Banking Law

Law Firm, Paid for Volume, Had 12 People Handling 12,000 Foreclosures at Once

Companies that handled foreclosure paperwork were paid for volume and penalized for delays, creating a system that was vulnerable to errors. The financial incentives extended to virtually everyone involved in the foreclosure process—including law firms, the Washington Post reports. “Law firms competed with one another to file the largest number…

Oct 18, 2010 12:04 PM CDT

More Gov’t Regulations Prompt More Litigation For In-House Counsel

In-house counsel predict an imminent boost in litigation as government regulations continue to tighten. The legal departments at banking, health care and energy companies are especially preparing for the legal fallout from recent health-care reform legislation and the overhauled financial services industry, the Blog of Legal Times reports. One-third of…

Oct 15, 2010 7:00 PM CDT

Foreclosure Lawyer Goes Extra Mile, Helps Clients Break Into Their Former Homes

Amidst a national debate over the extent to which courts and lawmakers need to put the brakes on lenders who reportedly may have filed thousands of defective mortgage foreclosure cases, attorney Mike Pines reportedly is going the extra mile for his clients. As others talk and making court filings, he…

Oct 15, 2010 5:18 PM CDT

After Initial Nix by One County Court, Fla. AG Wins Subpoena for Law Firm Docs From Another

Slapped down by a Palm Beach County Circuit Court judge when he tried to subpoena documents from one “foreclosure mill” law firm, Florida’s attorney general has tried again in Broward County concerning another such law firm and won the ruling he sought. Attorney Jeffrey Tew, who represents David Stern and…

Oct 15, 2010 4:29 PM CDT

Humble Maine Home, Ex-Lender Lawyer at Epicenter of Storm Over Defective Docs in Foreclosure Cases

An unprecedented national furor over a deluge of defective filings in mortgage foreclosure cases largely centers on a single unlikely case. Nicolle Bradbury admittedly can’t afford to pay the $474 monthly mortgage on her humble Maine home after losing her job. But she won the mortgage foreclosure lottery when a…

Oct 15, 2010 3:45 PM CDT

Lloyd’s $100M D&O Policy Doesn’t Cover Stanford’s Legal Defense Bill in Ponzi Case, Judge Rules

Lloyd’s of London doesn’t have any obligation to cover onetime billionaire R. Allen Stanford’s criminal defense costs under a $100 million policy of directors and officers insurance for his company, a federal judge has ruled. In a four-day trial in August the insurer proved, under a preponderance standard, that Stanford…

Oct 13, 2010 6:01 PM CDT

Freeze Foreclosures in All 50 States, Lawmaker Urges Big Banks, as 40 State AGs Plan Joint Probe

Updated: Following news earlier today that Bank of America has called a temporary halt to foreclosures in all 50 states as it reviews paperwork to make sure it’s accurate, Sen. Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) is urging other major mortgage servicers to follow suit, reports the Washington Post. “I thank…

Oct 8, 2010 7:59 PM CDT

ABA: New Law Would Help Soldiers Focus on Missions Abroad Instead of Legal Problems at Home

For years, the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act has helped protect those on active duty, allowing them to, among other things, terminate leases and capping the interest rate creditors can charge at 6 percent. But to invoke these protections military personnel may need a lawyer. Yet even with representation, some creditors…

Oct 8, 2010 5:35 PM CDT

Bank of America Extends Foreclosure Moratorium to All 50 States

Updated: Bank of America is stopping foreclosures in all 50 states, making it the first bank to call a nationwide halt to foreclosures amid questions about flawed documents. The halt expands the bank’s previous moratorium on foreclosures in 23 states where courts have to participate in foreclosure proceedings, according the…

Oct 8, 2010 4:10 PM CDT

Calif. AG Sues 2 Companies, 3 Attorneys & Others for $60M, Says Homeowners Duped Into Suing Banks

Updated: Saying that consumers got little or nothing for hefty upfront fees and put their homes at greater risk of foreclosure by listening to purported home-rescue schemes marketed by two California-based companies that promoted dubious litigation, the state attorney general has a filed a $60 million lawsuit. It names as…

Oct 7, 2010 7:41 PM CDT

Fla. Law Firm Touts ‘Mortgage Terminator’ Suits for Condo Associations

A Miami law firm says its “mortgage terminator” lawsuits are transferring ownership of abandoned properties to condominium associations when banks delay initiating foreclosure proceedings. The suits filed by the Association Law Group rely on a Florida law that allows condo and homeowner associations to file separate foreclosure actions for unpaid…

Oct 6, 2010 2:33 PM CDT

Court’s Sentence Makes Rogue Trader Kerviel a Six-Billion-Dollar Man

Jerome Kerviel was sentenced to what is locally considered a hefty three-year prison term today by the main criminal court in Paris, and ordered to repay his employer, Societe General, nearly $7 billion in a record-breaking rogue trading case at the bank. Although the 33-year-old defendant and some observers blamed…

Oct 5, 2010 11:41 PM CDT

House Speaker Pelosi Calls for Federal Probe of How Banks Handle Mortgage Foreclosures

A group of Democratic lawmakers from California headed by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi is calling for a federal investigation of irregularities in mortgage foreclosure cases, in the wake of increasing reports of “robo-signatures” and other questionable practices by a number of major mortgage servicers. Additionally, prior to filing suit, banks…

Oct 5, 2010 10:08 PM CDT

Law Firm in ‘Deliberate, Willful & Flagrant’ Contempt Fined $49K for Missing Foreclosure Hearings

A judge has found a Florida law firm in “deliberate, willful and flagrant” contempt and fined it $49,000 for setting—and then missing—two foreclosure hearings. The action against Smith Hiatt & Diaz by Manatee County Circuit Judge Janette Dunnigan followed three previous incidents in which the law firm either canceled a…

Oct 4, 2010 4:51 PM CDT

Ohio Official Asks Federal Prosecutor to Review Chase Mortgage Foreclosures

Upping the ante in a mortgage foreclosure mess that already reportedly has prompted the attorney general’s office in six or more states to initiate probes of various lenders, an Ohio official has asked a federal prosecutor to take a look at Chase Home Mortgage and a company that was created…

Oct 1, 2010 3:33 PM CDT