\o/

Foreclosure crisis: Fed-up judges crack down disorder in the courts

Angry and exasperated by faulty foreclosure documents, judges throughout Florida are hitting back by increasingly dismissing cases and boldly accusing lawyers of "fraud upon the court."

A Palm Beach Post review of cases in state and appellate courts found judges are routinely dismissing cases for questionable paperwork. Although in most cases the bank is allowed to refile the case with the appropriate documents, in a growing number of cases judges are awarding homeowners their homes free and clear after finding fraud upon the court.

In February, Miami-Dade County Circuit Judge Maxine Cohen Lando took one of the largest foreclosure law firms in the state to task in a public hearing meant to send a message. She called Marc A. Ben-Ezra, founding partner of Ben-Ezra & Katz P.A., before her to explain discrepancies in a case handled by an attorney in his Fort Lauderdale-based firm.

"This case should have never been filed," said Lando, who referred to the firm's work on the case as "shoddy" and "grossly incompetent." She called Ben-Ezra a "robot" who filed whatever the banks sent him, and held him in contempt of court. She then gave the homeowner the home - free and clear - and barred the lender from refiling the foreclosure.

OMG, it's like Christmas

SEC readies civil charges against Wachovia: report

The U.S. securities regulator is preparing to bring civil charges against Wachovia Corp, a unit of Wells Fargo & Co, for allegedly overpricing mortgage bond deals, the Wall Street Journal said, citing people familiar with the matter.

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has focused on the money Wachovia charged investors for collateralized debt obligations (CDOs), a type of security created by packaging mortgages, the Journal said, citing people familiar with the matter.

SEC officials believe the bank applied excessive markups that did not reflect the diminishing value of the underlying loans, the WSJ said.

Also, further to my prior post, Mortgage paperwork mess: the next housing shock?

If there was a question about whether we're headed for a second housing shock, that was settled last week with news that home prices have fallen a sixth consecutive month. Values are nearly back to levels of the Great Recession. One thing weighing on the economy is the huge number of foreclosed houses.

Many are stuck on the market for a reason you wouldn't expect: banks can't find the ownership documents.

It's not new news, but there are some new individual horror stories.

Wait - I'm still in the regular universe, right?

Rich Are Targeted in IRS Audit Offensive

Report to Detail Subprime Underside

Keep your government hands off my Medicare?

Wish granted.

This one's for Danegen

Former Banker, Man Who Introduced ‘Lesbian Vampire Killers’ The World Sued For $9.2 Billion

Up until 2009, Glen Stewart was the CEO of The International Banking Corp. The bank failed that year and while other chief executives might’ve spent a lot of timing moping around the house, wondering if they’d ever get a job in this industry again, Stewart probably remained in high-spirits, knowing that he had a fallback career in the movie-making biz, having produced ‘Lesbian Vampire Killers’ just a few months prior. Unfortunately, if there are plans to release the entire trilogy, they’ll have to be put on hold, as Stewart now must deal with the lawsuit filed against him last week by Ahmed Hamad Algosaibi & Bros, who claim the banker/auteur a) fraudulently obtained loans and b) was running a fake bank.

Because I know danegen's a fan.

Fic rec, fic just for me!

kate_lear just wrote me the most amazing BBC Sherlock Sherlock/John story for the waltzmatildah Queensland auction, with this wonderful insight into Sherlock as his relationship with John slowly develops. The whole thing is just absolutely gorgeous and sweet and romantic and hot as hell - with a bonus adorable Lestrade - and you should go over and read it immediately.