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In RE: COLLINS | 6th BAP “whether either Litton or BoNY was the holder of a fully and properly indorsed note, MERS assignment day after the debtor filed bankruptcy”

In RE: COLLINS | 6th BAP “whether either Litton or BoNY was the holder of a fully and properly indorsed note, MERS assignment day after the debtor filed bankruptcy”


BANKRUPTCY APPELLATE PANEL OF THE SIXTH CIRCUIT

In re: ELIZABETH R. COLLINS,

Debtor.
No. 10-8085

_____________________________________

J. JAMES ROGAN, Trustee,

Appellant,

v.

LITTON LOAN SERVICING, L.P.,
THE BANK OF NEW YORK, MELLON FKA
THE BANK OF NEW YORK AS SUCCESSOR
TO JP MORGAN CHASE BANK, N.A., AS
TRUSTEE FOR THE BENEFIT OF THE
CERTIFICATE HOLDERS OF POPULAR, ABS,
INC. MORTGAGE PASS-THROUGH
CERTIFICATES SERIES 2005-3,

AIG FEDERAL SAVINGS BANK DBA
WILMINGTON FINANCE,

CITIBANK, NA, and

GMAC MORTGAGE LLC,

Appellees.

Appeal from the United States Bankruptcy Court
for the Eastern District of Kentucky
Bankruptcy Case No. 10-50990; Adv. Proceeding No. 10-05065

EXCERPT:

STEVEN RHODES, Bankruptcy Appellate Panel Judge. J. James Rogan, the trustee in this
chapter 7 case, appeals an opinion and order of the bankruptcy court dismissing his complaint. The
complaint sought a declaratory judgment to determine the validity, extent, and priority of liens on
the real property of the debtor, Elizabeth Collins, held by defendants Litton Loan Servicing, Bank
of New York, GMAC Mortgage, and Wilmington Finance. The trustee also appeals an opinion and
order of the bankruptcy court granting a motion to vacate the default judgment entered against
Wilmington Finance.

For the reasons that follow, as to defendants Litton Loan Servicing and Bank of New York,
the Panel vacates the dismissal and remands the matter for further proceedings to determine who was
the holder of the first mortgage on the date of filing, and if it was either Litton Loan Servicing or
Bank of New York, then whether either was the holder of a fully and properly indorsed note.

[…]

On the day after the first mortgage was recorded, February 5, 2005, Wilmington Finance
assigned the mortgage to Mortgage Electronic Registration Systems, Inc. (“MERS”). On June 16,
2005, this assignment was recorded. (Addendum to Br. of Bank of New York, February 16, 2011,
app. case no. 10-8085, ex. 2.)

The record also includes an assignment dated March 26, 2010, the day after the debtor filed
bankruptcy. MERS assigned this mortgage to the Bank of New York Mellon f/k/a The Bank of New
York, as successor to JPMorgan Chase Bank, N.A. as trustee for the benefit of the certificate holders
of Popular ABS, Inc. Mortgage Pass-Through Certificates Series 2005-3 c/o Litton Loan Servicing.
(bankr. claim 1-1.) On April 7, 2010, which was twelve days after the debtor filed bankruptcy, this
assignment was recorded. Thus, on the day that the debtor filed bankruptcy, it appears that neither
Bank of New York nor Litton Loan Servicing held any interest in the first mortgage. Inexplicably
however, the debtor listed Bank of New York/Litton Loan Servicing on schedule D as the secured
creditor holding the first mortgage. (bankr. dkt. #1.) Schedule D appears to have been filed on the
date of the petition. The record does not provide an explanation for how the debtor would have
known that Bank of New York/Litton Loan Servicing would be the secured creditor prior to the
assignment.

[…]

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Janet Tavakoli: “Fraud As a Business Model”

Janet Tavakoli: “Fraud As a Business Model”


If William K. Black and Janet would only team up to write a book?

HuffPO-

There were many factors that contributed to our recent financial bubble: deregulation, cheap money from the Fed, failure to enforce remaining regulations, crony capitalism, hubris, speculation, leverage, and fraud among other problems. While fraud wasn’t the only issue, it was and is a significant contributor to the credit bubble. Restraining fraud is a necessary but not sufficient condition for a sound financial system. Congressional investigations in recent years have put ample evidence of fraud in the public domain.

To illustrate just one type of malicious mischief, Senator Carl Levin (D. Mich.), Chairman of a senate investigative panel, issued a memo stating that Goldman ” magnified the impact of toxic mortgages.” The Wall Street Journal reviewed data showing that a $38 million subprime-mortgage bond created in June 2006 was referenced in more than 30 debt pool causing around$280 million in losses to investors by 2008. In other words, Goldman kept repackaging, reselling or protecting (buying credit default protection on) losers. It took the wrong kind of nerve for Goldman’s CEO to say he was doing “God’s work.”

[HUFFINGTON POST]

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New York prosecutors widen Goldman probe: report

New York prosecutors widen Goldman probe: report


REUTERS-

New York prosecutors are widening their probe into the manner in which Goldman Sachs (GS.N) marketed certain mortgage-linked securities before the financial crisis, the Wall Street Journal reported, citing people familiar with the matter.

[REUTERS]

Them were some “Shitty Deals”

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Washington Supreme Court to Decide MERS’s Legality in Washington

Washington Supreme Court to Decide MERS’s Legality in Washington


By | September 2, 2011

MERS, the mortgage industry’s self-serving creation launched without due regard for all 50 states’ laws, faces a big test in Washington state. The Washington Supreme Court will decide whether MERS’s business model of being named beneficiary on deeds of trust (mortgages) is legal. If the Court decides MERS doesn’t work under Washington law, the Court may also address the consequences of MERS’s illegality on foreclosures, and consider whether homeowners have the right to sue MERS.

Last June, but not much noticed at the time, a …

[REALITY CHECK]

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Goldman Sachs must investigate questionable lending and foreclosure practices in its mortgage unit, Fed says.

Goldman Sachs must investigate questionable lending and foreclosure practices in its mortgage unit, Fed says.


They can start here:

Deposition Transcript of Litton Loan Servicing Litigation Manager Christopher Spradling

CNN-

NEW YORK (CNNMoney) — The Federal Reserve issued an enforcement action Thursday against Goldman Sachs, saying the investment bank must investigate questionable lending and foreclosure practices in its mortgage unit.

The action orders Goldman to hire an independent consultant to investigate foreclosure proceedings by Litton Loan Servicing between 2009 and 2010.

[CNN]

[ipaper docId=63786308 access_key=key-2ay6x0jf7uqjsxrfoqrf height=600 width=600 /]

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Goldman Sachs, Litton, Ocwen reach deal on robosigning with NY regulator

Goldman Sachs, Litton, Ocwen reach deal on robosigning with NY regulator


WSJ–

The mortgage industry will take a step toward cleaning up some of its most controversial practices under a deal between a New York regulator and three financial firms, including Goldman Sachs Group Inc.

Under the agreement with the state’s financial-services superintendent, Benjamin M. Lawsky, the three firms—Goldman, its Litton Loan Servicing business and Ocwen Financial Corp.—promised to end so-called robo-signing, in which bank employees signed foreclosure documents without reviewing case files as required by law. They also agreed to comb through loan files for evidence they mishandled borrowers’ paperwork and to cut mortgage payments for some New York homeowners.

The …

[WALL STREET JOURNAL]

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IN RE MONK | Oregon BK Court “Proof Of Claim, Failure to Respond, LSI Title, Litton, U.S. Bank, PCFS”

IN RE MONK | Oregon BK Court “Proof Of Claim, Failure to Respond, LSI Title, Litton, U.S. Bank, PCFS”


UNITED STATES BANKRUPTCY COURT
FOR THE DISTRICT OF OREGON

IN RE
LESTER G. MONK, and
MARY L. MONK,
Debtors.
___________________
LESTER G. MONK, and
MARY L. MONK,
Plaintiffs

v.

LSI TITLE COMPANY OF OREGON, LLC,
LITTON LOAN SERVICING, LP,
U.S. NATIONAL BANK ASSOC., as Trustee
under a pooling and servicing agreement dated as of
March 1, 2002,
MORGAN STANLEY DEAN WITTER CAPITAL
I INC. TRUST 2002-NCI, and
DOES 1 through 10,
Defendants.

EXCERPTS:

DISCUSSION

A. Litton’s Motion to Dismiss
Defendant Litton has filed a motion to dismiss on the following grounds:
1) Plaintiffs do not have a private right of action under the discharge injunction and no violation of the
discharge injunction occurred under the facts of this case.
2) Plaintiffs’ Chapter 13 Plan did not affect the lien of the Defendants, which rode through bankruptcy
unaffected unaffected by the order disallowing the claim of PCFS, Litton’s predecessor in interest.
3) Plaintiffs entered into a novation of the loan after the discharge order was entered in the Chapter 13 case.
4) The bankruptcy court lacks post-confirmation subject matter jurisdiction over the claims set forth in the
Complaint.
5) Plaintiffs have failed to state a claim for rescission based on the foregoing and the fact that they failed to
plead that they could repay moneys owed to the Defendants in order to completely unwind the transaction.
6) The claim for violation of the FDCPA should be dismissed based on the foregoing and because: a)
Defendants are not “debt collectors” within the meaning of the FDCPA; b) the FDCPA claim is based on
alleged conduct outside the statute of limitations; and c) no FDCPA claim lies for alleged violations of the
discharge injunction.

