Tag Archives: Bankruptcy

North Carolina-based real estate law firm Shapiro & Ingle has announced the formation of a Bankruptcy Litigation Department at their firm with Kimberly A. Sheek heading the new department.

The House Judiciary Committee approved bipartisan legislation that is aimed at speeding up the bankruptcy process and preventing taxpayers from taking the hit in the event of the failure of large financial institutions.

Fannie Mae recently released a report revising the waiting periods for borrowers with a derogatory credit event such as a foreclosure, bankruptcy, short sale, or deed-in-lieu of foreclosure on their credit history to obtain a new loan.

Historically, Chapter 7 Trustees rarely seek authorization to sell over-encumbered real property of the estate free and clear of liens because such a sale is authorized only under very limited circumstances. Based upon the rarity of motions to sell over-encumbered property and the assumption that a Court would never grant such a motion, creditors have generally been complacent about monitoring bankruptcy cases for such motions.

The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) recently published a notice in the Federal Register that new maximum foreclosure attorney fees will be allowed for loan terminations completed on or after December 12, 2013. Maximum fee amounts vary by state. There are no changes in the amounts allowed for deeds-in-lieu of foreclosure or bankruptcy releases, although VA continues to review these fees.

LOGS Network announced Wednesday that it has made a strategic addition to its leadership team with the addition of Scott Brinkley as the organization's new CEO. Before joining LOGS, Brinkley held executive positions for two decades with First American and CoreLogic. He also co-founded a large claims processing business and most recently was CEO of the Illinois foreclosure law firm Pierce and Associates.

Schneiderman & Sherman, P.C., named Patricia Carey managing attorney for the firm's litigation group. As a litigation specialist for 18 years, Carey has taught trial skills to hundreds of law students and new attorneys both as a managing attorney and guest faculty member of the Committee on Regional Training.

Lender Processing Services, Inc. (LPS) and KMC Information Systems (KMCIS) announced Friday that the two firms have teamed up to create an end-to-end foreclosure processing solution for loan servicers. The companies plan to integrate certain LPS technologies with KMCIS' CaseAware platform for attorneys and trustees to improve the efficiency and transparency of foreclosure processing.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) released a bulletin and interim final rule Tuesday to provide greater clarity to the market concerning mortgage servicing rules that take effect in January 2014. The clarifications address contact with delinquent borrowers, communications with family members after a borrower dies, and treatment of consumers who have filed for bankruptcy.

Among all cases, those related to foreclosures were the most active, with 74 cases moving forward, according to first-quarter data from Mortgage Daily. However, that was still a drop from that category's peak. An accompanying white paper released by Ballard Spahr LLP suggests the decline in foreclosure-related cases has more to do with the drop in foreclosure filings during the period. Cases involving loan modifications also decreased as foreclosure filings normalized--though dissatisfaction still remains high.