Friday, October 29, 2010

Lawsuit Filings Seeking Class Action Status Against Loan Servicers Continue To Pick Up Steam

Bloomberg News reports:
  • Billionaire Wilbur Ross’s American Home Mortgage Servicing Inc., facing lawsuits by attorneys general in two states, was sued by a homeowner who accused the firm of using tactics that lead to improper foreclosures.

  • The lawsuit, filed Oct. 25 in federal court in Dallas, seeks class-action status on behalf of homeowners with mortgages serviced by American Home going back to 2006. American Home’s “illegal, unfair and deceptive business practices victimize borrowers” across the U.S., according to the complaint. American Home “routinely and systematically assesses unwarranted fees against consumers, resulting in premature default that often gives rise to unfair and improper foreclosure proceedings,” according to the complaint.(1)

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In another story in the same media report:

  • Bank of America Corp., the largest U.S. bank by assets, was sued by a Florida borrower who accused the bank of violating the federal government’s home-loan modification program to boost its earnings.

  • The bank told customer-service representatives to mislead homeowners who ask about loan modifications, ignored completed modifications and failed to credit payments, Shari Goldman said Oct. 27 in a complaint filed in U.S. District Court in West Palm Beach, Florida. Goldman, who cited unidentified former bank employees in the complaint as the source of her information, asked the court to grant her suit class-action, or group, status.

Source: Lions Gate, American Home, Clarient, GE, Wells Fargo, BHP in Court News.

For another recent filing, see Class Action Filed Against Banks in Foreclosure Proceedings.

(1) Reportedly, American Home is facing similar allegations in other lawsuits.

  • Kay VanHauen v. American Home Mortgage Servicing Inc., 10-02146, U.S. District Court, Northern District of Texas (Dallas);
  • State of Texas v. American Home Mortgage Servicing Inc., 2010-3307, District Court of El Paso County, Texas;
  • State of Ohio v. American Home Mortgage Servicing Inc., 09-708888, Court of Common Pleas, Cuyahoga County, Ohio;
  • Michael Landi v. American Home Mortgage Servicing Inc., 10-00921, U.S. District Court, District of Maryland (Baltimore);
  • Kenneth Coplin v. American Home Mortgage Servicing Inc., 3:10-cv-01096, U.S. District Court, Southern District of California (San Diego).