[…]

Litton also seeks dismissal of the Claim on the basis that under the facts alleged, no violation of the
discharge injunction occurred. To determine whether this is so, some analysis of the actions which occurred
in the case must be made. First, the Trustee filed an objection to the secured claim of PCFS because it had
not provided the information the Trustee had been seeking to verify the secured status and perfection of the
claim. Proper notice was made to PCFS of the objection and order and the fact that it was required to
respond within 32 days or its claim would be “disallowed in full.” When PCFS failed to respond, its claim
was “disallowed.” Litton argues in its second ground for dismissal that PCFS’s lien was unaffected by the
disallowance of its claim and “rode through” bankruptcy unscathed. It is true that a lien will survive
bankruptcy despite the failure of the holder to file a proof of claim for the related claim. See Hamlett v.
Amsouth Bank (In re Hamlett), 322 F.3d 342 (4th Cir. 2003). Here, however, a proof of claim was filed, and
subsequently disallowed on the Trustee’s objection.

Section 506(d)4 provides as follows:

To the extent that a lien secures a claim against the debtor that is not an allowed secured
claim, such lien is void, unless —
(1) such claim was disallowed only under section 502(b)(5) [unmatured support obligation] or
502(e) [certain claims for reimbursement or contribution] of this title; or
(2) such claim is not an allowed secured claim due only to the failure of any entity to file a
proof of claim under section 501 of this title.

Because PCFS’s claim was “disallowed,” it was not an “allowed secured claim,” and the related lien
was void pursuant to § 506(d). Defendant’s claim was not of the type described in § 506(d)(1), and its claim
was disallowed for reasons other than its failure to file a proof of claim. Thus, when the discharge order was
entered in Debtors’ case, Defendant held a “disallowed” claim and a void lien.
Section 1328 provides in part:

(a) As soon as practicable after completion by the debtor of all payments under the
plan, unless the court approves a written waiver of discharge executed by the debtor after the
order for relief under this chapter, the court shall grant the debtor a discharge of all debts
provided for by the plan or disallowed under section 502 of this title, except any debts —
(1) provided for under section 1322(b)(5) of this title.
****

Defendant argues that Debtors did not file an amended Plan after disallowance of its claim and that
the Plan continued to provide for ongoing payments to Defendant on the long-term debt pursuant to ¶ 4, and
that the Plaintiffs did, in fact, continue to make the ongoing payments to PCFS even after the claim was
disallowed. If follows, argues Defendant, that the debt was not discharged under the exception at §
1328(a)(1).

Defendant’s argument fails for the following reason: The debt was disallowed under section 502 and, as provided by § 1328(a), it was discharged. A “debt” is defined at §101(12) as “liability on a claim.” A “claim” is defined as a “right to payment . . . .” §101(5)(A). Once the claim was disallowed, PCFS no longer had a right to payment and thus no longer had a “claim” or a “debt.” As it no longer possessed a “debt,” it follows that it did not have a “debt[] provided for under section 1322(b)(5),” and cannot use § 1328(a)(1) to except its nonexistent debt from discharge.

[…]

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MORGAN v. HSBC BANK USA | KY Appeals Court Reverses SJ “We note that the particular facts of this case, in particular the sequence of events that unfolded, is troubling”

MORGAN v. HSBC BANK USA | KY Appeals Court Reverses SJ “We note that the particular facts of this case, in particular the sequence of events that unfolded, is troubling”


CHRISTOPHER MORGAN AND SHARON TAKVAM, Appellants,

v.

HSBC BANK USA, NA, Appellee.

No. 2009-CA-000597-MR.

Court of Appeals of Kentucky.

July 29, 2011.

J. Hays Lawson, Louisville, Kentucky, Brief for Appellants.

Kimberlee S. Rohr, Cincinnati, Ohio, Brief for Appellee.

BEFORE: LAMBERT AND MOORE, JUDGES; ISAAC,[1] SENIOR JUDGE.

NOT TO BE PUBLISHED

OPINION

LAMBERT, JUDGE.

Christopher Morgan and Sharon Takvam appeal from the Shelby Circuit Court’s entry of summary judgment in favor of HSBC Bank USA, NA in a foreclosure action. After a careful review of the record and the parties’ briefs, we reverse and remand for proceedings consistent with this opinion.

On August 22, 2005, Morgan and Takvam executed a note in the amount of $101,200.00 to Ownit Mortgage Solutions, Inc. (Ownit). That same day, Morgan and Takvam granted a mortgage to Mortgage Electronic Registration Systems, Inc., (MERS) as nominee for Ownit. The mortgage encumbered the property located at 12233 Mount Eden Road, Mount Eden, Kentucky 40046. After executing the note and mortgage, Morgan and Takvam defaulted on their payments and currently owe for their March 1, 2008, payment. At the time of this appeal, they owed $101,066.87, plus interest at 9.875% per year from February 1, 2008, in addition to court costs, advances, and other charges, including a reasonable attorney fee, as allowed by law.

On July 31, 2008, HSBC Bank USA, National Association, as Trustee for Ownit Mortgage Loan Trust, Mortgage Loan Asset Backed Certificates, Series 2005-5 (HSBC) instituted foreclosure proceedings by filing a complaint against Morgan and Takvam, based on their alleged default under the note and mortgage. In the complaint, HSBC claimed to be the holder of the note on Morgan and Takvam’s home, but stated that a copy of the note was unavailable at the time the complaint was filed. Rather than filing an answer, Morgan[2] moved to dismiss the complaint, arguing that HSBC did not have standing to sue and that the complaint failed to state a claim for which relief may be granted. The basis for Morgan’s motion to dismiss was that HSBC did not attach a copy of the note to its complaint, and thus there was no proof that they had standing to enforce the note.

HSBC responded to the motion to dismiss on September 11, 2008, and in its response attached a copy of an adjustable rate note between Ownit, as lender, and Morgan and Takvam, as borrowers. HSBC was not a party to this note. On August 11, 2008, an assignment of mortgage from Ownit to HSBC dated August 4, 2008, was recorded in Shelby County, Kentucky. While Morgan’s motion to dismiss was still pending, HSBC filed for summary judgment on December 3, 2008. The copy of the note HSBC attached to the motion for summary judgment included an undated “Note Allonge” signed by Richard Williams as Vice President of Litton Loan Servicing, LP and as Attorney in Fact of Ownit. This document purported to negotiate the note to HSBC.

On January 7, 2009, the trial court held a hearing on Morgan’s motion to dismiss and HSBC’s motion for summary judgment. Subsequently, on February 25, 2009, the trial court denied Morgan’s motion to dismiss and entered summary judgment in HSBC’s favor. Morgan filed a timely motion to vacate under Kentucky Rules of Civil Procedure (CR) 59.05 on March 6, 2009, and on March 18, 2009, the trial court orally denied Morgan’s motion and noted the same on the docket sheet.

Morgan filed a notice of appeal on April 2, 2009. On April 8, 2009, this Court, sua sponte, raised the issue of jurisdiction and ordered Morgan to show why the appeal should not be dismissed as being interlocutory because no order appeared in the record denying Morgan’s CR 59.05 motion. After considering Morgan’s response, this Court entered another order on June 8, 2009, ordering that the appeal be held in abeyance for thirty days to allow the circuit court to enter an order in accordance with its March 18, 2009, docket sheet notation overruling Morgan’s motion to vacate.

Although the case was returned to this Court’s active docket automatically at the expiration of that thirty-day period per the Court’s order, the record did not reflect that the trial court ever entered an order denying the motion to vacate. On March 16, 2011, this court again held the matter in abeyance for thirty days to permit the parties to petition the trial court to enter a proper order denying the CR 59.05 motion. On March 31, 2011, the parties tendered an order from the trial court denying the CR 59.05 motion, and this case was returned to our active docket for consideration of the merits on appeal.

On appeal, Morgan raises two arguments; namely, 1) that HSBC was not entitled to a judgment as a matter of law because it did not have authority to enforce the note and 2) that summary judgment was premature because discovery was incomplete and because he did not have time to conduct discovery to determine whether HSBC breached an assumed duty.

In Lewis v. B & R Corp., 56 S.W.3d 432, 436 (Ky. App. 2001), this Court set forth the standard of review in an appeal from the entry of a summary judgment:

The standard of review on appeal when a trial court grants a motion for summary judgment is “whether the trial court correctly found that there were no genuine issues as to any material fact and that the moving party was entitled to judgment as a matter of law.” The trial court must view the evidence in the light most favorable to the nonmoving party, and summary judgment should be granted only if it appears impossible that the nonmoving party will be able to produce evidence at trial warranting a judgment in his favor. The moving party bears the initial burden of showing that no genuine issue of material fact exists, and then the burden shifts to the party opposing summary judgment to present “at least some affirmative evidence showing that there is a genuine issue of material fact for trial.” The trial court “must examine the evidence, not to decide any issue of fact, but to discover if a real issue exists.” While the Court in Steelvest[, Inc. v. Scansteel Service Center, Inc., 807 S.W.2d 476, 480 (Ky. 1991),] used the word “impossible” in describing the strict standard for summary judgment, the Supreme Court later stated that that word was “used in a practical sense, not in an absolute sense.” Because summary judgment involves only legal questions and the existence of any disputed material issues of fact, an appellate court need not defer to the trial court’s decision and will review the issue de novo. [Citations in footnotes omitted.]

