MD High Court Rules Panel: "Use Of Bogus Affidavits" To Support Foreclosures "Constitutes An Assault On The Integrity Of The Judicial Process Itself"
- The false signings so alarmed Maryland's highest court that it passed an emergency rule last [month] authorizing wide-ranging reviews of foreclosure documents. The Court of Appeals' rules committee, which recommended the change, did not mince words.
- "In the Committee's view, the use of bogus affidavits to support actions to foreclose … constitutes an assault on the integrity of the judicial process itself," committee chairman Alan M. Wilner, a retired judge, wrote in a letter to the court.
- Mortgage servicers nationally have said repeatedly that the issue is a technicality that distracts from the fact that they're foreclosing on people who really did get behind on their loans. But regulators say that doesn't give firms a pass to circumvent state law.
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- After the corrective affidavit [in one case] was brought to [Prince George's County Judge Thomas P.] Smith's attention, the judge went digging. When he found more in other Prince George's foreclosure cases, he called judges elsewhere in the state, who in turn discovered similar affidavits from the two attorneys — hundreds so far. The Court of Appeals quickly approved emergency rules authorizing reviews of foreclosure documents. Some courts have already begun examining cases.
For the story, see Homeowners' cases bring foreclosure irregularities to light (False signatures on foreclosure documents prompt court review).
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