BofA Banged With $220K Sanction For Ignoring Court Orders, Stiffing Homeowner-Couple On Court-Approved Loan Modification; Judge To Bankster: Pay Up In 30 Days Or Loan Will Be Deemed Fully Satisfied!

In Orlando, Florida, the Orlando Sentinel reports:

• A federal bankruptcy judge in Orlando has slapped Bank of America Corp. with a $220,000 sanction — one of the largest fines on record in the local court — for ignoring the judge's orders and refusing an Orange County couple's court-approved mortgage-loan modification.
  
  U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Karen Jennemann sanctioned the giant bank earlier this month after it failed to appear at a series of hearings but continued trying to collect unauthorized mortgage payments from the homeowners, according to a court filing.
  
  The judge ruled March 5 that Bank of America had 30 days in which to pay the fine — or the couple's mortgage debt, which totals about $223,000, will be "deemed fully satisfied."
  
  Jennemann acted in the case of Warren and Mary Grant-Hougland, who live in the southwest Orange County community of Gotha. They filed personal bankruptcy in 2010 under Chapter 13 of the federal code to restructure their debts and to fend off the foreclosure of their 1,900-square-foot home.
  
  Clermont lawyer Jimmy Crawford, who represents the couple, would not comment on the case or the sanction, which is still subject to appeal by the bank.

***

• The Houglands' is just the latest in a series of local bankruptcy cases in which Bank of America has missed court hearings, failed to file motions or otherwise been labeled missing in action when it comes to foreclosure-related and loan-modification issues, according to some local lawyers. But though it may be a big offender, Bank of America is not alone, they said.
  
  "When you see a sanction this large, there is clearly a sense of frustration on the part of the judge with this kind of behavior by the banks," said Amy Goodblatt, a veteran bankruptcy lawyer in Orlando and a board member of Community Legal Services of Mid-Florida. "When you can't even get the banks to respond in court, well, judges take a dim view of that. In a sanction like this, a judge is saying enough is enough."

***

• Consumer advocates say mortgage miscues, foul-ups and outright abuse by banks have continued across the country in recent years, despite those multibillion-dollar settlements.
  
  In June, a Texas judge hit Bank of America with a $300,000 sanction after it was accused of breaking two loan-modification agreements with a homeowner and continuing to harass her for higher mortgage payments. In November, a Virginia judge fined the bank, one of the nation's largest, $7,500 for failing to comply with terms of a $70,000 settlement in the case of a homeowner who had accused the bank of wrongful foreclosure, fraud and defamation.
  
  A year ago, Orlando bankruptcy Judge Arthur Briskman fined Bank of America $11,500 in the case of Anita Smith, now 80, who was hounded by the bank's bill collectors for years even though she had surrendered her home as part of a Chapter 7 liquidation bankruptcy, according to court records. Despite the federal judge's 2008 order discharging Smith's debt, the bank called her nearly 100 times seeking additional mortgage payments.

For the story, see Bank of America fined for repeated violations in Orange homeowners' bankruptcy case.