IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE DISTRICT OF NEW JERSEY
CHARLES J. and DIANE GILES, and LAURINE SPIVEY, individually and on behalf of all others similarly situated,
Plaintiffs,
v.
PHELAN HALLINAN & SCHMIEG, LLP, PHELAN HALLINAN & SCHMIEG, P.C., LAWRENCE T. PHELAN, FRANCIS S. HALLINAN, DANIEL G. SCHMIEG, ROSEMARIE DIAMOND, FULL SPECTRUM SERVICES, INC., and LAND TITLE SERVICES OF NEW JERSEY, INC., WELLS FARGO & COMPANY, and WELLS FARGO BANK, N.A.
An awful lot of attorneys are in deep trouble, two companies will be destroyed, two more will be deeply damaged and a venture capital firm faces big losses, if the allegations in a lawsuit updated Monday are true.
Jonathan and Darlene Thorne accuse the companies, LPS Default Solutions and Prommis Solutions, and their attorneys of having an illegal and fraudulent business model through which non-attorneys secretly practice law and illegally share legal fees. Because many of these fees are for bankruptcy work and are ultimately paid by the debtor, the suit explains, the business model isn’t just illegal — it’s also a fraud on the bankruptcy court system in violation of the the bankruptcy code, rules and processes.
Although many of the basic allegations have been known since last October, when the original suit was filed, the new complaint contains far more detail about some of the companies involved, particularly Prommis Solutions and its venture capital funder, Great Hill Partners. The suit also adds detail about the time pressure LPS Default Solutions puts on its network attorneys, and how that pressure allegedly feeds document fraud in foreclosure filings, whether in state or bankruptcy court. Given LPS’s dominant market position, those pressures have widespread consequences.
LPS and Great Hill Partners have not returned requests for comment about this case. Prommis Solutions general counsel Richard Volentine says: “Our position is pretty much the same as it’s always been. We think the claims are without merit and will continue to defend ourselves vigorously.”
DALLAS–(BUSINESS WIRE)– Goldfarb Branham LLP is investigating whether certain officers and directors of Lender Processing Services, Inc. (NYSE: LPS) violated state and federal securities laws due to statements the company made about its home foreclosure procedures. Concerned LPS shareholders are urged to contact securities attorney Hamilton Lindley at 877-583-2855 or hlindley@goldfarbbranham.com about their rights and remedies.
“According to a class action complaint, LPS failed to disclose that its DocX subsidiary used ‘robo signers’ to falsify documents and that LPS engaged in improper fee shifting with foreclosure attorneys to hide these deceptive practices,” said securities lawyer Hamilton Lindley. “After a company press release commented on these allegations, LPS stock price plummeted 13 percent.”
Goldfarb Branham LLP lawyers have significant experience representing shareholders and whistleblowers in securities lawsuits nationwide. The firm may be retained without financial obligation or cost to its clients. Lender Processing Services investors who purchased stock before or between July 29, 2009 and October 4, 2010, and continue to hold their shares, should contact the firm at hlindley@goldfarbbranham.com or 877-583-2855 to learn about their rights.
This class action was commenced in the United States District Court for the Middle District of Florida on behalf of purchasers of LPS securities between July 29, 2009 and October 4, 2010 (the “Class Period”).
The Complaint alleges that during the Class Period the Company and certain of its executive officers violated federal securities laws by issuing material misrepresentations to the market concerning the Company’s business, operations and financial performance, thereby artificially inflating the price of LPS securities.
City of St. Clair Shores General Employees Retirement System
v
Lender Processing Services, Inc., Jeffrey S. Carbiener, Lee A. Kennedy, and Francis K. Chan
The complaint alleging violations of the federal securities laws by Lender Processing Services, Inc. and certain of its officers and/or directors. The class action was commenced in the United States District Court for the Middle District of Florida on behalf of purchasers of LPS securities between July 29, 2009 and October 4, 2010 (the “Class Period”) by Robbins Geller Rudman and Dowd LLP.
The standing Chapter 13 Trustee for the Northern District of Mississippi, Locke Barkley, has joined the case on behalf of herself and of all Chapter 13 Trustees in the US.
and also
The filings were amended to add counsel with class action expertise. On the Federal case, in Mississippi, CaseyGerry has joined the case. The head of the firm, David Casey, is a former president of the Association of Trial Lawyers of America. Cases his firm has handled include Exxon Valdez and the California tobacco case. In other words, this is a heavyweight player. On the Kentucky case, McGowan & Hood, a firm which has won major class actions lawsuits, including medical device cases, has signed up.
By RICHARD WILNER NYPost Last Updated: 1:03 AM, May 30, 2010 Posted: 1:03 AM, May 30, 2010
A new gold rush is sweeping the country — only this time the speculators are looking to get fat off the $4 billion home foreclosure industry by promising banks a streamlined and low-cost method to kick folks out of their homes. DinSFLA: Last time I heard the word “speculators” was in the CONDO BOOM!
In the last two years, as the mortgage meltdown intensified, four companies have gone public or filed papers to go public — each looking to get their hands on cash to help grow into a national powerhouse quickly to take advantage of the soft housing market.
Buying shares of these companies is like shorting the housing market — sort of giving the average investor a chance to be a mini-John Paulson, the hedge fund mogul who made billions betting against the housing market in 2007. There were roughly 2.9 million foreclosures in 2009 and there are currently 6 million homeowners 60 days or more delinquent on their mortgage.
The companies — DJSP Enterprises, which saw revenues grow 31 percent last year, Altisource Portfolio Solutions, which reported a 182 percent jump in profits last year, and Lender Processing Services, whose $2.4 billion in revenue was up 29 percent last year — each offer a technology platform that links mortgage lender clients on one end and law firms clients on the other.
A fourth company, Prommis Solutions, which swung to a $7.9 million profit in 2009 from a loss in 2008, recently filed papers to go public.
The four companies profit, in large part, from the high volume of mortgage defaults — collecting fees from banks for each referral and from law firms, which file the foreclosure actions. In fact, the companies warn that a turnaround in the housing market or additional mortgage-modification plans from Washington could chill their profits.
Last week, shares of DJSP Enterprises got slammed, falling 25 percent on Friday, to $6.46, a 52-week low, after the company lowered its guidance for 2010 in the wake of a drop in the number of foreclosures.
It’s a strange, new sector of the housing finance sector, where bad news for America fattens the bottom lines for these companies, and good news for beleaguered homeowners knocks the stuffing — and dollars — from their bottom lines.
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