Mortgage Fraud
Recently, Prof. Linda Fisher and her Civil Litigation Clinic
students favorably settled an eight-year-old consumer fraud case
brought against multiple defendants alleging that our client lost
his home of twelve years because of mortgage fraud. The client lost
all of the equity in his home and was physically driven out of the
house in 1996 after unwittingly selling his home in a deal that
masqueraded as an equity loan. The defendants included a mortgage
broker, the client’s lawyer and the investment company that
purchased the mortgage on assignment after arranging the terms of
the deal. Center lawyers and law students sought out experts and
investigators, resources the client never could have afforded on his
own. As a result, the clinic was able to untangle the complicated
web of deception that the defendants had created.
In early 2004, the corporation filed bankruptcy on the eve of trial.
The settlement occurred after the court-appointed bankruptcy
examiner concluded that the company had systematically engaged in
fraud and illegal investment practices. The examiner’s report
confirmed the clinic’s allegations and the settlement was reached
shortly thereafter. As a result of settling with all defendants for
a total of almost $250,000, the client has been fully compensated
for his loss.
Over the course of the eight years of litigation, dozens of clinic
students worked on the case, engaging in extensive discovery,
briefing and arguing a complex motion for summary judgment,
preparing for trial and a bankruptcy hearing, and conducting
settlement negotiations. The client is extremely grateful for our
efforts.
|
