Welcome to The Home Equity Theft Reporter, a blog dedicated to informing the consumer public and the legal profession about Home Equity Theft issues. This blog will consist of information describing the various forms of Home Equity Theft and links to news reports & other informational sources from throughout the country about the victims of Home Equity Theft and what government authorities and others are doing about it.
Tuesday, November 17, 2015
Two Loan Servicers Agree To $217 Million Settlement In Alleged Force Placed Insurance Racket That Screwed Homeowners
In Miami, Florida, the Daily Business Review reports:
Two of the largest mortgage servicers in the U.S. reached a combined $217 million settlement in Miami federal court over a national homeowner insurance scandal.
Ocwen Loan Servicing LLC and Nationstar Mortgage faced class action lawsuits covering more than 1 million homeowners suing over insurance policies the servicers and lenders placed on their properties.
Banks, other lenders and their loan servicers have long authorized third-party insurers to access their records and identify borrowers with no property insurance or insufficient coverage to satisfy mortgages.
Homeowners claimed the insurers automatically issued policies on these properties at lender-approved rates, which were well above market rates, leaving homeowners to cover the costs.
Lenders call it creditor-placed insurance. But foreclosure defenders prefer the term force placed, and they say the practice brought large and illegal returns for lenders. They say insurers paid commissions of up to 25 percent to lenders, while overburdened homeowners struggled through the housing collapse.
"These practices had been going on for a long time, but they were never brought to light," Adam Moskowitz, a partner at Kozyak Tropin & Throckmorton in Coral Gables, told the Daily Business Review.
Moskowitz teamed with lead co-counsel Aaron Podhurst of Podhurst Orseck in Miami and Lance Harke of Harke Clasby & Bushman in Miami to represent more than 1 million homeowners nationwide.
U.S. Magistrate Judge Jonathan Goodman approved the Nationstar settlement on [Nov.9] and the Ocwen settlement Sept. 14.
The deals provide $140 million in monetary relief from Ocwen and $77 million from Nationstar, revising practices that once allowed lenders and servicers to benefit from collateral protection insurance.
It was the latest blow for Ocwen, which reached a $150 million settlement with New York state regulators over accusations of improper servicing practices for allegedly levying excessive charges on distressed borrowers through affiliated companies and failing to maintain adequate systems to service billions of dollars' worth of mortgages. Former Ocwen chairman William Erbey stepped down as part of the New York settlement, and the company paid a $100 million penalty plus $50 million in restitution to current and former borrowers who faced Ocwen foreclosure actions from 2009 to 2014.
The latest Miami settlements are among 14 in nationwide class action suits filed in the Southern District of Florida. The cases involved more than 4 million homeowners nationally and provided injunctive changes and more than $2 billion in relief.
CBC News: Betrayal of Trust (A CBC investigation reveals how lawyers across Canada have misappropriated and mishandled clients money, to the tune of tens of millions of dollars, or sometimes even charging vulnerable people top dollar for shoddy services)
Land Contract/Contract For Deed/Rent-To-Own Rackets
The New York Times: The Housing Trap (In the wake of the housing crisis, low-income families have turned to seller financing to buy homes but these deals can be a money trap)
Beware The Fine Print: Consumers Forced To Sign Away Their Rights To Use Court System
The NY Times: Arbitration Everywhere, Stacking the Deck of Justice(Part 1 in series examining how clauses buried in tens of millions of contracts have deprived Americans of one of their most fundamental constitutional rights: their day in court)
Foreclosure Mills' Abysmal Record In Complying With New NYS Foreclosure Requirements
Justice Deceived: How Large Foreclosure Firms Subvert State Regulations Protecting Homeowners
MFY Legal Services Report On Questionable Practices By Process Servers In Debt Collection Cases
Justice Disserved: A Preliminary Analysis of the Exceptionally
Low Appearance Rate by Defendants in Lawsuits Filed in the Civil Court of the City of New York
Mortgage Mess Redux: Robo-Signers Return (A Reuters investigation finds that many banks are still employing the controversial foreclosure practices that sparked a major outcry last year)
CNN Video: As Foreclosures Mount, Florida Court Turns To 'Rocket Docket'
The Wall Street Journal: A Florida Court's 'Rocket Docket' Blasts Through Foreclosure Cases (2 Questions, 15 Seconds, 45 Days to Get Out; 'What's to Talk About?' Says a Judge)
"Produce The Note" Strategy When Dealing With Missing Promissory Notes In Foreclosure Actions
ABC Video: Fighting Against Foreclosure (Some homeowners have found a new tactic to keep the banks at bay)
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