In a letter sent to Ohio judges, Ohio Attorney General Richard Cordray has requested the state courts to make a special review of all foreclosure cases that involve GMAC Mortgage. The letter was sent in response to recent reports of questionable affidavit procedures by the large loan servicer. It appears that affidavits were being signed en masse, and that those signing them were attesting to having personal knowledge about matters that they in fact knew little or nothing about.
"Many Ohioans are struggling to remain in their homes and are in absolutely desperate situations," said Attorney General Cordray. "It is critical that all involved in the foreclosure process recognize the dire circumstances of these Ohioans and protect the integrity of the system through careful vigilance. It is with this in mind that I request courts throughout the state to monitor these cases which may be the result of questionable practices."
In the letter, Cordray cites a recent news release from GMAC acknowledging "a potential issue that was raised in a number of existing foreclosures challenging the internal procedure," and several media reports including articles by The Washington Post and The New York Times that question the validity of GMAC affidavit procedures that are used in foreclosures.
In July 2009, Cordray was the first attorney general in the nation to file a lawsuit against a loan servicer for violations of the state's consumer laws. His office currently has cases pending against three loan servicers: Carrington Mortgage Services LLC, American Home Mortgage Services Inc. and Barclays Capital Real Estate d/b/a HomEq Servicing. Earlier this month, a Montgomery County Common Pleas judge affirmed Cordray's case against HomeEq by overruling the defendant's motion to dismiss, which has cleared the way for Cordray's case to move forward.
Attorney General Cordray's letter to the judges in Ohio is available here.
For more information, visit www.ohioattorneygeneral.gov.
