September 21, 2014
A New Jersey Chancery Judge has denied final summary judgment to PennyMac Corp. which attempted to foreclose on a WaMu-initiated loan which PennyMac claimed to have inherited by assignment from the FDIC through an interim assignment to PennyMac’s predecessor-in-interest (which is another “PennyMac” entity). The Court also ordered that the homeowner take the depositions of known robo-signer Cynthia Riley and the appropriate witnesses from JPMorgan Chase, PennyMac, and any other witnesses deemed material by the homeowner’s counsel.
Michael Jacobson, Esq., local NJ counsel for the homeowner, argued the matter on the Brief and opposition papers research and drafted by Jeff Barnes, Esq. who was also retained by the homeowner.
As those of you who follow this website know, JPM claimed to have purchased all of WaMu loans and loan commitments from the FDIC pursuant to a Purchase and Assumption Agreement (P&AA) executed on September 25, 2008 (the day WaMu failed and went into FDIC Receivership). As it is also known, there is more than one version of the P&AA, and WaMu went into bankruptcy the next day (on September 26, 2008). Thus, whatever was not “sold” to JPM would have been a part of the WaMu Bankruptcy Estate.
PennyMac claimed that the FDIC assigned the loan to it on September 3, 2013, which was almost 5 years after JPM claims to have purchased the WaMu loans from the FDIC as set forth within the now infamous Affidavit of Robert Schoppe, which JPM has used around the United States in alleged support of its claim to have purchased all WaMu mortgage loans from the FDIC when WaMu failed.
PennyMac attempted to support its summary judgment request with a Certification (form of Affidavit in NJ) from a “Default Specialist” of the servicer who never worked for WaMu, or JPM, or the FDIC, or PennyMac. The Certification did not state the date that PennyMac acquired the loan, and the “screen shot” provided with the Certification (in alleged support of the “acquisition” of the loan) showed “Deutsche Bank Authentication”. The effective date of the “Power of Attorney” post-dates the alleged “acquisition date” in the “screen shot.” Further, the Certification does not contain any information on personal knowledge, and equivocates as to how the information in the “records reviewed” were created.
The Note bears an origination date of 2005, and contains a stamp “signed” by robo-signer Cynthia Riley who testified in a deposition taken in a Florida foreclosure case that she never endorsed any notes or put any endorsement stamps on notes from 2004 through 2006.
In denying PennyMac’s request for final summary judgment, the Judge stated that he was “very intrigued” by these issues, and ordered that the homeowner take the depositions of Cynthia Riley, the appropriate person(s) from JPM, and any other depositions necessary (which would include the depositions of those from the FDIC and the two PennyMac entities involved with the alleged “transfer”).
This ruling now permits a homeowner to inquire, under oath, of those witnesses who were involved with what JPM allegedly purchased from the FDIC; what, if anything, the FDIC retained following the September 25, 2008 P&AA; and into the issues as to how a loan which JPM has told the world was part of its acquisition from the FDIC was somehow “assigned” to PennyMac Corp.’s predecessor-in-interest 5 years after the alleged JPM acquisition and then assigned to PennyMac Corp. or otherwise transferred by a claimed “endorsement” which the alleged signer thereof stated under oath she did not place on the Note and did not sign.
This should be very interesting.
Jeff Barnes, Esq., www.ForeclosureDefenseNationwide.com