Search Results

From cbs2chicago.com:

Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan on Monday announced an $8.7 billion settlement in a predatory lending lawsuit her office filed against mortgage lender Countrywide.

Madigan and California Attorney General Jerry Brown led the national settlement, in which nine other states also joined, according to a news release from Madigan’s office.

Read the Rest…

From Legal News Line:

First came the class-action lawsuit, followed by state attorneys general using the power of their office in connection with private plaintiff lawyers to pursue such lawsuits. Millions of dollars from ensuring settlements poured into state coffers.

Now, many say it’s time for reform.

But trial lawyers, bar associations and many of the attorneys general say there is nothing to reform, that those multi-million — or in some cases multi-billion — dollar lawsuits are an act of reform itself.

When an attorney general sues a drug maker or mortgage company or even a software giant, they say they do so to reform those businesses that have made their billions in unethical or fraudulent ways.

Paying millions to settle huge lawsuits has a way of getting a major corporation’s attention.

Read the Rest…

Another story about rampaging telemarketers, the bounties on their heads, running afoul of the telemarketing laws in the quaker state.  From Indiana Gazette Online:

he Pennsylvania attorney general’s office said Tuesday it has sued a Baltimore-based telemarketer over what authorities allege is the biggest single violation of the state’s “Do Not Call” law since it took effect in 2002.

The firm, Direct Leadsource, used a telephone center in Gujarat, India, to call 519,000 Pennsylvania consumers whose numbers were supposedly off-limits to most telemarketers, officials said. The calls were made during a six-month period last year as part of a campaign to market mortgage loans, officials said.

Authorities said the firm, which operated under the names Applied Financial and Financial Awards Center, is not licensed to sell such loans in Pennsylvania or registered as a telemarketer in the state.

Read the Rest…

From the AP:

West Virginia’s attorney general accuses a national mortgage lender of making risky and unconscionable loans in a lawsuit that’s similar to challenges filed in several other states.

In the lawsuit, filed Tuesday, Attorney General Darrell McGraw asks a county circuit judge to stop Countrywide Financial Corp. and four subsidiaries from foreclosing on loans, using “unfair and deceptive” practices and enforcing delinquency judgments.
McGraw accuses the Calabasas, Cal.-based companies of luring customers with teaser rates that rise to unaffordable rates of up to 18 percent. He also claims the companies enticed customers with no-down payment loans and inflated appraisals.

Read the Rest…

From rrstar.com:

Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan filed a lawsuit against the nation’s largest mortgage lender Wednesday, claiming it marketed “toxic products” to thousands of unsuspecting home buyers to boost its fortunes on Wall Street.

The civil suit against the embattled Countrywide Financial seeks restitution for the subprime lending practices widely blamed for starting the nation’s housing crisis.

“Countrywide pushed to sell more and more loans, clearly without regard to the borrower’s ability to make their payments,” Madigan said. “Much of this comes from Countrywide’s greed and their desire to dominate the marketplace. Unfortunately, this came at a very steep price for homeowners.”

The company also was sued Wednesday by California’s attorney general, the same day shareholders approved the lender’s takeover by Bank of America Corp.

Both lawsuits name Chairman and CEO Angelo Mozilo as a defendant.

A spokesman for the Calabasas, Calif.-based company did not immediately return messages from The Associated Press seeking comment.

Read the Rest…

Wow – that’s a big time ouch. From Freep.com:

The subprime slop at Bear Stearns Cos. — the investment bank that crumbled in the spring after bad bets on high-risk mortgages — cost Michigan real money.

Michigan’s state pension funds lost more than $62 million on Bear Stearns stock from Dec. 14, 2006, through March 14, according to state officials.

And Michigan is hoping to take the lead role in an effort to recoup losses for individual and institutional investors who join a pending class action against Bear Stearns. Attorneys estimate damages for the group at several billion dollars.

The lawsuit alleges that Bear Stearns and individual defendants broke securities laws by misleading investors about the firm’s exposure to subprime mortgages from Dec. 14, 2006, through March 14.

The Bear Stearns fiasco was one of the more drama-filled developments of the credit crunch.

Over one weekend in March, the Federal Reserve worked to engineer a deal in which Bear Stearns would be sold for a price of just $2 a share — a shocking fire sale, as the stock had closed at $30 a share the previous Friday.

Read the Rest…

From the Deseret News:

A national community advocacy group fighting the current foreclosure crisis gave Utah Attorney General Mark Shurtleff an “A” grade for his office’s efforts to fight mortgage fraud and aid Utah homeowners in trouble.

The 38-year-old grass-roots organization ACORN conducted a study through its financial justice center that evaluated all 51 attorneys general. The A.G.s were awarded points based on their responses to a questionnaire that explored policy issues regarding the mortgage service industry, predatory lending and state help for distressed homeowners. Shurtleff was one of 18 state attorneys general who earned A’s, and one of only two Republicans in that group.

“I am honored to be one of the few attorneys general to receive an A from ACORN for my office’s efforts to protect the citizens of Utah from mortgage fraudsters, unscrupulous brokers and predatory lenders,” Shurtleff said. “We will continue to investigate, prosecute and sue anyone who tries to harm Utah homeowners.”

Read the Rest…