Bank of America, the largest U.S. bank by assets and owner of catastrophic mortgage firm Countrywide Financial, is arguing that plaintiffs in a foreclosure lawsuit couldn’t demonstrate they’d been harmed by the bank’s alleged use of robo-signers.
BofA says that the Indiana couple didn’t suffer when the bank allegedly used fraudulent documentation to foreclose on their house, because it was possible they would have been evicted anyway. The case follows reports that BofA and other banks employed underqualified workers to sign foreclosure affidavits as fast as they could, without properly reviewing them, which is illegal.
Reuters reports:
[I]n its filing, Bank of America said that, by not trying to upset their foreclosure, the Davises could not show any harm caused by alleged inaccuracies in the underlying affidavits.
“Plaintiffs plead no facts to support their claim that the result, i.e., a judgment of foreclosure, would have been any different,” wrote Matthew Strzynski, a partner at Krieg DeVault LLP representing the Charlotte, North Carolina-based bank.
The bank is moving for dismissal of the case. There are a lot of complex and important moral lessons to be sorted out in the current foreclosure crisis, but there’s also a simple one: Always read before you sign.
mtaylor [at] observer.com | @mbrookstaylor