Morgan’s first argument addresses whether HSBC was entitled to judgment as a matter of law based upon the argument that HSBC lacked standing to enforce the note. Initially, we note that the particular facts of this case, in particular the sequence of events that unfolded, is troubling. In its complaint, HSBC alleged that it was the holder of the note on Morgan’s home but claimed that a copy of the note was unavailable. Morgan moved to dismiss on grounds that HSBC failed to produce the note and thus had no proof that, as the holder of the note, it was entitled to proceed in foreclosure against Morgan and Takvam.

KRS 355.1-201(2)(u) defines a “holder” as “[t]he person in possession of a negotiable instrument that is payable either to bearer or to an identified person that is the person in possession.” Morgan argues that at the time it filed suit, HSBC was not a holder of the note and accordingly could not enforce the note. In support of this argument, Morgan points out that the note was payable to a specific, identified entity: Ownit. Morgan argues that Ownit could have transferred or negotiated its rights to HSBC by endorsement, which requires a signature by an authorized representative of Ownit in the signator’s official capacity, see KRS 355.3-402, but that it failed to properly do so.

Initially, HSBC produced a note between Ownit, Morgan, and Takvam, and subsequently, at summary judgment stage, produced another note with the aforementioned note allonge purporting to assign the note to HSBC. In its order granting summary judgment, the trial court held that the endorsement in the note allonge by Richard Williams, as president of Litton Loan Servicing LP and attorney- in- fact for Ownit, was sufficient proof that HSBC was a holder of the note. In support of this holding, the trial court explained that as an attorney- in-fact for Ownit, Williams was authorized to transact business for Ownit. However, we find it troubling that when HSBC initially filed suit, a copy of this note was not attached and that later, this undated note allonge purporting to indorse the note to HSBC appeared in the record.

Further, HSBC argues that under KRS 355.3-203(2), it has the power to enforce the note. That statute states that “[t]he transfer of an instrument, whether or not the transfer is a negotiation, vests in the transferee any right of the transferor to enforce the instrument.” The Official comment to Section 203(2) states: “If the transferee is not a holder because the transferor did not indorse; the transferee is nevertheless a person entitled to enforce the instrument under Section 3-301 if the transferor was a holder at the time of transfer.”

Thus, according to HSBC, even if Ownit did not properly indorse the note, as Morgan claims on appeal, it can enforce the note if Ownit was a holder at the time of the transfer, or at the time the note allonge was signed. The difficulty in determining the applicability of the note allonge is the fact that it is not dated, and thus there is nothing in the record to determine whether the transferor, Ownit, was a holder at the time it allegedly transferred its interest in the note to HSBC.

This case is further complicated by the fact that the mortgage was not assigned to HSBC until August 4, 2008, and was subsequently recorded on August 11, 2008. HSBC filed suit on July 31, 2008, and the parties were served on August 2, 2008. Morgan argues that because HSBC did not have possession of the note and the mortgage when it filed suit, and thus had no standing, it cannot cure its lack of standing by subsequently acquiring an interest in the mortgage.

Because this is an issue of first impression in the state of Kentucky, Morgan cites to Wells Fargo Bank, N.A. v. Marchione, 887 N.Y.S.2d 615 (N.Y.A.D. 2 Dept. 2009), in support of this argument. In that case, the parties executed a mortgage with Option One Mortgage Corporation on September 2, 2005. Id. at 616. The parties allegedly failed to make payments beginning on April 1, 2007, and Wells Fargo initiated suit by filing a summons and complaint on November 30, 2007. Id. Option One assigned its “right, title and interest” in the aforementioned mortgage to Wells Fargo in an assignment dated December 4, 2007. Id. The assignment contained a provision stating that it became effective on October 28, 2007. Id. The Appellate Court held that because Wells Fargo did not have an interest in the note and mortgage before they filed suit and only acquired such an interest after filing suit, the bank lacked standing to bring the suit. Id. at 617. Specifically, the trial court held, “[i]n order to commence a foreclosure action, the plaintiff must have a legal or equitable interest in the mortgage. . . . Here, Wells Fargo lacked standing to bring this foreclosure action because it was not the assignee of the mortgage on November 30, 2007, the day the action was commenced.” Id. Ohio also requires that banks have an interest in the mortgage when suit is filed. See Wells Fargo Bank, N.A. v. Byrd, 897 N.E.2d 722 (Ohio App. 1 Dist. 2008) (“bank that was not the mortgagee when suit was filed cannot cure its lack of standing by subsequently obtaining an interest in the mortgage.”).

Because it is impossible to determine from the record when Ownit transferred its interest in the note to HSBC and because the mortgage was not assigned to HSBC until August 4, 2008, after HSBC filed suit against Morgan, we simply cannot say that HSBC had standing to bring the instant action. CR 17.01 provides that “every action shall be prosecuted in the name of the real party in interest, but…an assignee for the benefit of creditors…may bring an action…” It follows that, where a cause of action has been assigned, the assignee becomes the real party in interest. See CR 17.01. However, “[i]n no event may an assignee maintain an action for any part of a claim which has not been assigned to him.” Works v. Winkle, 234 S.W.2d 312, 315 (Ky. App. 1950). A mere expectancy is not enough to establish standing, a party must prove a “present or substantial interest.” Plaza B.V. v. Stephens, 913 S.W2d 319, 322 (Ky. 1996) (quoting Ashland v. Ashland F.O.P. No.3, Inc., 888 S.W.2d 667 (Ky. 1994)). In the instant case, HSBC cannot prove when it obtained a present or substantial interest in the note and it did not receive an interest in the mortgage until after it filed suit. Accordingly, the trial court’s judgment as a matter of law that HSBC had standing to pursue its claims was in error.

For the foregoing reasons, we reverse the Shelby Circuit Court’s summary judgment and remand this matter for further proceedings consistent with this opinion.

ISAAC, SENIOR JUDGE, CONCURS.

MOORE, JUDGE, CONCURS IN RESULT BY SEPARATE OPINION.

Respectfully, I concur with the result that HSBC Bank did not establish that it had standing to file a complaint at the time it commenced this action. Although a bankruptcy action, I agree with the analysis and detailed explanation set forth in In re Veal, ___ B.R. ___, 2011 WL 2304200 (9th Cir. BAP, June 20, 2011) and find it to be persuasive and an excellent explanation relevant to the issue presently before the Court.

[1] Senior Judge Sheila R. Isaac sitting as Special Judge by assignment of the Chief Justice pursuant to Section 110(5)(b) of the Kentucky Constitution and Kentucky Revised Statutes (KRS) 21.580.

[2] We note that while Takvam was named on the Notice of Appeal, she does not appear to have actively participated at the trial court level below, and she has not filed a separate brief on appeal. Thus we refer only to Morgan throughout the opinion.

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Goldman to Sell Litton Loan Servicing to Ocwen Financial for $264 Million

Goldman to Sell Litton Loan Servicing to Ocwen Financial for $264 Million


Just recently it was announced that the NY Fed is probing Goldman Sachs mortgage servicing unit Litton Loan Servicing

BLOOMBERG-

Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (GS) agreed to sell Litton Loan Servicing LP to Ocwen Financial Corp. (OCN) for $263.7 million in cash, ending the New York-based bank’s 3-1/2 year experiment in processing home-loan payments.

In addition to the cash payment, which may be adjusted at closing, Ocwen will pay about $337.4 million to retire some of Litton’s debt, according to a filing by West Palm Beach, Florida-based Ocwen. The sale of Litton comes two months after Goldman Sachs wrote down the value of the mortgage-servicing business by about $200 million.


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NY Fed probing Goldman Sachs mortgage servicing unit Litton Loan Servicing

NY Fed probing Goldman Sachs mortgage servicing unit Litton Loan Servicing


REUTERS

The Federal Reserve Bank of New York is investigating whether Goldman Sachs’ (GS.N) mortgage servicing arm did not conduct proper reviews before denying borrowers the option to lower their payments under a government loan modification programme.

In its quarterly filing with the SEC earlier this month, Goldman said regulators had sought information on the foreclosure and servicing protocols and activities of its mortgage servicing unit Litton Loan Servicing.

“We are in possession of the letter and are conducting an inquiry,” a NY Fed spokesperson told Reuters, referring to a letter from a Litton employee sent to the NY Fed by the Financial Times. A spokesperson for Goldman Sachs declined to comment when contacted by Reuters.


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“FRAUDCLOSURE” Whistleblowers Speak Out Against Loan Modifications That Helped Banks Not Homeowners | Dylan Ratigan

“FRAUDCLOSURE” Whistleblowers Speak Out Against Loan Modifications That Helped Banks Not Homeowners | Dylan Ratigan


NBC’s Lisa Myers introduces us to two industry whistleblowers in the third of her exclusive reports.

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CA BK Court Rejects MERS’ Offer Of An Alternative To The Public Recording System | IN RE: SALAZAR

CA BK Court Rejects MERS’ Offer Of An Alternative To The Public Recording System | IN RE: SALAZAR


“MERS System in not an Alternative to Statutory Foreclosure Law”

[ipaper docId=52898750 access_key=key-2jhywofse98k69c693yd height=600 width=600 /]

Via: FindsenLaw

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Deposition Transcript of Litton Loan Servicing Litigation Manager Christopher Spradling

Deposition Transcript of Litton Loan Servicing Litigation Manager Christopher Spradling


via: Mario Kenny

Excerpts:

Q. Would Litton have reached out to — I’m going to
13 call it MERS in place of Mortgage Electronic
14 Registration Systems. Would Litton have reached out to
15 MERS to execute this assignment?
16 A. Actually, Marti Noriega and Denise Bailey are
17 employed by Litton Loan Servicing. They have authority
18 to sign on behalf of MERS.
19 Q. Does either of those parties have authority to
20 sign on behalf of Accredited Home Lenders?
21 A. No, not to my knowledge.
22 Q. Do you know if Accredited Home Lenders was still
23 in place on the date that this assignment of mortgage
24 was executed?

