Supreme Court
By Carrie Bay | 12/20/2011
Florida's mandatory foreclosure mediation program has come to an end. State Supreme Court Chief Justice Charles Canady issued an order this week stating that no new cases may be referred to mediators as part of the court-run initiative and citing the program's lack of success in resolving foreclosure disputes between lenders and borrowers. Data released earlier this year showed that only 4 percent of eligible mediation cases ended in a settlement.
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By Carrie Bay | 11/16/2011
The Michigan Supreme Court ruled Wednesday that MERS, as record-holder of the mortgage, does have the right to initiate foreclosures in the state. The decision reverses an April ruling from the Michigan Court of Appeals, which called into question thousands of cases in which MERS was named as the foreclosing party. The appellate court's judgment sent shockwaves through the distressed housing market in Michigan. Now, with the higher court's ruling, sales of homes that had been foreclosed in the name of MERS can proceed.
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By Krista Franks Brock | 10/25/2011
A court-appointed workgroup in Florida is recommending changes to the state's mandated mediation program. Most notably, they recommend it not be mandatory, but that individual circuit courts be allowed to decide whether mediation is the appropriate solution. The group submitted its response last week to Florida Supreme Court Judge Charles T. Canaday, who ordered an assessment of the program. Other recommendations include improving the integrity of borrower information, reducing fees, and shortening the mediation timeline.
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By Krista Franks | 10/19/2011
A Massachusetts man lost something he never had -- his home. The Masachusetts Supreme Judicial Court ruled this week that when Francis Bevilacqua purchased the home from U.S. Bank in 2006, the bank did not actually hold the home's title. The court ruled that because U.S. bank did not own the mortgage when it foreclosed upon the property, it did not obtain a title in the foreclosure. Therefore, Bevilacqua did not purchase a legal title when he made the purchase.
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By Krista Franks | 10/12/2011
The United States Supreme Court has denied a writ of certiorari in a case involving MERS, refusing to reconsider a California court ruling, which upheld MERS' right to initiate foreclosures. The Supreme Court of the State of California previously refused to review the initial decision, leading San Diego foreclosure attorney Ehud Gersten to elevate his client's case to the U.S. Supreme Court. "It is disappointing," Gersten told DSNews.com, adding that a Supreme Court ruling would have ended state-by-state discrepancies in MERS cases.
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By Carrie Bay | 09/14/2011
New Jersey's Superior Court has lifted the last of six injunctions handed down late last year, giving Ally Financial and its GMAC Mortgage unit the go-ahead to resume foreclosure actions in the state. The Superior Court judge issued an order this week stating that GMAC had demonstrated the "reliability of its processes" and is "permitted to resume prosecution of uncontested foreclosure proceedings." Five other servicers were given the green light to begin the regular order of processing foreclosures in the state last month.
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By Krista Franks | 08/25/2011
Among the ongoing court cases surrounding the right of Mortgage Electronic Registration Systems' (MERS) to foreclose homes, one case out of California has been elevated to the Supreme Court. A San Diego foreclosure attorney filed a petition with the Supreme Court last week asking for a review of a California appellate court's decision that affirmed MERS' right to foreclose. This is the first case to be elevated to the Supreme Court, according to the attorney for the homeowner.
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By Carrie Bay | 08/17/2011
A New Jersey judge has given the green light for five of six major mortgage servicers to resume uncontested foreclosures in the state after a formal review of their procedures demonstrated the "reliability of their processes." Bank of America, Citibank, JPMorgan Chase, Wells Fargo, and OneWest Bank have been granted permission to restart foreclosures. Ally's GMAC Mortgage is awaiting the court's decision. Since the beginning of 2011, just over 6,000 foreclosures have surfaced in the state courts, compared to 35,000 filings at this time last year.
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By Carrie Bay | 07/07/2011
A group of mortgage-bond investors has filed a petition with the New York Supreme Court requesting to be cut loose from the $8.5 billion settlement proposed last week by Bank of America. The settlement would resolve nearly all of the lender's repurchase exposure stemming from legacy first-lien residential mortgage bonds issued by Countrywide. Eleven of the companies to be compensated by the arrangement, though, say BofA's proposal is "inadequate."
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By Heather Hill Cernoch | 06/01/2011
Wells Fargo will host a free workshop Thursday for Wells Fargo Home Mortgage, Wells Fargo Financial, Wachovia Mortgage, and Wells Fargo Home Equity customers facing financial hardships. Hundreds of South Carolina homeowners are invited to the event in Columbia, South Carolina. About 50 home retention team members will be on hand to work one-on-one with customers to explore options such as workouts and loan modifications.
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