June 29, 2017

Foreclosure filings, bkoth judicial and non-judicial, continue with no end in sight. The Barnes law Firm together with its network attorneys have recently been retained on new foreclosure cases in New York, New Jersey, Oregon, Washington, Tennessee, and Florida for both trial court and appellate level representation.

Several of these cases involve situations where homeowners attempted to represent themselves, which we have historically cautioned against as foreclosure defense is a complicated area of the law involving issues from contract law, constitutional law, real estate law, and, in securitization cases, securities law as well, in addition to a working knowledge of the applicable procedural rules. A non-attorney who attempts to defend a foreclosure action in this climate is literally stepping into a legal mine field.

We encourage all homeowners who are subject to a foreclosure to seek competent counsel who is familiar with the issues and who practices foreclosure defense on a regular basis. This area of the law is not something one should “dabble” in or attempt to learn over the weekend on the internet.

We wish everyone a happy and safe July 4 holiday.

Jeff Barnes, Esq., www.ForeclosureDefenseNationwide.com

June 20, 2017

The New York foreclosure defense network continues to expand, with additional counsel being added as well as an initial single point of contact for incoming cases.

William Younghans, who is based in Long Island, is the point of contact in terms of inquiry, questions, and requests for assistance as to New York foreclosure cases. He may be contacted by e-mail at [email protected].

We have been working with Mr. Younghans on numerous cases to date, and his assistance has proved to be very valuable to attorneys in our network. His full resume is available upon e-mail request.

Interested persons may also continue to contact the Barnes law Firm by visiting the “Contact Us” link on this website.

Jeff Barnes, Esq., www.ForeclosureDefenseNationwide.com

June 1, 2017

Today, a Deschutes County, Oregon Judge issued a directive to counsel for the homeowner to prepare an Order denying a Motion for Summary Judgment filed by PennyMac Corp. Jeff Barnes, Esq. represents the homeowner and is admitted PHV into the case, working with local Oregon counsel Philip Anderson, Esq. Mr. Barnes prepared the opposition brief and personally argued the case in court in Bend, Oregon  last week.

The case involves an origination by a lender who, somehow, claims to have transferred the loan to Washington Mutual in connection with a loan modification which was entered into less than 8 weeks before WaMu failed and filed for bankruptcy. JPMorgan Chase claimed to have inherited the loan, which it allegedly transferred to PennyMac.

Mr. Barnes filed and argued the sworn deposition testimony of Lawrence Nardi, former mortgage management employee of WaMu, who has testified in a Florida case that there was never any schedule of mortgage loans purchased by JPM from the FDIC in connection with the failure of WaMu and its FDIC Receivership; that Mr. Nardi testified that there were no assignments, allonges, or endorsements as to any Notes; and the fact that JPM had previously filed a Motion for Summary Judgment in a Federal case where it took the position that it was not the successor in interest to WaMu. Thus, the “blank endorsement” theory advanced by PennyMac was shown to have genuine issues of material fact as to who actually is the “PETE” (person entitled to enforce) the Note and Deed of Trust.

Counsel for PennyMac argued that the recent decisions in the Wamsley  and Peper cases from Oregon’s appellate court, which hold that a holder in possession of a Note has the right to enforce it, supported summary judgment. The Judge disagreed. Significantly, neither Wamsley nor Peper have the facts of this case.

The case now proceeds further into discovery and trial absent any settlement.

Jeff Barnes, Esq., www.ForeclosureDefenseNationwide.com

May 18, 2017

The New York homeowner’s representation network has now expanded to include attorney representation in cases in Orange, Dutchess, Rockland, Westchester, and Putnam counties. The network is now positioned to represent homeowners in ten (10) New York counties (those above in addition to Kings, Queens, New York, Nassau, and Suffolk counties). Additional attorneys are being interviewed in the near future as well.

Jeff Barnes, Esq., www.ForeclosureDefenseNationwide.com

May 12, 2017

A New York County (Manhattan) Judge has vacated a summary judgment of foreclosure in a case where the homeowner’s prior counsel, without notice to or consent of the homeowner, withdrew previously filed opposition to the foreclosing party’s motion for summary judgment at the summary judgment hearing. The homeowner is represented by Jeff Barnes, Esq. and local New York counsel John Emefieh, Esq.

The FDN New York network continues to grow through the efforts of Mr. Barnes, New York paralegal William Younghans, and local NY counsel Donna Douglas, Esq. The network now has attorneys who are and will be working with Mr. Barnes in foreclosure cases in Kings (Brooklyn), Queens, New York, Nassau, and Suffolk counties. The network is also in the process of interviewing additional counsel to handle cases in Bronx, Rockland, and Westchester counties as well.

