Lenders are facing the wrath of borrowers facing foreclosure in court

An increasing number of borrowers facing foreclosures by state are suing lenders in court. One of the Davids who took on their Goliath was Sonia Leverman. Just a couple of weeks prior to the auctioning off of her house on the court steps she and her sons filed a suit against their Goliath – the lender. All the other steps they had taken had failed.

There are a growing number of homeowners like her who have turned to the courts harassed by fear and frustration. They are hopeful of succour from the judicial system to realize their American dream – perhaps the mortgage payment would go down or perhaps the foreclosure would be postponed.
More and more borrowers are filing suits against their lenders in California federal court. In 2005 the number had been 20 but in 2009 it spiked to 1,400. Many are filed in state courts. The outcome has not yet been tracked.


The notable increase in the legal suits filed against lenders mirrors the trouble that underwater mortgage holders are facing in trying to get their loans modified. Neither the government measures nor the bank actions are helping them.


Housing experts comments that these legal suits are not as successful as they were a year and a half previously. In California especially the path for the homeowners via the court has been thorny. But despite the negative outcome the positive side is that it delays the loss of a house. Some suits claim that the lender has gone back on the promise of a modification of the loan. This has been the allegation of Leverman. Others have charged the lenders for intentionally screwing up the foreclosure measure.


During the boom years the bank failed to disclose the exact loan terms. Many borrowers just did not qualify for the loan but somehow availed of it. Glen L. Moss, an attorney from Hayward said there is no doubt that the lawsuit “definitely buys time.”

Judges tend to dismiss the cases as they become more conversant with the complexities of the law. Banks shy away from settlements. The federal court in California is the sole court in the country that stipulates some of borrowers to deposit a part of the amount they had borrowed prior to any hearing.


Those lawyers who know intimately the federal rules on lending (4” thick) warns that the vulnerable homeowners become easy targets for unethical or ignorant lawyers. Last October California enacted a law on emergency basis preventing the lawyers from accepting advance fees for modification of loans. The State Bar is conducting investigations against 500 attorneys for fraud in matters dealing to loan modification.