Under the Protecting Tenants Against Foreclosure Act (PTFA) 12 U.S.C. 52 §§ 701-704, the purchaser of a home at a foreclosure sale must honor a lease held by a bona fide tenant which was entered into prior to the issuance of a judicial deed for its full term, unless the…
Read More »In Union County, Illinois v. MERSCORP, Inc., 735 F.3d 730 (7th Cir. November 14, 2013) the Seventh Circuit upheld the rejection of another attempt by a municipality to eviscerate the MERS model. The municipalities argued that MERS continuously and intentionally violated the Illinois Conveyance Act by its model of de…
Read More »Marais v. Chase Home Finance LLC, 12-4248 (6th Cir. Nov. 26, 2013) addresses the recent amendments to TILA and specifically whether they can be interpreted to impose liability on servicers. The Sixth Circuit said they do not. The relevant amendments were part of the Helping Families Save Their Homes Act…
Read More »Wells Fargo Bank N.A., vs. Mason, 05-12-01590-CV (Tex.App-Dallas November 5, 2013) is an appeal from a trial court judgment awarding Plaintiff damages and possession in a suit for forcible detainer. Defendant appealed the verdict contending, inter alia, that the trial court erred by overruling Defendant’s hearsay-within-hearsay objection to the trustee’s…
Read More »The issue at stake in Wells Fargo Bank, N.A. v. McCluskey, 2013 IL 115469 (Illinois Supreme Court, Nov. 21, 2013) directly affects a mortgagor’s ability to set aside a foreclosure sale by an eleventh hour request to vacate the underlying judgment. The Supreme Court of Illinois reversed a decision that…
Read More »Smith v. Jenkins, 732 F.3d 51 (1st Cir. October 15, 2013) is an appeal from a verdict arising out of a fraudulent real estate mortgage scheme where a nearly incompetent person was duped into acting as a straw buyer for two overvalued residential properties in Massachusetts. One of the defendants,…
Read More »Smith v Dorchester, 732 F.3d 51 (1st Cir. October 15, 2013) is an appeal from a verdict arising out of a fraudulent real estate mortgage scheme where a nearly incompetent person was duped into acting as a straw buyer for two overvalued residential properties in Massachusetts. One of the defendants,…
Read More »In Diunugala v JP Morgan Chase Bank, N.A., 12CV2106-WQH-NLS (S.D. Cal. Oct. 3, 2013) the mortgagor sued the loan assignee(s) and the servicer under a host of theories. The servicer had previously represented that one banking entity was the owner/creditor of Plaintiff’s loan as trustee for a securitized trust, but…
Read More »In M & M Inv. Group, LLC v Ahlemeyer Farms, Inc., No. 03S04-1211-CC-645 (Ind. September 26, 2013), a tax-sale purchaser of mortgaged property filed a petition for issuance of a tax deed. Current Indiana law does not require the county auditor to mail notice of the pending sale to the…
Read More »The mortgagors in National City Mortgage Co. v. Tidwell, S12G2011 (Ga. Oct. 7, 2013) brought claims against the mortgagee for wrongful foreclosure. While the case was pending the mortgagee merged with another bank which was not substituted as a party. The Superior Court entered summary judgment for the mortgagors and…
Read More »