Foreclosure Legal Settlements
California trucking accident attorney Otus Law Group has assisted the SettlementBoard editorial team in identifying topics of importance to readers of this blog.
Military Families Settle for $22 Million in Illegal Foreclosures
More than 176 members of the military received $22 million after banks illegally foreclosed on them. Bank of America and JP Morgan were named as defendants in the suit.
An article in the "Business Insider," "Bank of America will pay $20 million for Illegal Foreclosures on Active Duty Soldiers," noted that the largest portion of the settlement came from Countrywide, which was acquired by Bank of America in 2008.
The Servicemembers Civil Relief Act extends civil protections to military members and their families while they're away on active duty.
Mortgage Service Providers Agree to Foreclosure Abuse Settlement
A settlement between federal regulators and 14 mortgage service providers may make it harder for federal and state governments to force banks to give loan relief to struggling U.S. homeowners.
Prashant Gopal reported in "U.S. Foreclosure Settlement Muddies Outlook for Mortgage Relief" that mortgage service providers, including JPMorgan Chase & Co. and Wells Fargo & Co., agreed to review foreclosure transactions from 2009 and 2010 and pay back those that were improperly foreclosed.
The settlement prevented banks from seizing properties from homeowners who were negotiating temporary or permanent loan workouts; however, it did not require banks to reduce mortgage debt among borrowers.
Bank of America Settles with Countrywide Borrowers for $108 Million
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) brought a suit against Bank of America over foreclosure fees assessed by Countrywide Financial, which is now defunct. Countrywide collected inflated fees against homeowners during foreclosure proceedings. Bank of America acquired Countrywide in 2008, after the occurrences, but is liable as the new owner.
NPR posted a report on the settlement in an unattributed article called "BofA to Pay Countrywide Borrowers $108 million." Bank of America denied wrongdoing, but agreed to settle the suit to avoid lengthy litigation. The settlement award will be divided among 200,000 borrowers nationwide. It was also the FTC's largest settlement to date.
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