Attempts To Bulldoze Through Foreclosure Legal Process Continue For Paperwork-Lacking Lenders; Uptick Seen In Judges' Impatience

In Staten Island, New York, the New York Post reports:

• A house divided cannot stand. A house foreclosure case divided by two banks probably doesn't have standing -- in court -- either. Two banks, Home123 Corporation and US Bank, both lay claim to owning a house in Staten Island, according to a foreclosure filing.

• The original lender, Home123, is the mortgage holder on the county's tax rolls, but US Bank and its servicer, Ocwen Loan Servicing, have filed the court papers, saying they have the right to the action. US Bank claims that they purchased the mortgage from Home123. But, the bank admits, "due to unforseen circumstances, the original Assignment of Mortgage and Endorsement Note were lost before they could be recorded."

• That doesn't sit well with Joseph Sant, the lawyer representing the homeowner, who did not wish to be named. "US Bank is foreclosing on a home without proof that it owns the mortgage. That should not surprise anyone after the revelations of widespread robo-signing and document falsification in foreclosures," Sant says.

• "What does surprise me is that the bank admits that it lacks key evidence needed to foreclose, yet is trying to bulldoze through the legal process anyways," Sant adds. A US Bank spokesman said the bank, acting as a trustee, did not bring the action. He said the bank is named so there is a plaintiff to send paperwork to.

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• Now, with thousands of foreclosure cases clogging New York's courts, local judges are growing increasingly impatient with faulty or erroneous paperwork that further burdens an already overstrained system. [...] Attorneys that represent homeowners are still wading through reams of problematic paperwork by lenders and servicers, which are attracting new scrutiny from the judicial bench.

For the story, see 2 banks, 1 house (SI foreclosure shows paperwork nightmare).