Pleading Wrongful Foreclosure

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see https://fightforeclosuredotnet.wordpress.com/2013/12/12/what-homeowners-must-know-about-pleading-their-wrongful-foreclosure-cases-in-the-courts/
The above link provides some very good guidance about pleading wrongful foreclosure although it appears to relate more to non-judicial states than judicial states. Remember that pleading fraud not only requires specificity but must be proved. The fact that the foreclosure filing was wrong is one thing but proving it was fraudulent rather than negligent or breach of contract is quite another.

If you are in active litigation then seeking sanctions might be either an alternative or something in addition to a separate lawsuit that arises when the case is decided in favor of the homeowner. As we have seen over the last few years, the grounds upon which these cases are decided in favor of the homeowner vary widely. Some decisions show that the acts of Deutsch or Chase or Wells Fargo or CitiMortgage et al were committed with full knowledge of what they were doing and that they were playing a shell game on the court and on the borrower. Those cases seem more conducive for fraud or spurious litigation or wrongful foreclosure. A decision based upon non-compliance with paragraph 22 — defects in the notice of default or right to reinstate or notice of acceleration might be the subject of abuse of process and might not. But without more in the proof or opinion from the Court the issue of fraud or intentional tort of some other kind seems more difficult.

Lack of standing means the homeowner wins but it does not mean necessarily that a case for fraud or wrongful foreclosure will be successful. The opposition will respond (affirmative defense) that the mistake in standing does not establish any entitlement to damages or any other action by the court because the right to foreclose still exists on behalf of some entity. But this defense is basically a crystal ball defense unless there is an established creditor who is legally pursuing collection on the loan.

Cases in which the bank blocked the sale or refinance of the property, or unilaterally tried to avoid a modification, or where the borrower was in fact current when actions by the bank forced the borrower into the illusion of default are the best cases, in my opinion, for a wrongful foreclosure.

In short, the law is murky on these issues because the whole truth about securitization “fail” has not been fully absorbed and processed by the judicial system. Right now most judges are making rulings based upon the assumption that securitization is irrelevant — a view that is inconsistent with the the alleged right of the beneficiary or mortgagee to initiate foreclosure and pursue collection. The rights to do so exist in the PSA which is often admitted into evidence. Thus the same court that accepts the PSA into evidence will often rule that the provisions that require servicer advances (hence, no default as per books of the Trust or Holders of Certificates) or PSA provisions that block any right to pursue foreclosure or collection by the Trustee or the Trust are not relevant. But the general rule is that once a document is admitted into evidence the parties can use it any way they want.

Tags: fraud, Pleading, PROOF, wrongful foreclosure
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