Bank of America Suspends Foreclosures in 23 States
B of A joins GMAC and JPMorgan Chase admitting that there are discrepancies in foreclosure paperwork.
Palm Coast, FL – October 4, 2010 – Bank of America joins GMAC Mortgage and JPMorgan Chase casualties the avalanche of faulty foreclosure documents. B of A has reportedly halted foreclosures, REOs and evictions in 23 states. Each lenders’ employees and/or subcontractors have been robo-signing foreclosure documents. The documents in question are affidavits purportedly proving that the foreclosing lender is in fact the owner of the note and mortgage, a requirement in many states. Individuals have admitted that they simply did not verify the veracity of the documents, signing as many as 18,000 per month.
But don’t feel sorry for the banks. They created the problem. The problem extends to foreclosure mill lawyers who have been accused of forging documents. Florida’s Attorney General is currently investigating four such firms.
GoToby.com first reported foreclosure document issues in December 2007. The issue has become more visible as the size of the problem is exposed. The situation results from the fact that mortgages were often sold several times. A foreclosure defense strategy grew out of the lack of proper documentation; the MERS defense. [Read Foreclosure Defense Takes Hold – Trouble for Banks] Lenders were challenged to prove they owned the note and mortgage. Unable to easily produce the required documentation, lenders and/or their servicers and attorneys took to falsifying affidavits which purportedly verified the claim of ownership.
Fortunately for the lenders, most foreclosures go uncontested along with the deficient document. But some people fight back. Frederick B. Tygart, Circuit Judge in the Fourth Judicial District – Duval County recently quashed a foreclosure filled by Deutsche Bank against Patrick Jeffs, et. al. Tygart vacated and struck the service in process, vacated and set aside the final judgment, and cancelled the scheduled foreclosure sale because of faulty documentation.
The Order states, “the Return of Service is void as it reflects a summons was issued on October 16, 2007 at 10:09 a.m.; however, this lawsuit was not filed until October 16, 2007 at 3:44 p.m. This means that the Summons served on Mr. Jeffs was not a summons issued by any Florida court and, therefore must have been counterfeited. Additionally, it was presented upon information and belief that the process server, LaTarshag Armstrong, resides in Jacksonville while the notary public, Ruby Lee French, who notarized Ms Armstrong’s signature on the purported Summons is a resident of Tampa, Florida which means that Ms Armstrong was not present when her signature was notarized.”
Become a Member of GoToby.com: Receive email notices of news, rumors, newsletters, and articles. [click here] It’s free.
Leave a Reply
Want to join the discussion?Feel free to contribute!