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.
Thursday, December 17, 2015
Mobile Jury Awards Wrongfully Foreclosed Couple $400K ($375K In Punitives), Belting Banksters For Allegedly Manufacturing Series Of Mortgage Documents To Justify Illegitimate Foreclosure
In Mobile, Alabama, al.com reports:
Following a weeklong trial, a Mobile jury awarded $400,000 to a husband and wife, whose home was wrongfully foreclosed on by Deutsche Bank National Trust Company and its loan servicer, Ocwen Loan Servicing LLC.
In late 2006, Wilmer and Sonya Caldwell refinanced their home with Challenge Financial, a retail mortgage lender. Four years later, their home was foreclosed on by Deutsche Bank. Before the foreclosure, the Caldwells had never heard of Deutsche Bank. However, Deutsche Bank claimed that it bought the Caldwells' mortgage loan through a complicated series of transfers involving the securitization of thousands and thousands of mortgage loans throughout the United States.
During the case, the evidence demonstrated that Deutsche Bank never bought or owned the Caldwells' mortgage loan. Instead, Deutsche Bank and Ocwen had created a series of documents, both before and after the foreclosure, in order to make it look like Deutsche Bank owned the Caldwells' mortgage loan.
"Deutsche Bank and Ocwen knew what they were doing was wrong. However, rather than acknowledging that, they chose to simply manufacture documents in order to legitimize a foreclosure that was illegitimate from the very beginning," said Billy Bonner, a partner with the law firm of Cunningham Bounds LLC, who represented the Caldwells.
"This was not an isolated occurrence. There are millions of homeowners throughout the country facing foreclosure – and unfortunately, many of them are being forced to give up their homes to banks that do not actually own their mortgage loans," added Bonner.
The jury's award consisted of $25,000 in compensatory damages and $375,000 in punitive damages. The Caldwells were also represented by David G. Wirtes Jr., a partner at Cunningham Bounds LLC, and Noel Nelson, an attorney in Mobile.
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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