Civil Remedies › Civil Procedure › Residential Real Estate

Federal Court Dismisses United States Action Against Countrywide In Part

On May 8, Judge Jed Rakoff of the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York dismissed claims by the United States for damages and civil penalties under the False Claims Act against Countrywide and...more

Tenth Circuit Holds Affidavit Sufficient To Avoid Summary Judgment On FCRA Emotional Damage Claim

Recently, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit affirmed in part and reversed in part a district court’s award of summary judgment to a mortgage servicer who provided a negative credit report after the borrower...more

Court Of Appeal Makes Condominium Association Foreclosures More Costly

The Third District Court of Appeal recently issued an opinion that is a game changer for third-party purchasers of condominium units at foreclosure sales. The Third District’s opinion in Aventura Management, LLC v. Spiaggia...more

Directors Found To Be In Contempt Ordered To Pay $96,000 In Legal Fees

We previously blogged about the Boily case involving a dispute between some owners and the directors of a Condominium complex in Ottawa. This dispute revolved around the proposed alteration of the condominium’s courtyard. ...more

KEVIN SINGH v BANK OF AMERICA

MEMORANDUM AND ORDER GRANTING Plaintiff’s Application for a Preliminary Injunction under California's Homeowners Bill of Rights...

California Homeowner Bill of Rights (HBOR) Blocks Bank of America's Foreclosure A California man successfully halted a foreclosure sale on his property using the newly minted California Homeowner Bill of Rights to obtain a...more

CONGRESSIONAL BUDGET OFFICE (CBO) RE Options for Principal Forgiveness

Modifying Mortgages Involving Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac: Options for Principal Forgiveness

The Congressional Budget Office is accepted as a non-partisan agency which has torpedoed both Democratic and Republican proposals on the economy. Upon request from Congress, the CBO studied the mortgage and foreclosure market...more

Landmark Florida Supreme Court Decision: Florida’s Economic Loss Rule

In Tiara Condominium Association, Inc. v. Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc., the Florida Supreme Court held, in a five-to-two decision, that the economic loss rule is limited to products liability cases. Tiara Condominium...more

Divided Supreme Court Upholds Chicago Condo Association Ordinance

Yesterday, the Illinois Supreme Court filed its long-awaited opinion in Palm v. 2800 Lake Shore Drive Condominium Association. Although on its face, Palm relates only to the enforceability of a Chicago city ordinance on...more

The Supreme Court of Pennsylvania in Butler Affirms the Long-Standing Dunham Rule and Brings Certainty to Marcellus Shale Natural...

The Supreme Court of Pennsylvania in Butler v. Charles Powers Estate1 unanimously reversed the ruling of the Superior Court which held that an evidentiary hearing “complete with expert, scientific testimony” is necessary to...more

City of Los Angeles v Deutsche Bank National Trust Company

City of Los Angeles v Deutsche Bank National Trust Company re: Complaint to Abate Public Nuisance

http://www.scribd.com/doc/137914455/City-of-Los-Angeles-v-Deutsche-Bank-National-Trust-Company (Link to Complaint) Apr 23, 2013 A judge has denied Deutsche Bank AG's bid to dismiss a lawsuit by the city of Los...more

Harold C. Wallace v. Midwest Financial & Mortgage Services Inc., et al

Sixth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals re: Summary Judgment Reversed for Appraisal Fraud

A Sixth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals panel on April 23 reversed an award of summary judgment to a mortgage lender, a mortgage brokerage firm and its principals after finding that an appraisal that inflated the value of a...more

Real Estate Law Alert - Court Dismisses "Buyer's Remorse" Claim and Awards Developer $577,000 in Attorneys' Fees

Back in Autumn, 2010, we wrote that purchasers of condominium units in the New York metropolitan area were invoking the Interstate Land Sales Full Disclosure Act, 15 U.S.C. §§1701-20 (ILSA), to cancel their agreements to...more

New Court Decision Clarifies Mechanic's Lien Valuation Statute

The amount of a mechanic’s lien in California is generally the lesser of: 1) the reasonable value of the work; or 2) the price agreed upon in the lien claimant’s contract. But does the same measure apply if a lien defendant...more

How Late Can a Default on a Foreclosure Suit Be Vacated?

In the closing days of the March term, the Illinois Supreme Court allowed a petition for leave to appeal in Wells Fargo Bank, N.A. v. McCluskey, a decision from the Second District reversing an order refusing to vacate a...more

How the Eaton decision applies to future cases and why legal arguments need to be presented carefully.

