3rd DCA Rules Against Citibank

Jade Winds Association, Inc. v Citibank, N.A.






Case No. 3D11-275 (FL Dist. 3 Ct. App., May. 4, 2011)

The appellant, Jade Winds Association, Inc. (“Jade Winds”), a condominium association, appeals from a non-final order issued by the Presiding Judge of the Foreclosure Master Calendar Court Unit (“Foreclosure Master Calendar”), granting Citibank, N.A.’s (“Citibank”) motion to cancel a foreclosure sale. We reverse and remand with directions.



In October 2008, Citibank filed an action to foreclose its first mortgage on a condominium unit owned by Ramon Escobar, naming Escobar and Jade Winds as defendants. Shortly thereafter, Jade Winds filed a cross-claim against Escobar, seeking past due association fees, costs, and attorney’s fees. In April 2009, a default final judgment was entered in favor of Jade Winds, and in August 2009, Jade Winds took title to the property via a Certificate of Title.



In an attempt to move the case forward, on February 23, 2010, Jade Winds filed a Waiver of Public Sale and Motion for Entry of Summary Judgment in Favor of Plaintiff Citibank. On August 19, 2010, a final judgment of foreclosure was entered in favor of Citibank, setting the foreclosure sale for October 8, 2010.



On the morning of the scheduled foreclosure sale, Citibank appeared before the presiding judge of the Foreclosure Master Calendar with an Emergency Motion to Cancel and Reschedule Foreclosure Sale (“Motion to Cancel”), asserting: “Plaintiff has instructed its counsel to cancel this sale in order to determine whether the Defendant qualifies for a loan modification.” (Emphasis added). Obviously, this assertion by Citibank’s counsel was misleading as Jade Winds, not Escobar, held title to the property as of August 2009, and therefore, Citibank would not be attempting to determine if Escobar would qualify for a loan modification. Unfortunately, the irregularities did not end there. The certificate of service in the Motion to Cancel indicates that the motion was mailed to several parties on October 1, 2010, but inexplicably was not mailed to Jade Winds’ counsel of record, who had actively participated in this litigation. As Citibank failed to serve Jade Winds’ counsel and made no attempt to contact counsel to inform him of the Motion to Cancel, it was heard on an ex parte basis. The presiding judge of the Foreclosure Master Calendar entered an order canceling the foreclosure sale and resetting it for January 4, 2011 (“Order Canceling Sale”).

https://www.judicialview.com/State-Cases/florida//Jade-Winds-Association-Inc.-v-Citibank-N.A./11/29533

Foreclosure Probe Talks Said to Yield Some Agreements with Banks

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Attorneys general negotiating a settlement of a 50-state investigation of foreclosure practices have reached agreements with lenders on some terms while failing so far to reach an accord on potential monetary payments by the banks, Bloomberg News reported today. The probe was triggered by claims of faulty foreclosure practices following the housing collapse which law enforcement officials said may violate state law. An accord remains out of reach because states want principal reductions for borrowers, which is more than banks agreed to in deals reached with U.S. regulators last week, said Allison Schoenthal, a lawyer at Hogan Lovells in New York. The 14 mortgage servicing companies who reached deals with U.S. regulators agreed to conduct a review of loans that went into foreclosure in 2009 and 2010, and improve their procedures for modifying loans and seizing homes. They also agreed to stop foreclosing on homes while negotiating lower mortgage payments for borrowers.
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/print/2011-04-18/foreclosure-probe-talks-said-to-yield-some-agreement-between-states-banks.html

Bank of America and JPMorgan, also taking part in the regulator agreements were Wells Fargo & Co. (WFC), Citigroup Inc. (C), the GMAC unit of Ally Financial Inc., Aurora Bank FSB, EverBank Financial Corp., HSBC Holdings Plc, OneWest, MetLife Inc., PNC Financial Services Group Inc. (PNC), Sovereign Bank, SunTrust Banks Inc., and US Bancorp.


Bank of America, JPMorgan, San Francisco-based Wells Fargo, New York-based Citigroup and Detroit-based Ally are the five companies involved in the talks with the 50 states.

Big Banks Face Fines for Foreclosure Mess

The Federal Reserve Board and banking regulators yesterday formally accused 14 mortgage servicers  ( Bank of America Corporation; Citigroup Inc.; Ally Financial Inc.; HSBC North America Holdings, Inc.; JPMorgan Chase & Co.; MetLife, Inc.; The PNC Financial Services Group, Inc.; SunTrust Banks, Inc.; U.S. Bancorp; and Wells Fargo & Company) of engaging in "unsafe and unsound" practices in residential loan and foreclosure processing, announcing settlements that immediately require major procedural changes and will eventually include monetary damages, the Deal Pipeline reported yesterday. The Fed joined with the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. in taking the action. The agencies required the mortgage servicers to act immediately to remedy the problems even as they and state attorneys general continue working out the exact damages of the fines that will be imposed. Under the settlements, each firm has to develop a plan to give borrowers a single point of contact; stop foreclosures of loans approved for modification; establish robust controls over third-parties providing loss mitigation or foreclosure services; provide remediation to borrowers who suffered financial injury as a result of wrongful foreclosures and strengthen programs to ensure compliance with state and federal law.

http://www.federalreserve.gov/newsevents/press/enforcement/20110413a.htm

http://www.dsnews.com/articles/regulators-hand-down-enforcement-actions-to-servicers-and-their-vendors-2011-04-13

http://www.occ.gov/news-issuances/news-releases/2011/nr-occ-2011-47.html

http://www.ots.treas.gov/?p=PressReleases&ContentRecord_id=4fe2bb15-be56-5d95-6c9c-dfd680b1c6a3&ContentType_id=4c12f337-b5b6-4c87-b45c-838958422bf3

RoboSigners
http://www.dsnews.com/articles/lets-make-deal-feds-move-on-robo-signing-settlement-without-state-ags-2011-04-06

Citi Mortgage
http://www.dsnews.com/articles/citi-faces-lawsuit-over-hamp-mod-denials-2011-04-06

If you believe that you have been improperly denied a permanent loan modification by CitiMortgage, Inc., after April 13, 2009, please contact plaintiff’s counsel, Eric Lechtzin of Berger & Montague , P.C. at 888-891-2289 or 215-875-3000, or by e-mail at elechtzin@bm.net. A copy of the Complaint can be viewed on Berger & Montague, P.C.’s website at www.bergermontague.com or may be requested from the Court. The docket number is 11-cv-02318.

http://www.bergermontague.com/case-summary.cfm?id=269

Survey: 60% of Americans Frown on Mortgage Abandonment

The majority of Americans say walking away from a mortgage should never be an option for homeowners, even those who are struggling to make their payments, according to a survey conducted by FindLaw.com. No reliable figures exist to pinpoint exactly how many homeowners choose strategic default, which entails walking away and refusing to make monthly payments, but industry experts agree that it has become a growing concern in the fallout of the housing crisis
http://www.dsnews.com/articles/survey-60-of-americans-frown-on-mortgage-abandonment-2011-04-06