Countrywide To Argue In NH Lawsuit That It Has No Legal Obligation To Modify Loans Despite Assurances To The Contrary

In Merrimack County, New Hampshire, the New Hampshire Sunday News reports:

• With more and more folks hoping for loan modifications to save their homes, what obligation does a lender have to work with borrowers in good faith? That's the crux of a case coming up in Merrimack County Superior Court tomorrow. Gary and Jessica Raymond have sued Countrywide Home Loans Inc., alleging the company "violated the implied covenant of good faith and fair dealing by failing, refusing or neglecting to provide workout assistance."

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• Countrywide's lawyers are asking the court to dismiss the case, arguing the company has no contractual obligation to modify loan agreements.(1) But that's not the point, Jessica Raymond told the New Hampshire Sunday News. "We're not saying they owed us a loan modification," she said. "Our lawsuit is saying, when they entered into the whole loan-modification process with us, then at that point they should least have treated us fairly, instead of roping us around for eight months."

For more, see Granite Staters suing Countrywide over mortgage woes.

(1) In an earlier story, Countrywide attorneys reportedly described the lender's publicly-made loan modification assurances as “mere commercial puffery.” For an earlier post on this story, see Attorneys For Major Lender In New Hampshire Lawsuit Admit Company's Loan Modification Assurances Are "Mere Commercial BS."