Ranks Of Attorneys Willing To Represent Homeowners In Predatory Lending Cases On The Upswing

In New York City, the Staten Island Advance reports:

• [T]he legal landscape is changing and more local lawyers are willing to represent homeowners against banks that made high-interest, problematic subprime loans. "Their ranks have been growing. Over the last two weeks, we've gotten several more private attorneys calling to say they can handle cases," said Margaret Becker, director of the Homeowner Defense Project at Staten Island Legal Services in St. George.

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• A Harvard Law School graduate who said she was once misled on the interest rate she received on a home equity line of credit, Ms. Becker recently conducted a course on foreclosure defense for members of the Richmond County Bar Association.

• She makes a point of telling attorneys that they can win back their fees and expenses from banks if they are successful in their claims against those lenders. That's important because most people in default don't have the money to pay for lawyers, and proving mortgage fraud can be a complex and costly process.

• One legal recruit is Robert Brown, an Annadale resident and retired New York City police captain who graduated from St. John University's Law School in 2000. Brown is carving out a niche bringing violation of truth-in-lending claims on behalf of the clients he represents, [...].

For more, see New legal arsenal to battle bad loans.

For a story involving a Staten Island couple who recently obtained a favorable court decision against a mortgage lender for violating a New York State anti-predatory lending statute, see:

• Staten Island Advance: Stuck with a bad loan, a Staten Island family fights back (if link expires, try here),
• ABC News: Fighting Back Against Foreclosure (New York Judge Denies Foreclosure Based on Alleged Predatory Lending),
• For the court decision itself: LaSalle Bank, N.A. v Shearon, Supreme Court, Richmond County, 2008 NY Slip Op 28032 (January 28, 2008),
• Kelley Drye & Warren LLP newsletter: LaSalle Bank v. Shearon: A Harbinger of Things to Come (New York Supreme Court Rules in Favor of Borrower on Defensive Claims Under State’s Anti-Predatory Lending Law).

For other posts on homeowners using Federal & state consumer protection statutes to try and undo bad mortgage loans, Go Here and Go Here.

Editorial Note:

The significance of attorney "fee shifting" statutes, which are commonly a part of Federal and state consumer protection statutes, anti-unfair labor statutes, civil rights cases, etc. and allow for attorneys to win back their legal fees and expenses from the losing party in a successful case, can't be emphasized enough. For an example of one case where the lawyers representing aggrieved parties were allowed to win back their legal fees as a result of such a "fee shifting" statute, see NY BigLaw Leader Scores $1 Million Fee in Pro Bono Case (or go here for the actual court decision itself).