Monthly Archives:: December 2012

Mortgagee Lacks Standing to Challenge Assignments in Texas

Posted by & filed under 2012, Downstream litigation, Note ownership litigation, Texas.

Bridges v. JP Morgan Chase Bank, N.A., et al., No. A-12-CA-635-SS (W.D. Tex Sept. 21, 2012), is a recently decided federal district court decision in Texas. The Western District Court in Austin granted the defendant’s motion to dismiss the plaintiff’s suit. The plaintiff, Bridges, is suing a number of financial entities including Chase Bank and MERS…. Read more »

District Court of Arizona finds homeowners do not have standing to challenge validity of assignments of deed of trust

Posted by & filed under Arizona, Downstream litigation, MERS/Bank has standing.

In Campbell v. California Reconveyance Co., CV-11-00180-PHX-DGC, 2012 WL 5299099 (D. Ariz. Oct. 25, 2012), the court denied plaintiffs/homeowners, David & Marie Campbells’ motion for summary judgment, finding they lacked standing. In July, 2006, plaintiffs received a loan from First Magnus Financial Corp, and signed a promissory note for $417,000 and a deed of trust…. Read more »

SEC To Focus on Structured Finance Ratings

Posted by & filed under Rating agencies, Regulation.

A SEC staff study looks at three ways to reform the manner in which ratings are produced for structured finance securities. The study, required by Dodd-Frank, addresses (1) The credit rating process for structured finance products and the conflicts of interest associated with the issuer-pay and the subscriber-pay models; (2) The feasibility of establishing a… Read more »

9th Circuit Affirms Dismissal of Homeowner’s Challenges to Non-judicial Foreclosure in Arizona

Posted by & filed under Arizona, Downstream litigation, MERS/Bank has standing.

In Buchna v. Bank of Am., NA, 478 F. App’x 425 (9th Cir. 2012), the court affirmed the District Court of Arizona’s dismissal of plaintiffs/homeowners Mariusz and Julita Buchna’s action against Bank of America, MERS, and Bank of New York Melon Corp. Amongst other allegations challenging the propriety of the foreclosure proceedings, the court found the… Read more »

NCUA Sues JP Morgan over MBS Representations

Posted by & filed under Government lawsuits, Upstream litigation.

The National Credit Union Administration has sued J.P. Morgan Securities and Bear, Stearns & Co. for alleged securities laws violations relating to the sale of mortgage-backed securities to 4 credit unions that are now in NCUA conservatorship.  According to the complaint, Bear Stearns (now owned by JPMorgan) made misrepresentations to the purchasing credit unions as… Read more »

Levitin and Wachter’s New History of American Housing Finance

Posted by & filed under Federal Housing Administration, Federal Housing Finance Agency, Regulation.

Adam Levitin and Susan Wachter have released a very interesting paper on The Public Option in Housing Finance.  The paper provides a history of the development of the housing finance infrastructure in the United States.  It concludes that [t]he experience of the U.S. housing finance market teaches us that public options can only succeed as… Read more »