THE WITNESS: I’m not certain of Accredited
2 Home Lenders’ status at this time.
3 BY MR. KORTE:
4 Q. As of April of 2009, are you aware if Accredited
5 Home Lenders was in bankruptcy?
6 A. I don’t know what their status was.
7 Q. Are there any other assignments of mortgage other
8 than this one as Composite Exhibit C that you’re aware
9 of?
10 A. No.

<SNIP>

Q. Well, is this Allonge a copy of the Allonge; or
3 is this the original Allonge copied with the correct
4 endorsement?
5 A. The only way I could verify that is to see the
6 actual, original note which is on file with the court.
7 Q. Do you know why the Allonges are different from
8 the one that was filed with the complaint and the one
9 that was filed with the court several months later?
10 A. No, I do not.

Continue below to the Depo…

[ipaper docId=51195445 access_key=key-1bsict46c55yuol0q8ge height=600 width=600 /]

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DailyFinance | Why Paperwork Matters: Consider This Mortgage Mess

DailyFinance | Why Paperwork Matters: Consider This Mortgage Mess


D Posted 12:00 PM 01/20/11

Judge Shelley C. Chapman, of the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York, has ordered HSBC and Litton Loan Servicing (a Goldman Sachs subsidiary) to send officers with some juice — and not low-level types — to her Manhattan courtroom on Feb. 10 to explain themselves. More specifically, to explain their failure to provide adequate documentation about a mortgage they claim to own and service. Judge Chapman also ordered the Texas attorney who signed the documents to show up.

At issue is the fact that HSBC (HBC) hasn’t come close to proving it owns the loan, and the documents it has submitted look funny. It also doesn’t appear to have been acting in good faith when it comes to trying to modify the loan (also known as “loss mitigation”). So, the judge wants to talk to people who actually know things and can make decisions.

How Did HSBC Get the Note?

Here’s the story:

[ipaper docId=47202520 access_key=key-vza4t37w3bicrfhw5ga height=600 width=600 /]

© 2010-19 FORECLOSURE FRAUD | by DinSFLA. All rights reserved.



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OHIO COMMON PLEAS COURT DISMISSES DEUTSCHE BANK NATIONAL TRUST FOR LACK OF JURISDICTION

OHIO COMMON PLEAS COURT DISMISSES DEUTSCHE BANK NATIONAL TRUST FOR LACK OF JURISDICTION


Deutsche Bank National Trust Company

v.

Steve M. Feck

Excerpt:

Because Plaintiff failed to establish by preponderance of the evidence that it possessed the Note at the time it filed it’s complaint, the Court concludes that it lacks subject matter jurisdiction to adjudicate the rights of the parties and orders the matter dismissed without prejudice as to it’s re-filing.

Continue below…

[ipaper docId=44549597 access_key=key-1ww169yebt2r1scyb5pf height=600 width=600 /]

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REWIND: “MERS DOUBLE ASSIGNMENT” IN RE MORENO, Bankruptcy Court, D. Massachusetts, Eastern Div. 2010

REWIND: “MERS DOUBLE ASSIGNMENT” IN RE MORENO, Bankruptcy Court, D. Massachusetts, Eastern Div. 2010


In re: SIMEON MORENO, Chapter 13, Debtor

Case No. 08-17715-FJB.

United States Bankruptcy Court, D. Massachusetts, Eastern Division.

May 24, 2010.

MEMORANDUM OF DECISION ON MOTION OF PROPERTY ASSET MANAGEMENT, INC. FOR RELIEF FROM THE AUTOMATIC STAY

FRANK J. BAILEY, Bankruptcy Judge

In the Chapter 13 case of debtor Simeon Moreno, Property Asset Management, Inc. (“PAM”), claiming to be the assignee of a mortgage originally given by the debtor to Mortgage Electronic Registration Systems, Inc. (“MERS”) as nominee for lender GE Money Bank, moved for relief from the automatic stay to foreclose the mortgage. Moreno initially opposed the motion but then withdrew his objection, whereupon the Court granted the relief requested. Months later, at Moreno’s request, the Court vacated the order granting relief from stay and scheduled an evidentiary hearing on the Motion for Relief from Stay for the limited purpose of reconsidering whether PAM had an interest in the mortgage it sought to foreclose and, to that extent, standing to seek relief from stay.[1] Having held the evidentiary hearing and received proposed findings and conclusions, the Court now enters the following findings of fact and conclusions of law.

Findings of Fact and Procedural History

On January 23, 2007, Moreno executed a promissory note in the principal amount of $492,000, payable to lender GE Money Bank. GE subsequently endorsed the note in blank, whereupon possession of the note was transferred through a series of holders and ultimately to Lehman Brothers Holdings, Inc. (“LBHI”), who held the note when PAM filed its Motion for Relief from Stay and continues to hold it now.[2] LBHI, through one of its employees and through LBHI’s attorney, who not coincidentally also is PAM’s attorney in the present matter, produced the original note at the evidentiary hearing. PAM is not now a holder of the note or an entity for whose benefit another has held the note.

To secure the promissory note, Moreno gave a mortgage on the real property at 5 Maple Street, West Roxbury, Massachusetts (the “Property”) to MERS as nominee for GE (the “Mortgage”). The Mortgage specifies that MERS “is a separate corporation that is acting solely as a nominee for [GE] and [GE’s] successors and assigns. MERS is the mortgagee under this security instrument.” The Mortgage further provides that Moreno does hereby mortgage, grant and convey to MERS (solely as nominee for [GE] and [GE’s] successors and assigns) and to the successors and assigns of MERS, with power of sale, the [Property]. . . . Borrower understands and agrees that MERS holds only legal title to the interests granted by Borrower in this Security Instrument, but, if necessary to comply with law or custom, MERS (as nominee for [GE] and [GE’s] successors and assigns) has the right: to exercise any or all of those interests, including, but not limited to, the right to foreclose and sell the Property; and to take any action required of [GE] including, but not limited to, releasing and canceling this Security Instrument.

The Mortgage was duly recorded.

MERS administers an electronic registry to track the transfer of ownership interest and servicing rights in mortgage loans. With respect to certain loans of which its members are the beneficial owners, MERS also serves as mortgagee of record and holds legal title to the mortgages in a nominee capacity. MERS remains the mortgagee of record when beneficial ownership interests or servicing rights are sold from one member of the MERS system to another. When the beneficial interest in a mortgage loan is transferred from one member of the MERS system to another, MERS tracks the transfer through its internal records. When rights are transferred from a member of the MERS system to a non-member, MERS executes and records an assignment from MERS to the non-member.

To facilitate the execution of the assignments from MERS, MERS designates “certifying officers,” who are typically employees of MERS member firms. MERS authorizes these employees, through formal corporate resolutions, to execute assignments on behalf of MERS. On or about January 6, 2005, MERS, through a document entitled Corporate Resolution and issued by its board of directors, authorized Denise Bailey, an employee of Litton Loan Servicing L.P. (“Litton”), a member of MERS, to execute such assignments on behalf of MERS. In the language of the authorizing document (the “MERS Authorization”),[3] Ms. Bailey was authorized to, among other things, “assign the lien of any mortgage loan naming MERS as the mortgagee when the Member [Litton] is also the current promissory note-holder, or if the mortgage loan is registered on the MERS System, is shown [sic] to be registered to the Member”[4]; and Ms. Bailey was further authorized to “take any such actions and execute such documents as may be necessary to fulfill the Member’s servicing obligations to the beneficial owner of such mortgage loan (including mortgage loans that are removed from the MERS System as a result of the transfer thereof to a non-member of MERS).” In each instance, Bailey’s authority to act is dependent on the existence of a specified relationship of Litton, the MERS member for whom she is employed, to the loan in question.

The Moreno loan was entered into the MERS tracking database in the ordinary course of business. Thereafter, MERS tracked the beneficial interest in the loan. The beneficial interest was transferred from G.E. Money Bank to WMC Mortgage Corporation; then, on September 19, 2007, from WMC Mortgage Corporation to Aurora Bank FSB (formerly known as Lehman Brothers Bank FSB), and then, on July 30, 2008, from Aurora Bank FSB to LBHI. Aurora Bank was at all relevant times a wholly-owned subsidiary of LBHI.

With respect to the Moreno Mortgage, MERS remained the mortgagee of record until, on or about April 30, 2008, MERS, acting through Denise Bailey, assigned the Mortgage to PAM. At the time, Aurora Bank FSB was the beneficial owner of the loan. In executing the MERS assignment to PAM, Ms. Bailey purported to be acting under her MERS Authorization.

The MERS Authorization limited Ms. Bailey’s authority to act for MERS to matters with respect to which Litton was involved in at least one of the ways specified in the above-quoted language from the MERS Authorization. There is evidence, and I find, that Aurora Bank FSB had requested that Litton transfer the loan from MERS to PAM in anticipation of foreclosure. However, PAM has adduced no evidence that Litton had any specified connection to this loan at the time it executed this assignment. There is no evidence that Litton was then (or at any time) the servicer of the loan for Aurora Bank or that Litton was registered as servicer of the loan in the MERS system.[5] (PAM does not contend that Litton was the holder of the promissory note or the owner of the beneficial interest in the loan.)

