Union and media…

Nov 16, 2010 10:14 PM CST

100s, Maybe 1000s of Foreclosed Mass. Homeowners Find Out They’re Back in the Ballgame Again

Hundreds and maybe thousands of Massachusetts residents who thought they had lost their homes in foreclosure are now finding out otherwise. When title companies refuse to insure the property, because defective paperwork in the foreclosure case doesn’t make clear who owns the home, a number of lenders are opting to…

Nov 13, 2010 1:37 AM CST

Evictions Pile Up in Sheriff’s Office, Part of a ‘Populist Revolt’

More than 1,000 evictions have piled up in the office of Cook County Sheriff Thomas Dart, and he’s in no hurry to get them moving. Last month, the sheriff for Chicago and its nearby suburbs declared that his office will not evict homeowners until lawyers for the mortgage companies personally…

Nov 12, 2010 3:10 PM CST

Thousands View YouTube Depos of Title Co. Workers Whose Output Supports Foreclosures

Depositions in civil cases aren’t ordinarily viewed as popular entertainment. But recent videos of the depositions of several Florida title company employees whose work supports foreclosure cases that have been posted on YouTube by the Forrest Law Firm are attracting thousands of viewers. Among them are excerpts from depositions of…

Nov 10, 2010 8:52 PM CST

Mortgage Broker Puts Adverse Possession to Test by Seizing Foreclosure Properties

A Florida mortgage broker is scheduled to go on trial for fraud in December for seizing and renting out foreclosure properties in a bid to obtain title through adverse possession. Mark Guerette and his company, Save Florida Homes Inc., have filed court claims on about 100 foreclosure properties he found…

Nov 9, 2010 1:38 PM CST

Some Foreclosure Lawyers Charge Contingency Fees Secured by New Mortgages

Some Florida foreclosure lawyers are charging contingency fees and securing them with second mortgages on the homes they helped save from bank repossession. Among the law firms taking this tack is the Ticktin Law Group in Deerfield Beach, Fla., the New York Times reports. “It’s a new model, a new…

Nov 8, 2010 2:54 PM CST

Lawyer Indicted in Alleged Mortgage-Rescue Fraud

A Nevada lawyer has been indicted for allegedly operating a mortgage-rescue scam known as “Save Your House.” Instead of doing so, however, attorney Ramon Dy-Ragos and two partners are accused of charging up-front fees of $1,000 to $4,000 and telling borrowers to stop paying and cease contact with the bank.…

Nov 5, 2010 8:26 PM CDT

Book Sets Bizarre BofA Scene: GC Fired Over Pay Fuss; Lawyer Tells New Boss, You’re My 3rd GC Today

Some think of top in-house lawyers as masters of the universe, but a new book may help disabuse them of that notion. Written by Financial Times correspondent Greg Farrell, it contends that a former Bank of America Corp. general counsel, Tim Mayopoulos, was fired because he carped that those in…

Nov 5, 2010 6:59 PM CDT

Stern’s Law Firm & Related Co. Cut Staff By 70% After Fannie and Freddie Pull Foreclosure Files

Updated: A South Florida law firm being investigated by the state attorney general over its mortgage foreclosure work has announced new layoffs today, after Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac pulled their files earlier this week. Following “substantial” layoffs today, David Stern’s law firm and a related company reportedly will have…

Nov 4, 2010 7:11 PM CDT

Juror Removed in Citigroup Case After Google Search Revealed Michael Moore Link

A dance teacher and former circus performer sitting as a juror in a case involving Citigroup was dismissed after a law firm Google search showed she was associated with a film by muckraking filmmaker Michael Moore. U.S. District Judge Jed Rakoff of Manhattan dismissed the juror after he concluded she…

Nov 3, 2010 1:24 PM CDT

New Question About MERS Mortgage System: Does It Owe Money for Unpaid Fees?

In the latest challenge to a controversial nationwide method of registering mortgage ownership, a Virginia lawmaker is requesting an opinion from the state attorney general on whether Mortgage Electronic Registration Systems is required to pay a fee every time a home loan is transferred. MERS is the glue that holds…

Nov 1, 2010 11:15 PM CDT

Election Round-Up: Fed’l Judge Smacks Down Conn.‘s Potentional Ban of WWE Garb at Polls

For Connecticut voters who want to wear a Stone Cold Steve Austin costume to the polls on Tuesday, in a nod to Halloween and the retired professional wrestling star, the Christian Science Monitor has good news: They will apparently be allowed to do so, under a federal judge’s ruling that…

Oct 28, 2010 9:00 AM CDT

Foreclosure Defense Boot Camp Offers Advice and Scotch to Lawyers Who Pass Security Check

A bankruptcy lawyer’s remote 160-acre farm in North Carolina is, to some, ground zero in the battle against foreclosures. O. Max Gardner III, 65, gives four-day, $7,775 seminars to consumer attorneys there, teaching them how to defend against lender tactics and look for defective documentation of loans. Attendees must first…

Oct 27, 2010 6:04 PM CDT

Ga. County Uses Inmates to Clean Up Homes in Foreclosure

A county in Georgia is using inmates to clean up the yards of properties in foreclosure in a program that may be one of the first of its kind. Inmates in Clayton County have so far cleaned up 60 out of 390 homes, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports. The county bills…

Oct 22, 2010 3:53 PM CDT