Skip to main content

Bank Of America Ordered To Pay $46M Over Improper Foreclosure

By

Bank of America must pay $46 million for improperly foreclosing on a California couple’s home in 2010. 

U.S. Bankruptcy Court Judge Christopher Klein levied [PDF] the judgement against the bank this week, calling Bank of America’s actions in foreclosing on the couple’s home “heartless” and “brazen.”

In all, Klein ordered the bank to pay $46 million, most of which will be divvied up by law schools and consumer advocate agencies, with the couple receiving about $1 million.

Klein noted in the 107-page ruling that the fine should be enough to spur change with the bank’s mortgage practices, and not be seen as “petty cash or chump change.”

“It is apparent that the engine of Bank of America’s problem in this case is one of corporate culture… not rogue employees betraying an upstanding employer,” Klein added.

The California couple’s problems began in 2008 when they bought a less expensive house in Sacramento than they currently owned.

The couple’s mortgage — $590,000 — was borrowed from a bank that was eventually taken over by Bank of America.

Loan officials had promised the couple they would be able to request lower monthly payments. However, in 2009, Bank of America officials told the couple they could only receive a loan modification if they had missed payments.

“Their sole reason for defaulting, which they did with considerable reluctance was acquiesce in Bank of America’s demand that they default as a precondition for loan modification,” the option states.

After that, “Bank of America started a multi-year ‘dual-tracking’ game of cat-and-mouse,” the ruling states. “With one paw, Bank of America batted the debtors between about 20 loan modification requests or supplements that routinely were either ‘lost’ or declared insufficient, or incomplete.”

By 2010, the couple had filed for bankruptcy, a process that halts foreclosure sales. However, Bank of America improperly took possession of the home, giving the couple a three-day notice.

While the bank later reversed the decision and the couple moved back in, when the couple re-entered the premises, they discovered that major appliances, window coverings, and carpet had been removed.

Additionally, the homeowner’s association had fined the pair $20,000 for dead shrubbery and landscaping.

While the couple was acting in good faith throughout the ordeal — despite medical issues and other expense — Klein found that Bank of America had no intention of acting in good faith.

In a statement to the Wall Street Journal, a rep for Bank of America said the findings were “unprecedented and unsupported,” adding the foreclosure processes have changed since 2010.


by Ashlee Kieler via Consumerist

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Chrysler Deletes Its Dating Apps, Decides To Remain Single For Now

By
They say you can’t have a healthy relationship until you’re happy with yourself. That appears to be the new mantra for Fiat Chrysler: After several attempts to woo General Motors and more recently Volkswagen , the carmaker’s top executive says he plans to ditch his lovelorn ways to concentrate on his company’s bottom line.  Bloomberg reports that CEO Sergio Marchionne has turned his focus to eliminating FCA’s debt rather than eliminating its single status. Marchionne has set a goal of erasing FCA’s debt by 2019, the same year he’s set to retire. To do that, he says the company needs to do a little work on itself. “We need to be very careful that we don’t start unrealistic dreams about consolidation as we are on our way to achieve historically important results and a debt-free position,” Marchionne told investors at the carmaker’s annual meeting in Amsterdam, as reported by Bloomberg. “We are not at a point of time to discuss any alliance.” Yes, you heard that right: The man w...
Post a Comment
Read more

Study Claims 43% Of “Wild” Salmon In Stores & Restaurants Isn’t Wild At All

By
That wild salmon entrée calling to you from the menu at dinner might not be all it’s advertised. In fact a new study released Wednesday found evidence of mislabeling in nearly half of all salmon sold in restaurants and grocery stores.  The study [ PDF ] from international environmental advocacy group, Oceana, analyzed 82 salmon samples from restaurants and grocery stores, finding that 43% of the products were mislabeled. DNA testing confirmed that 69% of the mislabeled product consisted of farmed Atlantic salmon being sold as wild-caught product. According to the report, consumers satisfying their salmon craving in restaurants are misled about 67% of the time, while those who buy their seafood in a grocery store are misled 20% of the time. “Americans might love salmon, but as our study reveals, they may be falling victim to a bait and switch,” Beth Lowell, senior campaign director at Oceana, said . “When consumers opt for wild-caught U.S. salmon, they don’t expect to get a far...
Post a Comment
Read more

Introduction to Biology (IX Biology Notes Chapter 01)

By
Science: Our universe operates under certain principles. For understanding of these principles, the experiments are done and observations are made; on the basis of which logical conclusions are drawn. Such a study is called "Science". In brief science is the knowledge based on experiments and observations. Biology: The Scientific study of living organisms is called Biology. The word biology is derived from two Greek words "bios" meaning life and "logos" meaning thought, discourse, reasoning or study. It means that all aspects of life and every type of living organism are discussed in biology. Branches of Biology: Biology is divided into following branches: Morphology The study of form and structure of living organisms is called morphology. It can be further divided into following two parts: 1. The study of external parts of living organism is called external morphology. 2. The study of internal parts of living organism is calle...
Post a Comment
Read more