Have you heard of the Eaton case in Massachusetts? If you are facing foreclosure and think you may have a defense, especially if you believe the bank may not own the note and the mortgage, you should read this post. In...more

California Reinvestment Coalition Report Re: Bank Violations Hurt Hardest Hit Communities April 2013

CHASM BETWEEN WORDS AND DEEDS: WELLS FARGO IS LISTED AS THE WORST SERVICER, MORE THAN ANY OTHER SERVICER

A new survey of housing counselors in California reveals that banks are violating several consumer protections that were mandated by the $26 billion National Mortgage Settlement (NMS) and the California Homeowners Bill of...more

ROBERT LOCKETT vs. BANK OF AMERICA, N.A.

NOTICE OF RULING: THE COURT OVERRULES BANA'S DEMURRER TO QUIET TITLE, CANCELLATION OF INSTRUMENT, ACCOUNTING & DECLARATORY RELIEF...

THE HONORABLE ABRAHAM KHAN OF THE LOS ANGELES SUPERIOR COURT OVERRULES BANK OF AMERICA'S DEMURRER TO QUIET TITLE, CANCELLATION OF INSTRUMENT, ACCOUNTING AND DECLARATORY RELIEF AND DENIES JUDICIAL NOTICE OF THE DEED OF TRUST...more

ROBERT LOCKETT vs. BANK OF AMERICA, N.A.

COURT OVERRULES BANA'S DEMURRER TO QUIET TITLE, CANCELLATION OF INSTRUMENT, ACCOUNTING & DECLARATORY RELIEF & DENIES JUDICIAL...

THE HONORABLE ABRAHAM KHAN OF THE LOS ANGELES SUPERIOR COURT OVERRULES BANK OF AMERICA'S DEMURRER TO QUIET TITLE, CANCELLATION OF INSTRUMENT, ACCOUNTING AND DECLARATORY RELIEF AND DENIES JUDICIAL NOTICE OF THE DEED OF TRUST...more

Regulatory Takings: Monks v. Rancho Palos Verdes Revisited (Again)

For those of you who have followed Nossaman's blog since the very early days, you'll recall our coverage of a significant regulatory takings case, Monks v. City of Rancho Palos Verdes. The 2008 California decision received...more

FEDERAL HOUSING FINANCE AGENCY OFFICE OF INSPECTOR GENERAL

FHFA Should Develop and Implement a Risk-Based Plan to Monitor the Enterprises’ Oversight of Their Counterparties’ Compliance with...

Summary OIG assessed FHFA’s oversight of Fannie Mae’s and Freddie Mac’s (the Enterprises) monitoring of their counterparties’ compliance with their contractual agreements, with an emphasis on their compliance with federal...more

Arden M. Intengan v. BAC Home Loans Servicing Lp, et al.,

Intengan v. BAC Home Loans, Judgment Dismissing Plaintiff's Complaint Alleging Defendants Lacked Authority to Foreclose on Her...

Arden Intengan v. BAC Home Loans, A135782 Judgment dismissing plaintiff's complaint alleging defendants lacked authority to foreclose on her property is reversed as to the cause of action for wrongful foreclosure, where:...more

FEDERAL HOUSING FINANCE AGENCY OFFICE OF INSPECTOR GENERAL

Enhanced FHFA Oversight Is Needed to Improve Mortgage Servicer Compliance with Consumer Complaint Requirements

Why OIG Did This Audit By the end of 2012, Freddie Mac owned or guaranteed over 10.6 million residential mortgages with a combined unpaid principal balance of $1.6 trillion. It pays mortgage servicers to collect payments...more

Follow Up on IRWA/Appraisal Institute "2012 Eminent Domain Year in Review" Presentation

For those of you who attended the joint meeting today between Chapter 1 of the International Right of Way Association and the Appraisal Institute, we promised to post a cheat sheet that reminds you about the cases associated...more

Directors Found To Be In Contempt Of A Court Order

In a previous post, we reported on the Boily v. CCC 145 case, where a board of directors was ordered to reinstate the prior landscape of the condominium courtyard and to personally pay a substantial portion of the legal...more

APPELLANT vs. WELLS FARGO BANK, N.A.

APPELLANT'S REQUEST FOR JUDICIAL NOTICE OF A RELATED CASE

Shown below is a sample Request for Judicial Notice. This Request for Judicial Notice is provided for informational purposes, and is not intended as a substitute for legal advice or for representation by a qualified...more