Banking Law

Cadwalader Sued for Mortgage Transaction

Cadwalader, Wickersham & Taft is facing a $70 million malpractice suit for helping a client package mortgages for sale to investors. The suit is not tied to the current mortgage meltdown since it involves a 1997 securitization transaction for Nomura Asset Capital Corp., the New York Law Journal reports. However…

Sep 26, 2007 10:49 AM CDT

No Free Lunch: Bank Sued re Sandwiches

The state of Ohio has filed a lawsuit against Citibank contending that a free sandwich offer was deceptive. Because this and at least one other offer promising free food to college students who showed an ID made no mention of the fact that they would also have to apply for…

Sep 24, 2007 5:56 PM CDT

Cadwalader Boosts Bankruptcy Practice

In an ongoing effort to amp up its financial restructuring practice in the U.S. and abroad, Cadwalader, Wickersham & Taft has hired another six attorneys this week and plans to add more in London. That follows the firm’s addition of more than a dozen lawyers to the practice area earlier…

Sep 20, 2007 11:37 PM CDT

August Foreclosures Soar

In more bad news about the state of the nation’s housing market that can be expected to strengthen calls for regulatory reform and legislation, the latest data shows that mortgage foreclosures soared in August. The number of mortgage foreclosure filings more than doubled last month, compared to August 2006, and…

Sep 18, 2007 6:03 PM CDT

Lender Battles Could Cost Homeowners

As if struggling homeowners didn’t already have enough to worry about, insolvent lenders could saddle some with unexpected bills. In a bankruptcy court battle in Delaware between American Home Mortgage Investment Corp. and Freddie Mac, for instance, the U.S.-chartered housing financier says it has seized some $7 million in mortgage…

Sep 12, 2007 10:12 PM CDT

Workouts Keep CA Real Estate Lawyers Busy

Fearful lenders are behind a slowdown in the San Francisco real estate market that has extended to high-end commercial transactions and affected the lawyers who handle them. Besides seeing an increasing number of failed real-estate deals, lawyers are finding that clients are seeking discounts of up to 15 percent if…

Sep 12, 2007 10:54 AM CDT

Suits Follow Mortgage Meltdown

More than a dozen mortgage lenders are facing lawsuits over the subprime mortgage meltdown, and more suits are likely. The Washington Post reports there is no shortage of potential defendants. Possible targets include home buyers who lied about their income, lenders that made bad loans, securities firms that packaged the…

Sep 11, 2007 5:23 PM CDT

Banks Try to Lend to Subprime Borrowers

As federal and state legislators ponder possible legislation to deal with a spate of mortgage foreclosures attributed to an explosion of risky subprime lending in recent years, some say a new issue could be developing. As the housing market stagnates, prices, in many areas throughout the U.S., are sliding, and…

Sep 4, 2007 7:02 PM CDT

Nonprofit Offers Payday Loans

A nonprofit organization with a humanitarian mission is now competing with private companies to offer what has to be one of the most usurious forms of lending around: payday loans. Set up as a short-term fix for those who live paycheck to paycheck and don’t have bank accounts, the controversial…

Aug 28, 2007 9:01 PM CDT

Subprime Crisis Spotlights #1 Lender

Borrowers with bank accounts obviously are better mortgage risks than those with no assets. Yet, until last year, the nation’s biggest lender reportedly set up its computers to exclude applicants’ cash reserves. This was intended to encourage Countrywide Financial Corp. representatives to pitch applicants on pricier mortgages that reaped a…

Aug 27, 2007 6:26 PM CDT

NC Law Protects Home Buyers

A new law designed to fight abusive home loans signed by the governor of North Carolina last week is one of a handful of new state measures designed to curb predatory lending. Gov. Michael F. Easley told the New York Times (reg. req.) he wished he had acted sooner, but…

Aug 24, 2007 1:40 PM CDT

Home-Buying ‘Dream’ a Nightmare, Suit Claims

A federal judge is permitting a lawsuit to go forward that claims lawyers, lenders and real estate professionals duped inexperienced home buyers into overpaying for substandard homes in New York. The eight plaintiffs say they responded to ads for United Homes featuring minority families and the promise, “We Can Make…

Aug 23, 2007 3:56 PM CDT

Mortgage Mess Spurs Suits

Attorneys likely won’t have any trouble finding defendants to sue over the meltdown in the mortgage markets. Suits have already been filed by investors in bankrupt mortgage companies and mortgage-backed securities, by borrowers, and by lenders that provide interim financing until a mortgage is sold, the New York Law Journal…

Aug 22, 2007 12:40 PM CDT

Mortgage Counseling Hits Roadblocks

Illinois is addressing rising foreclosure rates with a new law requiring some buyers to get counseling about predatory loan terms. But good intentions didn’t stop lawsuits challenging an earlier, pilot version of the counseling program. The new law passed this month requires Chicago-area consumers buying their first home or seeking…

Aug 21, 2007 7:32 PM CDT

Relief for Lawyers in $20 M Lender Bounced-Checks Case

There is relief in sight for lawyers in Georgia and elsewhere who covered perhaps $20 million in bounced checks issued by a mortgage lender. After hearing from Edwin R. Neel, a veteran Atlanta real estate attorney who said he put up his own home to pay for HomeBanc Mortgage Corp.’s…

Aug 21, 2007 6:46 PM CDT