September 14, 2011

A Florida Judge has ordered Deutsche Bank, the claimed “trustee” of a securitized mortgage loan trust, to produce numerous securitization documents (including the PSA, Master Purchasing Agreements, Issuer Agreements, Commitment to Guarantee Agreements, Release of Document Agreements, Trustee Agreements, etc.); documents concerning insurance on the securitized mortgage loan; credit default swap documents; servicing agreements; documents as to proof of charges listed on the HUD-1; documents as to the identification of the holder of or investor in any Special Investment Vehicle, Collateralized Mortgage Obligation, Collateralized Debt Obligation, mortgage-backed security, or credit default swap which is collateralized in whole or in part by the mortgage or note; and documents which identify all persons who authorized the filing of the foreclosure action. The ruling was in response to a Motion for Ruling on Discovery Objections and to Compel Documents in a Request for Production. The Motion and discovery were filed by Jeff Barnes, Esq., who represents the homeowner.

Deutsche Bank’s counsel waited ten (10) months before filing a “Response” to the Request for Production, which consisted almost entirely of objections. The Judge also compelled Deutsche Bank’s counsel to file and serve a Privilege Log as to all documents which DB claimed to be “privileged” in any respect.

The ruling represents another milestone for homeowners seeking discovery of securitization documents. For years, we saw the “banks”, servicers, and “trustees” of securitized mortgage loan trusts objecting to these documents on the grounds of “relevance” and “lack of standing”. As those of you who follow this website are aware, recent rulings have not only compelled this discovery and awarded attorneys’ fees and/or dismissed judicial foreclosures when the discovery is not produced, but the “relevance” has been seen by the Horace and Hendricks decisions which granted summary judgment to the homeowners based on matters in the very discovery which has been ordered to be produced in this case. The Horace court also held that the homeowner is a third-party beneficiary of the PSA.

This is the 13th such Order compelling securitization discovery which Mr. Barnes has obtained from courts in different states, including Florida, New Jersey, and Oregon.

Jeff Barnes, Esq., www.ForeclosureDefenseNationwide.com