Category: TRIAL OBJECTIONS

How Foreclosure Mills Win by Misusing "Judicial Notice"

February 10, 2023

Hat tip to summer chic Judicial Notice is a rule of evidence in which the court receives a written request to accept a document into evidence as proof of the truth of the matter asserted. In Foreclosures, the truth of the matter asserted is that there is an unpaid loan account, and the named plaintiff or beneficiary has the right to administer, collect and enforce it. If that is alleged in a form that is allowed by law, and proven in the manner allowed by law, the foreclosure will be granted. I might add, that it should be granted to

The irrefutable logic at the foundation of all successful foreclosure defense narratives

February 2, 2023

The mortgage lien is designed to protect against financial loss — not to promote financial gain. If Wall Street wants to protect the financial gains it created from its crazy scheme using weapons of mass financial destruction, then the least it should do is share a little of that with homeowners, consumers, the government, and investors. * I continually get the same question, mostly because neither the homeowner nor the “investigators” understand anything about being a licensed, educated, experienced investment banker, lawyer, or accountant. If they were any of those, they would not ask the question. * The latest question

FCRA Might Be Fertile Ground for Individual and Class Actions Especially under CFPB Rules

May 3, 2022

if the CRC does not perform the investigation or performs it incorrectly, you can sue them. In a world where the ability to access credit matters more than the ability to access savings, nothing could be more important than these provisions under the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA). Anyone who read the book or saw the film “The Firm” knows that it is often a boring statute that can take down the worst offenders. It was mail fraud in that story. For more information ask the descendants of Al Capone who died in prison of syphilis after being convicted of

Notices To and From Servicer Might Mean Nothing at All

April 18, 2022

In homeowner finance, ALL claims start with notices from third parties with whom the homeowner has previously had no communication. My suggestion is that homeowners start challenging those letters, statements, and notices as soon as they arrive. Such challenges make “tracks in the sand” for later use in litigation. But the real issue arises repeatedly because the condition precedent to foreclosure about which there is no dispute is that first there must be a declaration of default. And in the world of securitization, there is no creditor, loan account, or any loss or ven risk of loss arising from a

How Evidence Works for and Against the Consumer/Homeowner

April 7, 2022

(Once again, because of minor medical issues I decline to do the Neil Garfield Show. I offer this instead) It is easy to get lost in the weeds. Don’t make up your own words or definitions because your definitions have no relevance to your case. Do hold the accusing side to their words and to the legally accepted definitions of those words as contained in statutes and cases. But above all, start at the beginning — a rookie mistake made by nearly all young litigators and pro se litigants who skip over the gold to pick up a few pieces

Western Progressive LLC is named as Trustee or even Attorney on many forms, notices and recorded documents in foreclosures. Who is this Luxembourg LLC and Why do all paths lead back to Ocwen?

February 7, 2022

why such a company would ever be seen as a qualified party to (a) serve as a trustee on a deed of trust (b) make any claims whatsoever and (c) allow its name to be used by FINTECH service providers operating under contract with Merrill Lynch and its “successor” Bank of America. This is especially true because there is no beneficiary who executes the Subsitution of Trustee and no beneficiary named that is qualifeid as a beneficairy — i.e., the one to whom the udnerlying obligation is owed. And all this goes back to what I said somewhere around my

Homeowners need to understand that they are investors, not borrowers.

January 10, 2022

In nearly all cases that the amount of money paid to a “prior lender” is entirely or mostly fictional in all cases of refinancing and nearly all cases in purchase money mortgages. As long as the same underlying investment bank is the same for both the Buyer and Seller or the same for both the new “Lender” and the old “lender.” * But in cases where the Seller gets money (equity) at least some money is actually produced for closing. And as long as the refinancing produces cash to the homeowner, some money is actually produced at closing. So for

Finding the FINTECH Companies who really do the work of "servicing" payments and disbursements.

January 6, 2022

Hat tip “Summer chic” Here is an example of someone who is asking tough questions that the banks and their lawyers will never answer. They won’t answer because any answer that is truthful would lead inevitably to the revelation that there is an absence of a loan account receivable and therefore any right to collect on it. **** Please find my QWR to verify who granted Exela’s and its subsidiaries Transcentra, Inc and Regulus Group LLC (“Exela” ) authority to act as Servicers who collect my checks from P.O. Boxes in Dallas TX and Los Angeles CA and process my

THREADING THE NEEDLE: IT IS WHAT THEY DON'T SAY THAT REVEALS THE TRUTH — AND YOU CAN USE IT!

