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