Cooper v. WPD Polar Ridge, LLC (In re Poplar Ridge, LLC), 526 B.R. 147 (W.D. N.C. 2015) –

After a developer defaulted, the trustee under a deed of trust held a pre-petition foreclosure sale.  The issue was whether the developer debtor’s “declarant rights” were included in the property that was transferred in the sale.  The bankruptcy trustee contended that the rights should not have been transferred and sought to set aside the conveyance.

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This is not a legal opinion on your case. It is general information only. Consult an attorney before you make any decisions.

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Hat tip to Ken McLeod

see Goodin v Bank of America NA

I think this case decision should be studied. While it is easy to be dismissive of emotional distress damages, this case clearly enunciates the basis for it. I think we tend to demote the claim because of the underlying bias that the borrower has been getting a “free ride.” This case states quite clearly that the ride was neither wanted nor free.Perhaps just as importantly, the Court finds that punitive damages are appropriate in order to get the attention of Bank of America — such that it will stop it’s malevolent behavior. It sets the bar at deterring the bank from this…

From the Intercept:

After failing to criminally prosecute any of the financial firms responsible for the market collapse in 2008, former Attorney General Eric Holder is returning to Covington & Burling, a corporate law firm known for serving Wall Street clients.

The move completes one of the more troubling trips through the revolving door for a cabinet secretary. Holder worked at Covington from 2001 right up to being sworn in as attorney general in Feburary 2009. And Covington literally kept an office empty for him, awaiting his return.

The Covington & Burling client list has included four of the largest banks, including Bank of America, Citigroup, JPMorgan Chase and Wells Fargo.

Covington was also deeply involved with a company known as MERS, which was later responsible for falsifying mortgage documents on an industrial scale. “Court records show that Covington, in the late 1990s, provided legal opinion letters needed to create MERS on behalf…

When C&B kept Holder’s office open while AG, did this violate 18 USC 208, an “arrangement concerning prospective employment”? @ddayen

— Bartlett Naylor (@BartNaylor) July 7, 2015

And interesting tweets:

2008 Presidential candidate McCain introduces Glass-Steagall reform, also supported by D candidates Sanders, O’Malley http://t.co/Y7VI3McOW8

— Bartlett Naylor (@BartNaylor) July 7, 2015  

Sen. McCain: “A culture of dangerous greed and excessive risk-taking has taken root in the banking world.” Calls for new Glass-Steagall. — Bartlett Naylor (@BartNaylor) July 7, 2015

Bartlett Naylor

@BartNaylor

Financial policy advocate, Public Citizen, Opinions expressed are not necessarily official. Formerly chief of investigations, U.S. Senate Banking Committee.

Cutler joined JPMorgan in 2007 from the law firm of WilmerHale in DC where he was a partner and head of the securities department. Prior to that, he was the director the Securities and Exchange Commission’s enforcement division from 2001 until 2005. During his tenure at the SEC, he oversaw the investigations of Enron and WorldCom. Before joining the SEC in 1999, he spent 11 years at Wilmer, Cutler & Pickering in D.C.

He graduated from Yale Law where he was the editor of the Yale Law Journal. He also finished his undergraduate bachelor’s degree (summa cum laude) at Yale.

Here’s JPMorgan’s press release:

JPMorgan Chase (NYSE: JPM) announced today that Stacey Friedman, General Counsel of the company’s Corporate & Investment Bank, will succeed Steve Cutler as General Counsel of the firm early next year, when Mr. Cutler will be appointed Vice Chairman of the firm. Ms. Friedman will report…

The Obama administration quietly handed a victory to U.S. companies that avoid taxes by claiming a foreign address, suggesting that virtually all of them are still eligible for government contracts.

The Department of Homeland Security last year endorsed a legal memorandum that argued in part that a 2002 law banning such companies from federal contracts was invalid, according to a copy of the memo obtained by Bloomberg News. Although President Barack Obama later began publicly criticizing the tax maneuvers known as inversions, there’s no sign that he has reversed the department’s decision.

The March 2013 memo was submitted to Homeland Security by one of the country’s largest inverted companies, the manufacturer Ingersoll-Rand Plc. The company argued in part that U.S. trade agreements with foreign governments invalidated the law that would prohibit it from winning federal contracts.

Read on.

The 900-lawyer firm celebrates a homecoming this week as Holder, the nation’s first black attorney general, rejoins the firm as a white-collar partner. Covington plans to announce the news Monday, and his official start date will be in September.

“This is home for me,” Holder said. Margaret Richardson, his former chief of staff, also is joining the firm as an of counsel.

Holder, 64, left the U.S. Department of Justice in April after serving for six years. Before that, he had been a partner at Covington from 2001 to January 2009.

Practice plans

Holder told The National Law Journal in an interview that he planned to work on a mix of projects at Covington, from pro bono and access-to-justice issues, to counseling former and new clients on strategy and litigation.

“I would describe my work as being kind of at the intersection of business, law, public policy, international relations,” Holder…

Gov. Maggie Hassan has signed legislation that forces banks to mail foreclosure notices 45 days before scheduled auctions – nearly twice the number of days than is currently required in the state.

Loan providers are currently required to send notices 25 days before a sale, which is 12 days fewer than homeowners have under federal law to apply for a loan modification.

Lawmakers have been debating the extension for months. Proponents, who initially pushed for a 65-day notice, claim it will align the state with new federal guidelines announced last year through an effort to increase protections on struggling households.

Read on.

Valbuena v. Ocwen Loan Servicing

Court: California Court of Appeal Docket: B256378 Opinion Date: June 19, 2015
Areas of Law: Banking, Real Estate & Property Law
Plaintiffs filed suit against Ocwen after their lender’s purchase of their residence at a nonjudicial foreclosure sale, alleging that Ocwen violated Civil Code section 2923.6, the prohibition on “dual tracking” contained in the Homeowners Bill of Rights, when it conducted a foreclosure sale of plaintiffs’ property while their loan modification application was pending. The trial court sustained Ocwen’s demurrer. However, the court concluded that by alleging the submission of the loan modification application three days after receipt of the Offer Letter, and the transmittal of the additional documents requested by Ocwen on the date of request, plaintiffs have sufficiently alleged that a complete loan modification application was pending at the time Ocwen foreclosed on their home in violation of section 2923.6. Accordingly, the court…