Wednesday, February 8, 2012
Keep a Very Close Eye on the Foreclosure Fraud Settlement
It seems as though every day for weeks now we've been told a settlement between state attorneys general and fraudulent foreclosers -- by which I mean the largest home mortgage lenders in the country -- is imminent. The banks appear to be balking because they expected the type of suit filed by New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman to be prohibited under the settlement -- but since Schneiderman is one of the key players in the settlement talks, there seems to have either been a serious misunderstanding or a serious play for leverage by Schneiderman. For an excellent analysis of the negotiations, and of the foreclosure crisis generally, I can't recommend Yves Smith's blog Naked Capitalism highly enough.
One issue that MUST be non-negotiable is the ability of people who were wrongfully foreclosed upon to maintain civil suits against their foreclosers. There is no indication that such suits will be barred under the settlement, but since the negotiations are not transparent we can't know until the settlement is announced. My first year property students have now spent weeks studying the crisis -- in part because I'm hoping to ready these young lawyers-to-be to take up the fight to ensure that foreclosure fraud doesn't pay and that its victims receive restitution. But if the state attorneys general negotiate away the only avenue victims of wrongful foreclosure have for relief, it will be the final injustice in a long, long line of them in this crisis. Not to mention a defeat for the rule of law.
For a very good discussion of how we should assess the settlement, when it is finally arrived at and released to public scrutiny, see this article by Richard Eskow.
Mark A. Edwards
https://lawprofessors.typepad.com/property/2012/02/keep-a-very-close-eye-on-the-foreclosure-fraud-settlement.html
Comments
I'm hoping to ready these young lawyers-to-be to take up the fight to ensure that foreclosure fraud doesn't pay and that its victims receive restitution.
Posted by: Tom Henry | Jun 25, 2012 12:14:13 AM
February 10, 2012
WHY WON'T THE 3 MAJOR NEWS NETWORKS TELL THE COMPLETE STORY??
WHAT CAUSED THE FORECLOSURE CRISIS??? I implore you to take this story back to the BEGINNING! DIG DEEP and INVESTIGATE the FACTS and tell the WHOLE story.
WHO is the MOST POWERFUL ENTITY IN AMERICA? THE NEWS MEDIA! Whatever story you tell, and HOW you decide to tell it ultimately becomes the way it is in the eyes of Americans.
In my small, uneducated mind, this 18 billion dollar law suit against the 5 major banks only tells me that you can commit PREMEDITATED MAJOR FRAUD that devastates millions of peoples lives, shove the billions of EXTRA money it makes you in your pockets, then IF you get caught, you'll have enough money to pay off the law makers, then you're off the hook! WHO CARES ABOUT THE LITTLE PEOPLE YOU DESTROYED? After all, they’re just the BACKBONE of AMERICA! THESE MONSTERS SET OUT TO DECEIVE HOMEOWNERS, approving them for loans for the sole purpose that they would fail, foreclose! Scooping thousands of these doomed loans into a servicing pool to be securitized and then bounced around on Wall Street because these corporate criminals that are way smarter then me, devised a way to multiply there return on doomed investments by getting subsidized 10, 20, 30 times over from multiple insurance policies placed in advance. That would be like me insuring my home with 10 homeowner's policies, each to pay me $200,000 if my house burns down, all the while knowing it IS GOING TO BURN DOWN because I placed a few faulty wires in the walls of my home. I WOULD BE IN PRISON!!! This is EACTLY WHAT THESE MONSTERS DID TO MILLIONS OF HOMEOWNERS LIKE ME! All of the stories I've seen regarding the MORTGAGE FRAUD and FORECLOSURE CRISIS are just FRACTIONS of the complete story! Robo Signers, Docx Company forging thousands of signatures on lost or destroyed loan documents, foreclosed, vacant homes causing vandalism, squatters and the drop in real estate values. This is the first time in my 47 year life that I have more knowledge on a MAJOR, NATIONAL, ECONOMICAL CRISIS then is being reported by YOU, the NATIONAL NEWS MEDIA! The source ALL AMERICANS rely on to bring them the TRUTH of a story and the WHOLE story. One year ago when I first knew I was going to have a fight on my hands to save what means as much to me as life itself, (my home) I was scared, but eager because I learned that I had rights, as an American, governed by laws long ago put into place. When I learned that LAWS WERE BROKEN, and my rights as an American were being violated I was confident that with some self education and ALOT of research, surely I would eventually prevail. My facts are evident, right here in black and white. Just show it to the judge and he will make things right, fair! I didn't want to 'WIN' a free HOME. I just wanted the judge to make the monsters play FAIR! I sit here now, the morning after hearing of the successful suit against the 5 major banks and I am devastated and overwhelmed as it sinks in that the federal lawsuit victory does NOTHING to protect ME or thousands of other people out there in the same boat. In fact, I'm feeling confident that it put the last nail in my coffin because it set a National precedence, just pay your way out of your crimes with the money you gained off of your victims. I am disheartened with our system, it is disgraceful what people in power have done to destroy EVERYTHING this COUNTRY WAS BUILT ON. No wonder this Great Country is being brought to it's knees. GREED is selling her out and NO ONE WITH ANY POWER IS BRAVE ENOUGH TO EXPOSE IT! Like so many Americans, I am! I would lay down my life TODAY if it would somehow magically expose the Beast because one day, soon, it will all be too late! My home hasn't been sold out from underneath me yet but I have received a "Notice of Default" telling me I have about 30 days left before a "Trustees Sale". No court hearing, no judge to make a ruling because I live in California, a Non Judicial State which means Whoever Holds the ORIGINAL "Deed of Trust" on you mortgage has the right to sell your home at public auction if you default on it's terms. FIRST PROBLEM, when the mortgage was securitized and pooled into a trust with thousands of other mortgages, the 'Note' and 'Deeds' HAD to be DESTROYED in order to become asset bearing investments. YOU CANNOT HAVE BOTH AVENUES TO GENERATE PROFITS. Known as DOUBLE DIPPING, it is a major IRS tax violation. So why do I keep hearing loan docs were lost, misfiled, and misplaced? THEY WERE PURPOUSLY DESTROYED! These bankers, investors just assumed we would all be too stupid to figure it all out, and even IF some of us did uncover their dirty deeds, what could just a few people do?? NOTHING! We HAVE TO RELY ON OUR NATIONAL NEWS MEDIA! THE ONLY VOICE LOUD ENOUGH TO HAVE ANY EFFECT. WE NEED YOUR HELP! If you choose to do nothing, you are allowing these THUGS to abuse and steel from the powerless and then just walk away. WHY WOULD YOU ALLOW THAT?? HOW CAN YOU JUST LET THEM GET AWAY WITH THAT?? You are our only hope!
Posted by: Kelli Swedenskey | Feb 10, 2012 6:54:58 PM