WSJJuly 26, 2008; Page A3
A cadre of state-court judges scrutinizing foreclosure actions in a string of recent rulings have discovered flaws in documents that borrowers may be able to use to keep their homes.
The rulings show the critical role that judges are beginning to play as foreclosures mount in the most severe housing crisis since the Great Depression. The recent decisions build upon widely circulated opinions issued last fall by federal judges in Ohio who found trusts that hold the mortgages regularly begin foreclosure proceedings before they obtain the legal right to do so.
WSJ Law Blog
July 25, 2008
Subprime Legal: Judges Scrutinize Mortgage Docs, Deny Foreclosures
It’s been about nine months since several federal judges in Ohio issued the widely-read foreclosure dismissals that shined a light on sloppy paperwork done by companies that specialize in handling foreclosures.
Since then, the WSJ reports tonight, other judges across the country have caught on and are carefully scrutinizing mortgage documents filed as part of foreclosures and dismissing cases based on mistakes they’re finding, which borrowers might be able to exploit when facing foreclosure. (For another good read on judges and lawyers working to staunch foreclosure, click here for a recent NLJ story.)
