Calabasas, CA (PRWEB) May 31, 2011
According to consolidated plaintive litigation lawyer Philip Kramer, the recently announced settlement between the banking business and the government, may just turn out to be much better for homeowners, as extended as the bank is not let off the hook. The settlement, as reported by the LA Occasions (http://www.latimes.com/company/realestate/la-fi-mortgage-deal-20110413,,2152407.story), is component of the consent orders issued by the U.S. Department of the Treasury, Comptroller of the Currency, was announced earlier this month with the nations twenty largest lenders.

“Not every person is happy,” says Philip Kramer. “The bank regulators have been criticized for failing to quit unsafe lending throughout the housing boom and for pre-empting state attempts to rein in predatory lending. The settlement drew instant criticism from customer advocates and members of Congress who mentioned the new measures did not go far enough.”

According to the LA Occasions post, “These consent orders are worse than doing nothing,” stated Alys Cohen, staff attorney for the National Consumer Law Center. “They set the bar so low on some factors and they give the banks carte blanche on others. And they give the look of undertaking anything although providing banks handle of the approach.”

Philip Kramer, an lawyer who has led a series of consolidated plaintive litigation lawsuits alleging several of these practices and more agrees that the settlement doesnt go far sufficient. For me, the most significant problem with the settlement is that it continues the economic sector practice of letting the business police itself, says Kramer. And the remedies suggested are merely inadequate.

According to the La Times Article, the consent orders allow for the following:
The banks will designate a single person for distressed borrowers to contact so they aren’t bounced around from 1 get in touch with center employee to one more.
The banks will put the foreclosure approach on hold if a mortgage has been authorized for a trial modification.
The banks will establish “robust” controls and oversight for the actions of law firms and other individuals hired to support with foreclosures.
The banks will hire outside auditors approved by the regulators to review foreclosure proceedings in 2009 and 2010 and recognize improper foreclosures, violations of state and federal law, and errors, misrepresentations or negligence that triggered economic harm to borrowers.
The banks will compensate borrowers identified to have been harmed financially by bank wrongdoing or negligence, like setting up a process for aggrieved borrowers to make claims for remediation.
This language makes it possible for the bank to create programs and policies. Envision, if you or I committed a series of crimes and then proposed that we would come up with our own restitution program, says Kramer. No criminal charges. No jail time. Fines? Nicely figure it out later. Thats precisely what occurred here. Is it an improvement over what existed ahead of? Yes. Is it sufficient? No, absolutely not.

The LA Times write-up says that according to the consent orders, the 14 largest mortgage servicers agreed to address the troubles with no admitting or denying wrongdoing. The orders also say that fines will be levied later, according to the Federal Reserve, which oversees the parent organizations of ten of the servicers, including Bank of America Corp., Wells Fargo & Co., JPMorgan Chase & Co. and Citigroup Inc.

Philip Kramer hopes that this will be the beginning of actual justice rather than a final resolution. The issue is so massive, says Philip Kramer. You have banks generating faulty loans, loans they knew would blow up and leave property owners and investors in a lot of difficulty. They aggressively sold these loans. They purchased insurance coverage, knowing the loans have been faulty, and then profited once again when the loans failed. Imagine if you were a vehicle dealer and you got a shipment of vehicles with negative brakes. You knew the brakes had been undesirable, and however you aggressively sell those automobiles, and then you take out insurance coverage policies on the drivers who purchased those automobiles so that when they get killed you get even far more cash. Thats what occurred here. The banks need to have a lot much more important penalties.

ABOUT PHILIP KRAMER
PHILIP A. KRAMER is the senior partner of the Law Workplace of Kramer & Kaslow, in Calabasas, California. Kramer & Kaslow is Martindale Hubbell AV rated. Mr. Kramer is a perennial recipient of the prestigious Southern California Super Lawyer award.

Mr. Kramer received his undergraduate degree from Ohio State University and his Juris Doctorate from the Catholic University of America, in Washington, DC. His practice emphasizes commercial litigation and trial advocacy, with a concentration on company litigation, and genuine home matters. He has prosecuted and defended instances for over twenty five years.

Mr. Kramer is a licensed true estate broker and has spent considerable time providing legal services in connection with real estate problems relating to loan modification and loss mitigation, land use and zoning, environmental troubles, easements, building and development, finance, and landlord tenant matters.

Mr. Kramer is admitted to practice prior to all courts in the State of California, the United States Supreme Court and the United States Court of Military Appeals. Mr. Kramer has tried in excess of 200 situations. He has appeared on nationally televised applications regarding pre-trial process and trial method and has appeared as a guest lecturer on subjects ranging from constitutional law to trial practice, and Mr. Kramer often lectures on a broad spectrum of a variety of legal and organization troubles.

Mr. Kramer also serves as a Judge Pro Tem for the Los Angeles Superior Court and as a Mediator.

Mr. Kramer is also a past president of the Los Angeles West Inns of Court, a national organization committed to bringing professionalism and civility back into the legal profession. He also serves on quite a few Boards of Directors and serves as an officer in numerous organizations. For a lot more details contact (818) 224-3900 or check out http://kramer-kaslow.com

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