Scott Drosdick, a vice-president of LBHI and witness for PAM at the evidentiary hearing, testified that Aurora Bank’s instruction to Litton to transfer the mortgage to PAM was later “ratified by LBHI.” Drosdick did not explain what he meant by this, precisely how and when this ratification occurred. Absent such evidence and clarification, this testimony is too vague to have any definite meaning; accordingly I give it no weight.

By a master servicing agreement dated February 1, 1999, LBHI engaged Aurora Loan Services, Inc., now known as Aurora Loan Services LLC (“ALS”), as master servicer of certain loans, including eventually the present Moreno loan. In turn, ALS engaged Litton to service certain loans, including eventually this same loan.

After Bailey executed the MERS assignment to PAM, Bailey executed another assignment of the same mortgage from MERS to LBHI. This second assignment was never recorded; nor is there evidence that it was ever delivered by MERS to LBHI.

Moreno filed a petition for relief under Chapter 13 of the Bankruptcy Code on October 13, 2008, commencing the present bankruptcy case. On November 13, 2008, LBHI, acting through its servicer Litton Loan Servicing, LP, filed a proof of claim in this case; the proof of claim asserts a claim, secured by real estate, in the total amount of $530,168.04, the same secured claim as PAM now seeks relief from stay to enforce by foreclosure. On the proof of claim form itself, Litton actually identifies the creditor claimant as simply “Litton,” but on an explanatory document attached to the proof of claim form, Litton states that the claim is filed by “Litton Loan Servicing, LP, as Servicing Agent for Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc.” The proof of claim does not mention PAM or indicate in any way that the mortgage securing the claim is held by anyone other than LBHI.

On March 31, 2009, and at LBHI’s direction, PAM filed the present motion for relief from the automatic stay, seeking relief from the automatic stay to foreclose and to preserve its rights as to a potential deficiency. PAM intends and is obligated to remit the proceeds of the intended foreclosure sale to Aurora Loan Services LLC, as servicer for LBHI. Regarding ownership of the note and Mortgage, PAM stated in the motion only that it was the holder of a mortgage originally given by Moreno to MERS, that the mortgage secured a note given by Moreno to GE, and that MERS had assigned the mortgage to PAM. PAM did not indicate that LBHI was the current holder of the note or that it held the mortgage as nominee for the benefit of LBHI or of any other entity. The motion did not mention LBHI.

Moreno filed a response to the motion, in essence an objection, in which he expressly admitted PAM’s allegation that his prepetition arrearage was $39,442.49 and, by lack of denial, tacitly admitted that Moreno was some four months in arrears on his postpetition payments under the mortgage. By these allegations and admissions, PAM has established that Moreno is in default on his mortgage loan obligations; the Court rejects Moreno’s request for a finding that PAM has not established a default. The response made no issue of PAM’s standing to foreclose or to seek relief from stay and did not dispute PAM’s allegations regarding ownership of the note and Mortgage. In any event, before a hearing was held on the motion, Moreno, through counsel, withdrew his objection. Consequently, on April 28, 2009, and without a hearing or any review of apparent inconsistencies in the bankruptcy record concerning ownership of the mortgage and note, the court granted PAM relief from the automatic stay to foreclose and to preserve its rights as to a potential deficiency.

PAM had not yet foreclosed when, on December 2, 2009 and by new counsel, Moreno filed an adversary complaint against PAM and, with it, a motion for preliminary injunction. The complaint sought among other things (i) an order invalidating the mortgage on account of irregularities in its origination and (ii) a declaration that PAM was not the holder of the mortgage and note. In the motion for preliminary injunction, Moreno asked that the foreclosure be stayed, or that the automatic stay be reimposed, pending disposition of the adversary proceeding. On December 7, 2009, after a hearing on the motion for preliminary injunction, the Court found that the motion was, in part, essentially one to vacate the order granting relief from the automatic stay, vacated that order, and scheduled an evidentiary hearing on the motion for relief. The order specified that the sole issue at the evidentiary hearing would be PAM’s standing to seek relief from the automatic stay, all other issues under 11 U.S.C. § 362(d) being deemed established. After discovery, the evidentiary hearing was held on April 8, 2010, and, with the submission of proposed findings and conclusions, the matter was then taken under advisement.

Discussion

As the party seeking relief from stay to foreclose a mortgage on the debtor’s property, PAM bears the burden of proving that it has authority under applicable state law to foreclose the mortgage in question and, by virtue of that authority, standing to move for relief from the automatic stay to foreclose. PAM contends that it has such authority and standing because, although it does not hold the promissory note that the mortgage secures, it does have title to the mortgage itself; and it holds that title as nominee of and for the benefit of the note holder, LBHI, and is foreclosing for LBHI. In these circumstances, PAM contends, a mortgagee has a right under Massachusetts law to foreclose for the benefit of the note holder and therefore standing to move for relief from stay to foreclose. The Debtor objects, arguing (among other things) that Massachusetts law prohibits foreclosure by one who holds only the mortgage and not the note it secures. I need not address the merits of this and other objections because, even if the theory is a valid one, it requires proof that PAM is the present title holder of the mortgage, and PAM has not carried its burden in this regard.

To show that it presently holds the mortgage, PAM must show a valid assignment of the mortgage from MERS to itself. PAM contends that it holds the mortgage by assignment from MERS. Accordingly, PAM must show that the assignment, which was executed for MERS by Denise Bailey, was within the scope of Bailey’s limited authority to act for MERS.

Ms. Bailey’s authority to act for MERS is defined in the MERS Authorization in seven enumerated paragraphs. In each, Ms. Bailey’s authority to act is dependent on the existence of a specified relationship of Litton, the MERS member by whom she is employed, to the loan in question. PAM has submitted no evidence of the existence of any such relationship. The beneficial owner of the loan at the time of the assignment was Aurora Bank FSB, but there is no evidence that Litton was at the time the servicer of the loan for Aurora Bank FSB or was registered with MERS as such. The Court does not find that Aurora Bank FSB had not retained Litton as its servicer; there is simply no evidence on the issue. But the burden is on PAM to prove that it had, and PAM has not adduced evidence to that effect.

Accordingly, by a separate order, the Court will deny PAM’s motion for relief from the automatic stay without prejudice to renewal upon proper proof.

[1] All other issues were resolved upon entry of the original order granting relief from stay. No cause has been adduced to revisit any but the narrow issue of standing.

[2] Moreno contends that LBHI, which is in bankruptcy proceedings of its own, may have sold its interest in the note through a court-approved sale in its bankruptcy case. However, Moreno does not contend that possession of the note has passed from LBHI to the alleged purchaser (or any nominee of the purchaser), and therefore the alleged possible sale is irrelevant, as possession undisputedly remains in LBHI. In any event, Moreno attempted to establish the fact of the alleged sale by designating certain documents on the docket of the LBHI case and asking the Court to take judicial notice of these and then to find them on its own and to determine from them whether the promissory note in question was among the assets transferred. Having found the alleged sale to be irrelevant, the Court declined to take judicial notice of the bankruptcy documents. However, the proffer also failed for two additional reasons: first, that Moreno did not take a position as to whether a sale did occur, only that the Moreno note may have been among those transferred in the sale; and second, even if the court had taken judicial notice as requested, it remained Moreno’s obligation, which he has not fulfilled, to produce the documents in question and to explain in the first instance how one would conclude from them that the asset in question was among those transferred.

[3] MERS Corporate Resolution, attached to Bailey Affidavit as Exhibit 1.

[4] The grammatical difficulty in this second clause is native to the authorizing document.

[5] The original affidavit of Scott Drosdick includes the following two sentences:

By Master Servicing Agreement dated February 1, 1999, LBHI engaged Aurora Bank FSB (f/k/a Lehman Brothers Bank FSB), to master service, among other things, the Loan [the Moreno loan]. In turn, Aurora Bank FSB engaged Litton pursuant to a Flow Subservicing Agreement dated October 1, 2007, to service the loan.”

By an amendment to the affidavit and in testimony, Drosdick later amended his affidavit to correct this passage by striking Aurora Bank FSB from the first sentence and in its place inserting Aurora Loan Services LLC. Drosdick did not expressly change the second sentence, but that sentence, which begins with the critical words “in turn,” would be nonsensical unless the same substitution—Aurora Loan Services LLC for Aurora Bank FSB—were also made in the second sentence. Therefore, though the second sentence might perhaps be read in isolation as evidence that Litton was servicing the loan for Aurora Bank FSB at the time when Bailey executed the assignment, that sentence cannot credibly be so construed.

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False Statements: R.K. Arnold, Mortgage Electronic Registration Systems

False Statements: R.K. Arnold, Mortgage Electronic Registration Systems


False Statements

R.K. Arnold
Mortgage Electronic Registration Systems

Action Date: November 18, 2010
Location: WASHINGTON, DC

As the many problems (frauds) are exposed regarding documents used by mortgage-backed trusts in foreclosures, some revelations stand out. Literally millions of foreclosures by mortgage-backed trusts hinge on a Mortgage Assignment signed by an officer of Mortgage Electronic Registration Systems (“MERS”) showing that the mortgage in question was transferred to the trust by MERS. The “MERS officer” who signs the Mortgage Assignment is actually most often an employee of a mortgage servicing company that is paid by the trust.

