A recent ruling in Maryland has thrown out more than 10,000 foreclosure cases managed by GMAC Mortgage, due to affidavits in cases signed by Jeffrey Stephan, the infamous GMAC “robo-signer,” who attested to the authenticity of foreclosure documents without any knowledge about them, as well as signing other false statements.
The University of Maryland Consumer Protection Clinic and Civil Justice, Inc. filed the class action lawsuit, arguing that any case using Jeffrey Stephan as a signer was illegitimate and must be dismissed. In court last Friday, GMAC agreed to dismiss every case in Maryland relying on a Stephan affidavit. They can re-file foreclosure actions on close to 10,000 homes, but only at their own expense, and subject to new Maryland regulations which require mandatory mediation between borrower and lender before moving to foreclosure. Civil Justice and Consumer Protection Clinic also want any cases with affidavits from Xee Moua of Wells Fargo, who has also admitted to robo-signing, thrown out.
Now GMAC has to go back and basically file the entire case all over again, meaning they have to give notice of foreclosure to the borrower, engage the borrower in modification options, and run through the whole process from the beginning. They cannot use the shortcut solution, thanks to the class action suit filed.
To read more on this story, visit:
http://news.firedoglake.com/2011/01/16/10000-gmac-foreclosures-stopped-in-maryland/#
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, P.A. website at www.miamibankruptcy.com.