NJ Foreclosures under Special Oversight

The New Jersey court system has finalized a settlement with six national banks under which a court-appointed "special master" will oversee the servicers' foreclosure activities in the state.


Ally Financial, Bank of America, JPMorgan Chase, Wells Fargo, OneWest Bank and Citibank have agreed to the stipulation, which was filed Friday. The banks must now prove to retired Superior Court Judge Richard J. Williams, the special master, that their foreclosure processes adhere to laws.

The state's judiciary had previously entered an "order to show cause" directed at the six servicers. The order, fallout from the robo-signing ordeal, created a de facto suspension of foreclosure cases, putting tens of thousands of uncontested foreclosures in limbo, court documents say.

The servicers objected to the order on the basis that the court was overstepping its authority and that the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency had exclusive oversight authority of the servicers.

The servicers also provided affidavits attesting that they had strengthened their controls around document execution and notarization irregularities.

"All concerned recognized that an efficient, fully functional, accurate, transparent and normalized foreclosure process is in the interests of the judiciary, New Jersey citizens and communities, the residential housing market and the broader economy," Edward J. Dauber, court-appointed counsel, wrote in a letter brief to Judge Mary C. Jacobson.



SOURCE: New Jersey Judiciary