MERS itself has only 50 employees and they are not involved in signing mortgage assignments to trusts. These servicing company employees sign as officers of MERS “as nominee for” a particular mortgage company or bank. They are not employees of the mortgage companies or employees of the original named lender, but their titles on the Mortgage Assignment belie this and typically read: “Linda Green, Vice President, Mortgage Electronic Registration Systems, Inc., as nominee for American Brokers Conduit.”

MERS president R.K. Arnold testified in Senate testimony earlier this week that there are over 20,000 MERS “certifying officers.” To become a MERS certifying officer, a mortgage servicing company employee need only complete an online form and pay $25.00. Because of the concealment of the actual employer on the Mortgage Assignments, it is easy enough for Courts, and homeowners, to believe that they are examining a document prepared by the lender that sold the mortgage to the trust, when, in fact, the signer was a servicing company clerk paid by the trust itself.

The representative of the GRANTOR is, in truth, a paid employee of the GRANTEE. In hundreds of thousands of cases, the authority is, therefore, misrepresented. It is now also coming to light that in tens of thousands of cases, the individuals signing these forms did not even sign their own names. The documents were made to look official because other mortgage servicing company employees signed as witnesses and then all four “signatures” were notarized by yet another mortgage servicing company employee. The titles were false, the signatures were forged, the “witnessing” was a lie, as was the notarization. Despite all of these false statements, the BIGGEST LIE on these documents is that the trust acquired the mortgage on the date stated plainly on the Mortgage Assignment. In truth, no such transfers ever took place as represented by these MERS certifying officers (or their stand-in forgers). The date chosen almost always corresponds not to an actual transfer, but to the date roughly corresponding to the time the loan went into default. The Mortgage Assignment was prepared only to provide “proof” that the trust owned the mortgage. Until courts require Trusts to come forward with actual proof that they acquired the mortgages in question, specifying whom they paid and how much they paid for each such trust-owned mortgage, the actual owner of these mortgages will never be known.

In response to the exposure of the widespread fraud in the securitization process, the American Bankers Association issued a statement essentially saying that Mortgage Assignments were unnecessary. Investors and regulators were told, however, that the trusts owned the mortgages and notes in each pool of mortgages and that valid Assignments of Mortgages had been obtained. Where the proof of ownership put forth by the trusts is a sworn statement by a MERS “certifying officer” who had no knowledge whatsoever of the transactions involved and did not even review documents related to the transactions, such proof of ownership should be deemed worthless by the Courts. Other litigants are not allowed to manufacture their own evidence and offer it as proof at trial – there should be no exception for mortgage-backed trusts.

In particular, where the “MERS Certifying Officer” is actually an employee of the law firm hired to handle the foreclosure, such documents should be stricken and sanctioned. “MERS Certifying Officers” should be the next group required to testify before Congress. Here are the statistics for one Florida county, Palm Beach County, regarding the number of Mortgage Assignments filed by Mortgage Electronic Registration Systems: January, 2009: 1,164; February, 2009: February, 2009: 1,230; March, 2009: March, 2009: 1,113. An examination of just one day’s (March 31, 2009) filed Mortgage Assignments reveals that the signers of these Assignments are the very same mortgage servicing company employees who signed the “no-actual knowledge” Affidavits that triggered the national scrutiny: Jeffrey Stephan from Ally, Erica Johnson-Seck from IndyMac, Crystal Moore from Nationwide Title Clearing, Liquenda Allotey from Lender Processing Services, Denise Bailey from Litton Loan Services, Noriko Colston, Krystal Hall, and other well-known professional signers from the mortgage servicing industry. The most frequent signers from that particular day were two lawyers, associates in the law firm representing the trusts, who signed as Assistant Secretary for Mortgage Electronic Registration Systems.


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BOMBSHELL! FL ATTORNEY HAS 150 BANK ROBO SIGNER DEPOSITIONS AVAILABLE TO STATE & FEDERAL AGENCIES

BOMBSHELL! FL ATTORNEY HAS 150 BANK ROBO SIGNER DEPOSITIONS AVAILABLE TO STATE & FEDERAL AGENCIES


Lawyers Peter Ticktin, left, and Josh Bleil, of The Ticktin Law Group, are shown with depositions from 150 robosigners, alleging that the court documents reveal an industry-wide banking scheme to defraud homeowners, in Deerfield Beach, Fla. Tuesday, Oct. 12, 2010. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky)

Robo-signers: Mortgage experience not necessary

Banks hired hair stylists, teens to process foreclosure documents, workers’ testimony shows

Michelle Conlin, AP Real Estate Writer, On Tuesday October 12, 2010, 9:21 pm EDT

NEW YORK (AP) — In an effort to rush through thousands of home foreclosures since 2007, financial institutions and their mortgage servicing departments hired hair stylists, Walmart floor workers and people who had worked on assembly lines and installed them in “foreclosure expert” jobs with no formal training, a Florida lawyer says.

In depositions released Tuesday, many of those workers testified that they barely knew what a mortgage was. Some couldn’t define the word “affidavit.” Others didn’t know what a complaint was, or even what was meant by personal property. Most troubling, several said they knew they were lying when they signed the foreclosure affidavits and that they agreed with the defense lawyers’ accusations about document fraud.

“The mortgage servicers hired people who would never question authority,” said Peter Ticktin, a Deerfield Beach, Fla., lawyer who is defending 3,000 homeowners in foreclosure cases. As part of his work, Ticktin gathered 150 depositions from bank employees who say they signed foreclosure affidavits without reviewing the documents or ever laying eyes on them — earning them the name “robo-signers.”

The deposed employees worked for the mortgage service divisions of banks such as Bank of America and JP Morgan Chase, as well as for mortgage servicers like Litton Loan Servicing, a division of Goldman Sachs.

Ticktin said he would make the testimony available to state and federal agencies that are investigating financial institutions for allegations of possible mortgage fraud. This comes on the eve of an expected announcement Wednesday from 40 state attorneys general that they will launch a collective probe into the mortgage industry.

“This was an industrywide scheme designed to defraud homeowners,” Ticktin said.

The depositions paint a surreal picture of foreclosure experts who didn’t understand even the most elementary aspects of the mortgage or foreclosure process — even though they were entrusted as the records custodians of homeowners’ loans. In one deposition taken in Houston, a foreclosure supervisor with Litton Loan couldn’t define basic terms like promissory note, mortgagee, lien, receiver, jurisdiction, circuit court, plaintiff’s assignor or defendant. She testified that she didn’t know why a spouse might claim interest in a property, what the required conditions were for a bank to foreclose or who the holder of the mortgage note was. “I don’t know the ins and outs of the loan, I just sign documents,” she said at one point.

Until now, only a handful of depositions from robo-signers have come to light. But the sheer volume of the new depositions will make it more difficult for financial institutions to argue that robo-signing was an aberrant practice in a handful of rogue back offices.

Continue Reading…YAHOO

.

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Posted in assignment of mortgage, florida default law group, foreclosure, foreclosure fraud, foreclosure mills, foreclosures, investigation, Law Offices Of David J. Stern P.A., law offices of Marshall C. Watson pa, MERS, MERSCORP, MORTGAGE ELECTRONIC REGISTRATION SYSTEMS INC., shapiro & fishman pa, STOP FORECLOSURE FRAUDComments (2)

OREGON DISTRICT COURT ISSUES A TRO AGAINST MERS, BofA and LITTON

OREGON DISTRICT COURT ISSUES A TRO AGAINST MERS, BofA and LITTON


IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
DISTRICT OF OREGON
PORTLAND DIVISION

NATACHE D. RINEGARD-GUIRMA, Civil Case No. 10-1065-PK

v.

BANK OF AMERICA, NATIONAL ASSOCIATION
AS SUCCESSOR BY MERGER TO LA SALLE BANK
NATIONAL ASSOCIATION, AS TRUSTEE UNDER
THE POOLING AND SERVICING AGREEMENT
DATED AS OF AUGUST 1, 2006, GSAMP TRUST
2006-HE5, MERS, LITTON LOAN SERVICING LP,
and the ORIGINAL AND PURPORTED SUCCESSOR
TRUSTEES, LSI TITLE COMPANY OF OREGON, LLC,
AND QUALITY LOAN SERVICING CORPORATION
OF WASHINGTON,

Excerpts:

On April 15, 2008, at 4:56 a.m., Marti Noriega, acting as Vice President for “Mortgage Electronic Registration Systems, Inc as nominee in favor of Mortgage Lenders Network USA, Inc.” signed an assignment of the Deed of Trust to LaSalle Bank National Association, as trustee under the Pooling and Servicing Agreement dated as of August 1, 2006, GSAMP Trust 2006-HE5 (“LaSalle Bank National Association”). The assignment was recorded on April 29, 2008. On April 21, 2008, LaSalle Bank National Association, acting through Litton Loan Servicing LP as attorney in fact, appointed LSI Title Company of Oregon, LLC as successor trustee.

The Court, however, is aware of contrary authority. In In re Allman, a case from the United
States Bankruptcy Court for the District of Oregon, the court described MERS as “more akin to that of a straw man than to a party possessing all the rights given a buyer.” Bankr. No. 08-31282-elp7, 2010 WL 3366405, at *10 (Bankr. D. Or. Aug. 24, 2010) (quoting Landmark Nat’l Bank, 289 Kan. at 539). The court considered the meaning of “beneficiary” under Oregon’s trust deed statute as “the person named or otherwise designated in a trust deed as the person for whose benefit the trust deed is given . . . .” ORS 86.705(1). The court then concluded, after examining language of the trust deed that is almost identical to the language contained in the Deed of Trust here, that MERS was not “in any real sense of the word, particularly as defined in ORS 86.705(1), the beneficiary of the trust deed.” Id. Instead, MERS was a nominee and the trust deed was for the benefit of the lender.

