Sunday, August 19, 2012

BofA Drops Suit, Apologizes, Pays Legal Fees To Nashville's Ch. 13 Bankruptcy Trustee Noted For Repeated, Effective Use Of 'Show Me The Note' Strategy

In Nashville, Tennessee, the Nashville Business Journal reports:
  • Charlotte, N.C.-based Bank of America has dropped its legal attack on Nashville’s Chapter 13 bankruptcy trustee. Earlier this year, as part of a consumer bankruptcy proceeding, Bank of America became the first lender to sue a Tennessee trustee of the court.

    In an agreement filed Thursday, Bank of America worked out a deal directly with the debtors — dropping accusations that Chapter 13 trustee Henry "Hank" Hildebrand wasn't dispersing money appropriately.

    "They decided they would dismiss the lawsuit, pay my attorney fess and they apologized," Hildebrand said.

    In essence, Bank of America argued that it shouldn't have to file a claim in the bankruptcy proceedings. That argument is tangential to efforts seeking an end to a common defense tactic used by debtors and foreclosure judges in the aftermath of the mortgage meltdown.

    Known as "show me the note," the tactic forces a lender to offer up physical documentation that they actually own the mortgage. In this case, Bank of America failed to file a timely claim, which included the failure to show documentation they had a right to the home.