Jeff Barnes, Esq., www.ForeclosureDefenseNationwide.com

April 10, 2017

FDN has now established an attorney network in New York which covers Kings, Queens, New York, and Nassau counties, and its attorneys have been retained to represent homeowners in pending cases in Brooklyn, Manhattan, and Long Island. The network is also in the process of expanding to handle foreclosure cases in Suffolk County (eastern Long Island), and office facilities for meetings have been  established in Brooklyn and Manhattan.

FDN attorneys have also recently been retained in connection with foreclosures in northern New Jersey as well.

Jeff Barnes, Esq., www.ForeclosureDefenseNationwide.com

March 20, 2017

Mr. Barnes has been working over the past several months to assemble a foreclosure defense team in NY in view of the significant number of foreclosures pending and being filed in the 5 boroughs and Nassau County (Long Island). Mr. Barnes has been admitted to the Brooklyn court pro hac vice and will be soon be seeking admission to the courts of Nassau and New York counties, as his work has been filed through local counsel with the matters being scheduled for hearing on April 5 (two hearings in different cases) and May 1, 2017. Mr. Barnes’ Firm was also retained yesterday on another case pending in Nassau County where the Plaintiff has already changed law Firms four (4) times since the case was filed in 2010.

To date, the NY team is comprised of 4 attorneys and a paralegal, and has a midtown Manhattan office address and facilities for meetings. One of the goals is to assemble a team which can handle foreclosure matters throughout the entire state of New York.

Jeff Barnes, Esq., www.ForeclosureDefenseNationwide.com

February 28, 2017

Today, the Foreclosure Department of the Supreme Court of New York, Nassau County, elevated a foreclosure case to a Bad Faith hearing, where the homeowner will request a dismissal with prejudice, attorneys’ fees, and other sanctions against Christiana Trust, who has failed to appear for foreclosure settlement hearings on three occasions and where the borrower has completed three trial modifications, paying in excess of $40,000.00 in trial mod payments. Jeff Barnes, Esq. was recently retained to represent the homeowner, with Donna Douglas, Esq. as local New York counsel.

Mr. Barnes appeared in court in Mineola, New York today in connection with the scheduled settlement hearing and requested relief for Christiana Trust’s bad faith conduct. The case was one of eighty-one (81) foreclosure cases on today’s docket.

New York courts may elevate a case from the foreclosure resolution department to a Bad Faith hearing. Mr. Barnes had provided a letter to the servicer on February 3, 2017 notifying the servicer of the history of the case and of the hearing and demanded a permanent loan modification in view of the three prior completed trial modifications.

Jeff Barnes, Esq., www.ForeclosureDefenseNationwide.com

February 24, 2017

We have had a significant number of requests to make FDSeminars’ April 7, 2017 foreclosure defense seminar available by live streaming (for those who cannot physically attend the seminar), and also by DVD. We are in the process of making this happen.

Attorneys who attend remotely via live streaming or who purchase the DVD will receive the same (8) CLE credits as those who attend in person, as permitted by the applicable state Bar rules for remote attendance or through a DVD. Those who attend remotely via live streaming or who purchase the DVD will receive the same materials as those who attend the seminar in person.

Prices for remote attendance or the DVD will be the same as those for live attendance, which can be found on the website: www.FDSeminars.com.

Jeff Barnes, Esq., www.ForeclosureDefenseNationwide.com

February 21, 2017

FDSeminars has scheduled its next foreclosure defense seminar for Friday, April 7, 2017 at the Westshore International Plaza located at 2202 North Westshore Boulevard, Suite 200, Tampa, Florida 33607. The seminar will begin at 8:30 a.m. and will run to 5:00 p.m.

Attorneys will receive eight (8) CLE credits. Written and electronic materials will be presented to all attendees. Fees are $595.00 for attorneys, $495.00 for paralegals, and $395.00 for others.

The seminar will be presented by Jeff Barnes, Esq. and mortgage fraud and securitization expert Richard Kahn. Registration is available by going to www.FDSeminars.com and clicking the “enroll” link.

The March 3, 23017 seminar scheduled for Miami had to be cancelled as Mr. Barnes has been called to a specially set, court-ordered hearing in Lincoln, Nebraska on that date. The next seminar is scheduled for Friday, May 5, 2017 in Orlando, Florida.

Jeff Barnes, Esq., www.ForeclosureDefenseNationwide.com