Additionally, other courts have held that MERS does not have authority to transfer the note,
even though it has authority to transfer the trust deed. Those courts have noted that when the note and deed of trust are split, the transfer of the deed of trust is ineffective. Bellistri v. Ocwen Loan Servicing, LLC, 284 S.W.3d 619, 623-24 (Mo. Ct. App. 2009) (in spite of deed language purporting to transfer the promissory note, MERS never held the note and the lender never gave

MERS the authority to transfer the note; thus MERS’ transfer of the deed of trust, separate from the note, was ineffective and the successor lender lacked a legally cognizable interest in the property); Saxon Mortg. Serv., Inc. v. Hillery, No. C-08-4357 EMC, 2008 WL 5170180, at *5 (N.D. Cal. Dec. 9, 2008) (same as Bellistri); In re Wilhelm, 407 B.R. 392 (Bankr. D. Idaho 2009) (successor lender had no standing to seek relief from bankruptcy stay and move forward with foreclosure because MERS had no authority to transfer the note).

Oregon cases support the notion that the security, here the Deed of Trust, is “merely an incident to the debt.” West v. White, 307 Or. 296, 300, 766 P.2d 383 (1988); see also U.S. Nat’l Bank of Portland v. Holton, 99 Or. 419, 428, 195 P. 823 (1921) (“The assignment of a mortgage, independent of the debt which it is given to secure, is an unmeaning ceremony.”). Federal courts are bound by pronouncements of the state’s highest court on applicable state law. If the state’s highest court has not decided an issue, and there is no relevant precedent from an intermediate appellate court, the federal court is to predict how the state high court would resolve it. “In assessing how a state’s highest court would resolve a state law question– absent controlling state authority–federal courts look to existing state law without predicting potential changes in that law.” Ticknor v. Choice Hotels International, Inc., 265 F.3d 931, 939 (9th Cir. 2001); see also Ryman v. Sears, Roebuck & Co., 505 F.3d 993, 994 (9th Cir. 2007).

Absent a decision from the Oregon Supreme Court or the Oregon Court of Appeals, and absent further briefing from the parties on this specific issue, I am at least initially persuaded that Rinegard-Guirma has a likelihood of success on the merits.

As for irreparable harm, loss of a home is a grievous injury.

[…]

CONCLUSION

For the foregoing reasons, Rinegard-Guirma’s Motion for a Temporary Restraining Order and Preliminary Injunction (#18) is GRANTED. The defendants are enjoined from foreclosing Rinegard-Guirma’s property described as: Lot 2, Block 16, Highland Park, in the City of Portland,County of Multnomah and State of Oregon, Assessor’s Parcel Number R180361, commonly known as 5731 NE 10th Ave., Portland, OR 97211 until the claims against MERS are resolved.

IT IS SO ORDERED.

Dated this 6th day of October, 2010.
/s/ Garr M. King
Garr M. King
United States District Judge

OREGON DISTRICT COURT ISSUES A TRO AGAINST MERS, BofA and LITTON

[ipaper docId=38984650 access_key=key-1vnd15rz286mn2jjeltw height=600 width=600 /]

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Posted in assignment of mortgage, bank of america, deed of trust, Litton, MERS, MERSCORP, MORTGAGE ELECTRONIC REGISTRATION SYSTEMS INC., TROComments (6)

MERS DOUBLE ASSIGNMENT AMNESIA? Oh MS. BAILEY!! IN RE MORENO, Bankruptcy Court, D. Massachusetts, Eastern Div. 2010

MERS DOUBLE ASSIGNMENT AMNESIA? Oh MS. BAILEY!! IN RE MORENO, Bankruptcy Court, D. Massachusetts, Eastern Div. 2010


In re: SIMEON MORENO, Chapter 13, Debtor

Case No. 08-17715-FJB.

United States Bankruptcy Court, D. Massachusetts, Eastern Division.

May 24, 2010.

MEMORANDUM OF DECISION ON MOTION OF PROPERTY ASSET MANAGEMENT, INC. FOR RELIEF FROM THE AUTOMATIC STAY

FRANK J. BAILEY, Bankruptcy Judge

In the Chapter 13 case of debtor Simeon Moreno, Property Asset Management, Inc. (“PAM”), claiming to be the assignee of a mortgage originally given by the debtor to Mortgage Electronic Registration Systems, Inc. (“MERS”) as nominee for lender GE Money Bank, moved for relief from the automatic stay to foreclose the mortgage. Moreno initially opposed the motion but then withdrew his objection, whereupon the Court granted the relief requested. Months later, at Moreno’s request, the Court vacated the order granting relief from stay and scheduled an evidentiary hearing on the Motion for Relief from Stay for the limited purpose of reconsidering whether PAM had an interest in the mortgage it sought to foreclose and, to that extent, standing to seek relief from stay.[1] Having held the evidentiary hearing and received proposed findings and conclusions, the Court now enters the following findings of fact and conclusions of law.

Findings of Fact and Procedural History

On January 23, 2007, Moreno executed a promissory note in the principal amount of $492,000, payable to lender GE Money Bank. GE subsequently endorsed the note in blank, whereupon possession of the note was transferred through a series of holders and ultimately to Lehman Brothers Holdings, Inc. (“LBHI”), who held the note when PAM filed its Motion for Relief from Stay and continues to hold it now.[2] LBHI, through one of its employees and through LBHI’s attorney, who not coincidentally also is PAM’s attorney in the present matter, produced the original note at the evidentiary hearing. PAM is not now a holder of the note or an entity for whose benefit another has held the note.

To secure the promissory note, Moreno gave a mortgage on the real property at 5 Maple Street, West Roxbury, Massachusetts (the “Property”) to MERS as nominee for GE (the “Mortgage”). The Mortgage specifies that MERS “is a separate corporation that is acting solely as a nominee for [GE] and [GE’s] successors and assigns. MERS is the mortgagee under this security instrument.” The Mortgage further provides that Moreno does hereby mortgage, grant and convey to MERS (solely as nominee for [GE] and [GE’s] successors and assigns) and to the successors and assigns of MERS, with power of sale, the [Property]. . . . Borrower understands and agrees that MERS holds only legal title to the interests granted by Borrower in this Security Instrument, but, if necessary to comply with law or custom, MERS (as nominee for [GE] and [GE’s] successors and assigns) has the right: to exercise any or all of those interests, including, but not limited to, the right to foreclose and sell the Property; and to take any action required of [GE] including, but not limited to, releasing and canceling this Security Instrument.

The Mortgage was duly recorded.

MERS administers an electronic registry to track the transfer of ownership interest and servicing rights in mortgage loans. With respect to certain loans of which its members are the beneficial owners, MERS also serves as mortgagee of record and holds legal title to the mortgages in a nominee capacity. MERS remains the mortgagee of record when beneficial ownership interests or servicing rights are sold from one member of the MERS system to another. When the beneficial interest in a mortgage loan is transferred from one member of the MERS system to another, MERS tracks the transfer through its internal records. When rights are transferred from a member of the MERS system to a non-member, MERS executes and records an assignment from MERS to the non-member.

To facilitate the execution of the assignments from MERS, MERS designates “certifying officers,” who are typically employees of MERS member firms. MERS authorizes these employees, through formal corporate resolutions, to execute assignments on behalf of MERS. On or about January 6, 2005, MERS, through a document entitled Corporate Resolution and issued by its board of directors, authorized Denise Bailey, an employee of Litton Loan Servicing L.P. (“Litton”), a member of MERS, to execute such assignments on behalf of MERS. In the language of the authorizing document (the “MERS Authorization”),[3] Ms. Bailey was authorized to, among other things, “assign the lien of any mortgage loan naming MERS as the mortgagee when the Member [Litton] is also the current promissory note-holder, or if the mortgage loan is registered on the MERS System, is shown [sic] to be registered to the Member”[4]; and Ms. Bailey was further authorized to “take any such actions and execute such documents as may be necessary to fulfill the Member’s servicing obligations to the beneficial owner of such mortgage loan (including mortgage loans that are removed from the MERS System as a result of the transfer thereof to a non-member of MERS).” In each instance, Bailey’s authority to act is dependent on the existence of a specified relationship of Litton, the MERS member for whom she is employed, to the loan in question.

The Moreno loan was entered into the MERS tracking database in the ordinary course of business. Thereafter, MERS tracked the beneficial interest in the loan. The beneficial interest was transferred from G.E. Money Bank to WMC Mortgage Corporation; then, on September 19, 2007, from WMC Mortgage Corporation to Aurora Bank FSB (formerly known as Lehman Brothers Bank FSB), and then, on July 30, 2008, from Aurora Bank FSB to LBHI. Aurora Bank was at all relevant times a wholly-owned subsidiary of LBHI.

With respect to the Moreno Mortgage, MERS remained the mortgagee of record until, on or about April 30, 2008, MERS, acting through Denise Bailey, assigned the Mortgage to PAM. At the time, Aurora Bank FSB was the beneficial owner of the loan. In executing the MERS assignment to PAM, Ms. Bailey purported to be acting under her MERS Authorization.

