Calabasas, California (PRWEB) June 19, 2011
The Law Offices of Kramer and Kaslow released comments from lead attorney Philip Kramer regarding the latest Huffington Post article on the findings of the Congressional Oversight Panel. According to the article, the Congressional Oversight Panel, a federal watchdog created to keep tabs on the bailout, says that the “robo-signing of affidavits served to cover up the fact that loan servicers cannot demonstrate the facts required to conduct a lawful foreclosure. In essence, banks may be unable to prove that they own the mortgage loans they claim to own,” the panel said.
The article also quotes Sheila Bair, the chairman of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation. Blair said at a Senate panel last month that “flawed mortgage banking processes have potentially infected millions of foreclosures. The extent of the loss cannot be determined until there is a comprehensive review of the loan files and documentation of the process dealing with problem loans,” she added.
The Huffington Post reports that despite that appraisal, Bair, along with Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner and Shaun Donovan, secretary of Housing and Urban Development, have said they want a quick settlement.
Philip A. Kramer, a Southern California attorney whose law firm Kramer & Kaslow has launched half a dozen consolidated plaintiff litigation suits against banks for such behavior commented. Of course they want to settle this quickly,” said Kramer. “If the wrongdoing by the banks is looked at closely, if it is looked at systemically, I suspect that it may well turns out there are are hundreds of thousands of loans, perhaps millions and that is not an exaggerated number for which the banks simply do not have the proper paperwork to legally foreclose, much less prove ownership.
According to the Huffington Post article, Kramers views are getting some serious support as the Attorneys General of all 50 states look into the matter. The article says that New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman has been particularly aggressive and has targeted Bank of America, the biggest U.S. bank by assets, in a new probe that questions the validity of potentially thousands of mortgage securities and their associated foreclosures, two people familiar with the matter said.
The Huffington Post reports that, The inquiry could prove explosive: Wall Street’s great mortgage securitization machine took millions of home loans and bundled them into securities for sale to investors. If the legal steps that guide securitization — like taking mortgage documents from one party to another, a critical step under New York law — were not undertaken, then the investors who bought the bundled loans could force the companies to buy them back, compelling them to eat enormous losses.
Philip Kramer is quick to point out that there is another conclusion to Schneidermans investigations. If the New York Attorney General finds that those securities aren’t valid financial instruments at all they could take action under state law. They may end up awarding the homes to the borrowers because the banks cannot prove ownership.
More of Philip Kramers comments can be found at the Kramer and Kaslow blog.
ABOUT PHILIP KRAMER
PHILIP A. KRAMER is the senior partner of the Law Office of Kramer & Kaslow, in Calabasas, California. Kramer & Kaslow is Martindale Hubbell AV rated. Mr. Kramer is a perennial recipient of the prestigious Southern California Super Lawyer award.
Mr. Kramer received his undergraduate degree from Ohio State University and his Juris Doctorate from the Catholic University of America, in Washington, DC. His practice emphasizes commercial litigation and trial advocacy, with a concentration on business litigation, and real property matters. He has prosecuted and defended cases for over twenty five years.
Mr. Kramer is a licensed real estate broker and has spent considerable time providing legal services in connection with real estate issues relating to loan modification and loss mitigation, land use and zoning, environmental issues, easements, construction and development, finance, and landlord tenant matters.
Mr. Kramer is admitted to practice before all courts in the State of California, the United States Supreme Court and the United States Court of Military Appeals. Mr. Kramer has tried in excess of 200 cases. He has appeared on nationally televised programs regarding pre-trial procedure and trial strategy and has appeared as a guest lecturer on topics ranging from constitutional law to trial practice, and Mr. Kramer frequently lectures on a broad spectrum of various legal and business issues.
Mr. Kramer also serves as a Judge Pro Tem for the Los Angeles Superior Court and as a Mediator.
Mr. Kramer is also a past president of the Los Angeles West Inns of Court, a national organization dedicated to bringing professionalism and civility back into the legal profession. He also serves on numerous Boards of Directors and serves as an officer in many companies. For more information call (818) 224-3900 or visit http://kramer-kaslow.com
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