January 5, 2022

So talk about splitting hairs — here is a statement from a company that is claimed by third parties to be the servicer of a “loan.” Note that the parties making the claim do NOT swear that PennyMac is servicing claims to administer, collect and enforce for them, but rather for some unknown creditor or some other entity that does NOT make such a claim. Think about that. Here is the quote: PennyMac, who, as the loan servicer, is authorized to accept payments for your loan. And here is the analysis of that statement: PennyMac IS authorized, although not by

Stop Using the Labels: Homeowners Lose Foreclosure Cases When They Refer to the "Servicer"

December 27, 2021

You need to challenge the status of the company claiming to be a servicer by finding out what functions they really perform. * I know I have contributed to the problem, but I think it’s time to stop using the labels that are promoted by the banks. * Companies that are claimed to be the “servicer”, by all accounts, do not perform any functions normally attributed to that label. This it is against the interests of the homeowner or the lawyer representing the homeowner to accept the use of the term unless there is foundation testimony as to the actual

Here is How Wall Street Smoke and Mirrors Works

December 1, 2021

The idea that some company bearing the label of “servicer” is performing financial functions and accounting on behalf of an investor, a trust, a trustee is completely false from end to end. Such companies do nothing and were never intended to do anything except act as a buffer, in name only, to prevent liability attaching to investment banks who had entered the lending marketplace without any intent to enter the business of lending money for profit. But when the homeowner admits that such labels and narratives are true, the law of the case becomes the false narrative and labels. As

How Likely Is It That a Homeowner Will Win a Foreclosure Case?

November 30, 2021

The answer to this question depends upon the homeowner — not the judge. * If the homeowner rigorously, aggressively and persistently seeks enforcement of the rules of civil procedure, the rules of discovery, the rules of evidence and enforcement of court orders, the chances of quite good that the homeowner role reach a very favorable result. * If the homeowner attempts to make a claim or state and affirmative defense that requires proof of malfeasance by the opposition (or anyone else), probability of failure is extremely high. * The general consensus has accepted the proposition set forth in the national

The fallacy of construing negative decisions as bad decisions for homeowners

November 29, 2021

It’s not the job of courts to save litigants from their own admissions. Here is a simple rule: if you admit the existence of the loan account receivable and you admit the rights of the servicer and the currently named claimant, you have no viable basis to challenge standing or enforceability. “Yes, but” doesn’t count in court. Here is the other rule: if you challenge the existence of the loan account receivable and deny the rights of the servicer and the currently named claimant consistently, starting with the first notices and correspondence that you receive after the apparent “closing” the

Those letters from the lawyer for the "servicer": PHH

November 2, 2021

It is true that someone will execute a release of the lien. What is not true is that they have any authority to do so — nor is it true that PHH has any right to receive any money, whether it is a monthly payment or a payoff. In fact it is not true that PHH will receive any money. They won’t and they don’t. All payments are directed through lockbox contracts and FINTECH companies into accounts that may bear the name of a company claiming to be a serrvicer but which are owned by someone else. This is why

About that letter you receive from the company claimed to be your servicer: PennyMac

November 1, 2021

People keep getting letters and they tend to treat the information as real simply because it is in writing. That is the nub of the Wall Street scheme — send out written communication and documents without regard to the truth and people will assume that the document or letter would not have been sent if at least someone didn’t think it was true. SO I was recently sent a copy of a communication that was on PennyMac letterhead. People forget that you can create the letterhead of any company or person and pout it at the top of your document

Who gets a QWR or DVL and When?

September 21, 2021

LEARN HOW TO FIGHT WITH HONOR AND WIN! After some reflection, legal research and analysis I have come to the conclusion that a very good way for homeowners to put tracks in the sand that they can use later with success is to use the following protocol — subject to the opinion of local counsel: Send QWR and DVL to “servicer” and nobody else. Under statutes, service to one is service to all anyway. In cases where the creditor is either asserted or implied to be a bank as trustee for a REMIC trust, send a second QWR and DVL

EARLY BIRD DISCOUNT ON WEBINAR ENDS 9/22/21

September 16, 2021

APPROVED FOR 2.5 CLE CREDITS APPROVED BY THE FLORIDA BAR HOMEOWNER ATTENDANCE PERMITTED Live and On-Demand Available EARLY BIRD DISCOUNT ENDS 9/22/21 What to Look for in Examining an Assignment How to Successfully Litigate the Issues How lawyers can make money in this niche APON and GTC Honors, Inc. an approved host provider for CLE (for lawyers) credits in Florida and 26 other states that allow reciprocal credits for licensed attorneys announce that they are producing a seminar presented by Neil F Garfield, MBA, JD , trial lawyer for nearly 45 years and investment banker for 50 years. Only lawyers