The MERS Authorization limited Ms. Bailey’s authority to act for MERS to matters with respect to which Litton was involved in at least one of the ways specified in the above-quoted language from the MERS Authorization. There is evidence, and I find, that Aurora Bank FSB had requested that Litton transfer the loan from MERS to PAM in anticipation of foreclosure. However, PAM has adduced no evidence that Litton had any specified connection to this loan at the time it executed this assignment. There is no evidence that Litton was then (or at any time) the servicer of the loan for Aurora Bank or that Litton was registered as servicer of the loan in the MERS system.[5] (PAM does not contend that Litton was the holder of the promissory note or the owner of the beneficial interest in the loan.)

Scott Drosdick, a vice-president of LBHI and witness for PAM at the evidentiary hearing, testified that Aurora Bank’s instruction to Litton to transfer the mortgage to PAM was later “ratified by LBHI.” Drosdick did not explain what he meant by this, precisely how and when this ratification occurred. Absent such evidence and clarification, this testimony is too vague to have any definite meaning; accordingly I give it no weight.

By a master servicing agreement dated February 1, 1999, LBHI engaged Aurora Loan Services, Inc., now known as Aurora Loan Services LLC (“ALS”), as master servicer of certain loans, including eventually the present Moreno loan. In turn, ALS engaged Litton to service certain loans, including eventually this same loan.

After Bailey executed the MERS assignment to PAM, Bailey executed another assignment of the same mortgage from MERS to LBHI. This second assignment was never recorded; nor is there evidence that it was ever delivered by MERS to LBHI.

Moreno filed a petition for relief under Chapter 13 of the Bankruptcy Code on October 13, 2008, commencing the present bankruptcy case. On November 13, 2008, LBHI, acting through its servicer Litton Loan Servicing, LP, filed a proof of claim in this case; the proof of claim asserts a claim, secured by real estate, in the total amount of $530,168.04, the same secured claim as PAM now seeks relief from stay to enforce by foreclosure. On the proof of claim form itself, Litton actually identifies the creditor claimant as simply “Litton,” but on an explanatory document attached to the proof of claim form, Litton states that the claim is filed by “Litton Loan Servicing, LP, as Servicing Agent for Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc.” The proof of claim does not mention PAM or indicate in any way that the mortgage securing the claim is held by anyone other than LBHI.

On March 31, 2009, and at LBHI’s direction, PAM filed the present motion for relief from the automatic stay, seeking relief from the automatic stay to foreclose and to preserve its rights as to a potential deficiency. PAM intends and is obligated to remit the proceeds of the intended foreclosure sale to Aurora Loan Services LLC, as servicer for LBHI. Regarding ownership of the note and Mortgage, PAM stated in the motion only that it was the holder of a mortgage originally given by Moreno to MERS, that the mortgage secured a note given by Moreno to GE, and that MERS had assigned the mortgage to PAM. PAM did not indicate that LBHI was the current holder of the note or that it held the mortgage as nominee for the benefit of LBHI or of any other entity. The motion did not mention LBHI.

Moreno filed a response to the motion, in essence an objection, in which he expressly admitted PAM’s allegation that his prepetition arrearage was $39,442.49 and, by lack of denial, tacitly admitted that Moreno was some four months in arrears on his postpetition payments under the mortgage. By these allegations and admissions, PAM has established that Moreno is in default on his mortgage loan obligations; the Court rejects Moreno’s request for a finding that PAM has not established a default. The response made no issue of PAM’s standing to foreclose or to seek relief from stay and did not dispute PAM’s allegations regarding ownership of the note and Mortgage. In any event, before a hearing was held on the motion, Moreno, through counsel, withdrew his objection. Consequently, on April 28, 2009, and without a hearing or any review of apparent inconsistencies in the bankruptcy record concerning ownership of the mortgage and note, the court granted PAM relief from the automatic stay to foreclose and to preserve its rights as to a potential deficiency.

PAM had not yet foreclosed when, on December 2, 2009 and by new counsel, Moreno filed an adversary complaint against PAM and, with it, a motion for preliminary injunction. The complaint sought among other things (i) an order invalidating the mortgage on account of irregularities in its origination and (ii) a declaration that PAM was not the holder of the mortgage and note. In the motion for preliminary injunction, Moreno asked that the foreclosure be stayed, or that the automatic stay be reimposed, pending disposition of the adversary proceeding. On December 7, 2009, after a hearing on the motion for preliminary injunction, the Court found that the motion was, in part, essentially one to vacate the order granting relief from the automatic stay, vacated that order, and scheduled an evidentiary hearing on the motion for relief. The order specified that the sole issue at the evidentiary hearing would be PAM’s standing to seek relief from the automatic stay, all other issues under 11 U.S.C. § 362(d) being deemed established. After discovery, the evidentiary hearing was held on April 8, 2010, and, with the submission of proposed findings and conclusions, the matter was then taken under advisement.

Discussion

As the party seeking relief from stay to foreclose a mortgage on the debtor’s property, PAM bears the burden of proving that it has authority under applicable state law to foreclose the mortgage in question and, by virtue of that authority, standing to move for relief from the automatic stay to foreclose. PAM contends that it has such authority and standing because, although it does not hold the promissory note that the mortgage secures, it does have title to the mortgage itself; and it holds that title as nominee of and for the benefit of the note holder, LBHI, and is foreclosing for LBHI. In these circumstances, PAM contends, a mortgagee has a right under Massachusetts law to foreclose for the benefit of the note holder and therefore standing to move for relief from stay to foreclose. The Debtor objects, arguing (among other things) that Massachusetts law prohibits foreclosure by one who holds only the mortgage and not the note it secures. I need not address the merits of this and other objections because, even if the theory is a valid one, it requires proof that PAM is the present title holder of the mortgage, and PAM has not carried its burden in this regard.

To show that it presently holds the mortgage, PAM must show a valid assignment of the mortgage from MERS to itself. PAM contends that it holds the mortgage by assignment from MERS. Accordingly, PAM must show that the assignment, which was executed for MERS by Denise Bailey, was within the scope of Bailey’s limited authority to act for MERS.

Ms. Bailey’s authority to act for MERS is defined in the MERS Authorization in seven enumerated paragraphs. In each, Ms. Bailey’s authority to act is dependent on the existence of a specified relationship of Litton, the MERS member by whom she is employed, to the loan in question. PAM has submitted no evidence of the existence of any such relationship. The beneficial owner of the loan at the time of the assignment was Aurora Bank FSB, but there is no evidence that Litton was at the time the servicer of the loan for Aurora Bank FSB or was registered with MERS as such. The Court does not find that Aurora Bank FSB had not retained Litton as its servicer; there is simply no evidence on the issue. But the burden is on PAM to prove that it had, and PAM has not adduced evidence to that effect.

Accordingly, by a separate order, the Court will deny PAM’s motion for relief from the automatic stay without prejudice to renewal upon proper proof.

[1] All other issues were resolved upon entry of the original order granting relief from stay. No cause has been adduced to revisit any but the narrow issue of standing.

[2] Moreno contends that LBHI, which is in bankruptcy proceedings of its own, may have sold its interest in the note through a court-approved sale in its bankruptcy case. However, Moreno does not contend that possession of the note has passed from LBHI to the alleged purchaser (or any nominee of the purchaser), and therefore the alleged possible sale is irrelevant, as possession undisputedly remains in LBHI. In any event, Moreno attempted to establish the fact of the alleged sale by designating certain documents on the docket of the LBHI case and asking the Court to take judicial notice of these and then to find them on its own and to determine from them whether the promissory note in question was among the assets transferred. Having found the alleged sale to be irrelevant, the Court declined to take judicial notice of the bankruptcy documents. However, the proffer also failed for two additional reasons: first, that Moreno did not take a position as to whether a sale did occur, only that the Moreno note may have been among those transferred in the sale; and second, even if the court had taken judicial notice as requested, it remained Moreno’s obligation, which he has not fulfilled, to produce the documents in question and to explain in the first instance how one would conclude from them that the asset in question was among those transferred.

[3] MERS Corporate Resolution, attached to Bailey Affidavit as Exhibit 1.

[4] The grammatical difficulty in this second clause is native to the authorizing document.

[5] The original affidavit of Scott Drosdick includes the following two sentences:

By Master Servicing Agreement dated February 1, 1999, LBHI engaged Aurora Bank FSB (f/k/a Lehman Brothers Bank FSB), to master service, among other things, the Loan [the Moreno loan]. In turn, Aurora Bank FSB engaged Litton pursuant to a Flow Subservicing Agreement dated October 1, 2007, to service the loan.”

By an amendment to the affidavit and in testimony, Drosdick later amended his affidavit to correct this passage by striking Aurora Bank FSB from the first sentence and in its place inserting Aurora Loan Services LLC. Drosdick did not expressly change the second sentence, but that sentence, which begins with the critical words “in turn,” would be nonsensical unless the same substitution—Aurora Loan Services LLC for Aurora Bank FSB—were also made in the second sentence. Therefore, though the second sentence might perhaps be read in isolation as evidence that Litton was servicing the loan for Aurora Bank FSB at the time when Bailey executed the assignment, that sentence cannot credibly be so construed.

Posted in bankruptcy, case, concealment, conspiracy, corruption, foreclosure, foreclosure fraud, forensic loan audit, lehman brothers, MERS, MORTGAGE ELECTRONIC REGISTRATION SYSTEMS INC., Mortgage Foreclosure Fraud, note, reversed court decision, robo signer, robo signersComments (0)


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