A Texas jury’s recent decision to award more than $5 million in damages and fees for the fraudulent foreclosure of a single home has put the $25 billion national mortgage settlement into question.
This month, a jury in Houston awarded $5.38 million to a couple on the grounds that Wells Fargo Bank and Carrington Mortgage Services knowingly submitted false documents to force them out of their home. The financial compensation for the homeowners is as follows: $150,000 in financial injuries, $40,000 for mental anguish, $5 million in punitive damages and $190,000 in attorney’s fees.
There have been approximately 6 million foreclosures since the start of the foreclosure crisis in 2008 and many of them were completed with robo-signed, fabricated or fraudulent documents. If we apply the $5.38 million jury award to all of those loans, the potential cost from the foreclosure fraud scandal is closer to $32.28 trillion!
This estimate represents the extreme edge of the financial hit to the industry. But while the settlement did not preclude individual civil suits like this one, it’s obvious that most victims of foreclosure do not have the financial means to go back and forth in court like this family did.
That is where law enforcement must step in and protect the rights of foreclosure victims lacking these type resources. Looking at this verdict, the $25 billion National Mortgage Settlement has been anything but generous as it represents roughly 0.08 percent of the total possible exposure.
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Choosing the right attorney can make the difference between whether or not you can keep your home. A well-qualified Miami foreclosure defense attorney will not only help you keep your home, but they will be able to negotiate a loan that has payments you can afford. Miami foreclosure defense attorney Timothy Kingcade has helped many facing foreclosure alleviate their stress by letting them stay in their homes for at least another year, allowing them to re-organize their lives. If you have any questions on the topic of foreclosure please feel free to contact me at (305) 285-9100. You can also find useful consumer information on the Kingcade & Garcia website at www.miamibankruptcy.com.