Tonight! Neil Garfield makes it simple: Lying for Dollars: How to Apply Your Understanding of Securitization Claims to Win

April 8, 2021

Thursdays LIVE! Click into the Neil Garfield Show Tonight’s Show Hosted by Neil Garfield, Esq. Call in at (347) 850-1260, 6pm Eastern Thursdays “Your Honor, this is a standard foreclosure.” That is the first lie told in court as lawyers, and companies claiming to be servicers, lenders, or trustees continue to play their game of lying for dollars. It’s obvious I have not simplified the explanation enough because both lawyers and homeowners still mostly don’t understand what I am talking about. That means they can’t use it effectively, as I have, and that means the judge won’t have any idea what you

Attack the "Successors"

April 6, 2021

In analyzing the paperwork in front of you, make sure you read every word and do not accept anything said at face value. A popular ruse by foreclosure mills is the use of the word “successor.” I have been saying that this word is used as a cover-up for “we don’t have title to the debt, note or mortgage.” That means they have no loss connected with a claimed scheduled payment that was not received by a “Servicer” who had no right to receive it in the first place. Hat tip to Gary Dubin, Esq. and Shelley Erickson. If they

WHAT IS A SERVICER ADVANCE? According to Ocwen it has zero credit risk and is not really an advance

January 29, 2021

One place where securitization players and foreclosure players don’t lie is in reports that are formally filed with the SEC. So in my research, I found a document in which Ocwen describes itself and which is subject to judicial notice because it is a government document downloaded from the Sec.gov website. The filing of 8k and other reports required by securities laws and regulations is an official act. It is a sworn representation by the issuer (Ocwen here) that the facts being presented are accurate and true on penalty of going to jail. Here we see a filing that identifies

Latest Moratorium Extensions Are Two-Edged Sword

January 26, 2021

The new president is facing incoming fire from all directions. If he does not extend the moratorium on foreclosures and evictions, hundreds of thousands of people are going to be homeless. But the extension does not come without costs. https://www.marketplace.org/2021/01/25/biden-acts-on-evictions-foreclosures-but-long-term-housing-crisis-looms/ See also https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/black-knights-first-look-2020-ends-with-1-7-million-more-seriously-delinquent-homeowners-than-at-start-of-year-foreclosures-at-record-low-301211915.html * As you have seen on these pages, I am quite confident that none of the scheduled payments from homeowners are legally due. On the other hand, I am loathe to tell homeowners or tenants that they should withhold payments if they can make them. * The reason is basically extortion or duress. By withholding a scheduled

Servicers relent one case at a time: The Great Escrow Balance Game. Getting money just because you asked for it.

January 15, 2021

Playing with the escrow balance and asking for more money is one of many games the “servicers” play in the Great Securitization game. Relentlessness in challenging (1) the authority of the company pretending to be a servicer and (2) their rendition of the escrow balance and reconciliation of their request for more money is how you eliminate the fake shortgage and get a refund. Don’t assume it is a honest mistake. Assume instead that they are trying to steal from you because in most cases that is what they are doing. The truth is that without having authority to act

Homeowner's Dilemma and Pro Se Nightmare: Wanting the system to change is not the way to win a case

January 6, 2021

Homeowners win because there is no legal claim against them. But they will lose every time if they fail to establish the inability or unwillingness of the foreclosure mill to come up with concrete evidence that there is, in fact, a loan receivable entry on the accounting ledgers of the claimant and that it got there by virtue of a real-world transaction in which value was paid for the underlying obligation. Unfortunately, as we all know, all perjury and fraud upon the court is illegal but always allowed unless it is challenged in a timely and proper way. We need

What Happened With Your "Loan" — By admitting that you received a loan you lose.

December 16, 2020

The plain truth is that homeowners are losing their cases through assymetry of information. They think they understand when they do not have a clue. They are admitting the obvious, which turns out to wholly untrue. In so doing they give the court no choice but to enter judgment aganst them. ApplicationForLoanProcessAndFundingOfServiceFees I am experimenting with new ways to present this. If you click on the above chart you will see that the application process is actually a dead end. Nobody actually agrees to lend any money. Nobody does lend money. Money arrives later at the “closing” table but unknown