Lawsuit seeks halt of ME foreclosure sales
The plaintiffs in a class-action lawsuit against GMAC Mortgage Co. are seeking to suspend foreclosure sales and evictions of Maine homes whose mortgages are owned by the lending giant, following highly publicized allegations that the company mishandled foreclosure paperwork across the nation.
The lawyers representing the six plaintiffs filed a motion last week in U.S. District Court in Portland for a temporary restraining order against GMAC, arguing their clients should remain in their homes until investigations into GMAC's foreclosure practices are completed, according to the Portland Press Herald. Attorneys general in all 50 states have launched inquiries into mismanagement by mortgage companies, including GMAC, JP Morgan and Bank of America, and GMAC stalled foreclosure sales and evictions in 23 states to review its processes. GMAC has initiated 1,156 foreclosure actions in Maine since 2005, but no data is available on how many of those cases are still open or nearing a sale, according to the paper.
The lawyers argued that any homeowner facing a foreclosure initiated by GMAC in the last six years and whose paperwork was not processed in compliance with state law should be able to seek damages in the class-action suit, including fees charged by GMAC to bring foreclosure action against them and other punitive damages, according to the paper. The suit also seeks to require GMAC to permanently modify its foreclosure practices in Maine. At issue is a GMAC employee's admission that he signed more than 10,000 foreclosure documents a month without verifying the information, a practice dubbed "robo-signing."
A hearing on the temporary restraining order could be scheduled as early as this week, according to the paper.
Go to the article from the Portland Press Herald >>
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