Category Archives: lawsuits

My Take On Newly Filed AG Foreclosure Settlement: As Bad As We Thought It Was

Posted on March 12, 2012 by Isaac Gradman

“They are who we THOUGHT they were — and we let ’em off the hook!” This famous postgame rant from former Arizona Cardinals coach Denny Green after his team’s epic meltdown on Monday Night Football against the Bears could just … Continue reading →

Posted in allocation of loss, Ally Bank, Attorneys General, bailout, bankruptcy, banks, Bloomberg, BofA, broader credit crisis, chain of title, Citigroup, Complaints, contract rights, costs of the crisis, damages, foreclosure crisis, global settlement, Government bailout, homeowner relief, Hope For Homeowners, impact of the crisis, improper documentation, incentives, interest rates, investigations, investors, JPMorgan, Judge Jed Rakoff, judicial momentum, junior liens, lawsuits, liabilities, litigation, loan modifications, loss causation, LTV, MBS, misrespresentation, mortgage fraud, negative equity, oversight, Regulators, Residential Capital, RMBS, robo-signers, SEC, securities, securitization, servicer defaults, servicers, settlements, stipulated judgments, waiver of rights to sue | 7 Comments

BREAKING: BoNY-BofA Settlement to Return to State Court After Second Circuit Reverses Pauley

Posted on February 27, 2012 by Isaac Gradman

Some rare good news for Bank of America: the Second Circuit just reversed the ruling of District Court Judge William Pauley in the highly-publicized $8.5 billion settlement between BofA, Bank of New York (BoNY), and Kathy Patrick’s institutional investors over … Continue reading →

Posted in appeals, Attorneys General, Bank of New York, banks, BofA, bondholder actions, CAFA, class actions, contract rights, discovery, fiduciary duties, global settlement, investors, Judicial Opinions, jurisdiction, lawsuits, liabilities, litigation, MBS, pooling agreements, private label MBS, procedural hurdles, putbacks, remand, removability, rep and warranty, repurchase, RMBS, securities, securitization, settlements, Trustees | 3 Comments

Federal Judge in Goldman Sachs MBS Suit Grants Class Action Status to All Bondholders in Trust

Posted on February 6, 2012 by Isaac Gradman

This just in: the Hon. Harold Baer, Jr. of the Southern District of New York has certified a class of bondholders in Goldman Sachs MBS Trust 2006-S2 led by the Mississippi Public Employees Retirement Fund.  Included in the class are … Continue reading →

Posted in bondholder actions, class actions, Goldman Sachs, investors, irresponsible lending, Judge Harold Baer, Judicial Opinions, lawsuits, lending guidelines, litigation, MBS, private label MBS, Residential Capital, RMBS, securities, securities laws, securitization, sellers and sponsors, sophistication, standing, underwriting guidelines, underwriting practices, Wall St. | Leave a comment

BlackRock Attorney to Face Stiffer Challenges to Next Set of MBS Settlements

Posted on January 31, 2012 by Isaac Gradman

(Updated version, including new 6th paragraph on subsequent announcement of larger probe into Morgan Stanley bonds) Having received copious kudos for engineering an $8.5 billion investor settlement with Bank of America over soured Countrywide residential mortgage backed securities (RMBS), “pitbull” … Continue reading →

Posted in Allstate, appeals, Attorneys General, Bank of New York, banks, BlackRock, BofA, bondholder actions, conflicts of interest, contract rights, Countrywide, emc, Event of Default, Federal Home Loan Banks, FHFA, global settlement, hedge funds, Investor Syndicate, investors, JPMorgan, jurisdiction, Kathy Patrick, lawsuits, lenders, liabilities, litigation, MBIA, MBS, Morgan Stanley, Philippe Selendy, press, private label MBS, putbacks, quinn emanuel, Regulators, remand, removability, rep and warranty, repurchase, RMBS, securities, securitization, settlements, standing, toxic assets, Wall St., Wells Fargo | 7 Comments

MBIA Celebrates Bransten Decision on Loss Causation; Bondholders Still Looking for Guidance

Posted on January 9, 2012 by Isaac Gradman

As loyal readers will recall, I laid it on the line a few weeks back and predicted that MBIA would win its loss causation argument against Countrywide/BofA, making the nation’s largest bank wish it had settled this bellwether piece of … Continue reading →

Posted in appeals, banks, BofA, bondholder actions, broader credit crisis, causes of the crisis, contract rights, damages, investors, Judge Jed Rakoff, Judicial Opinions, lawsuits, liabilities, litigation, loss causation, MBIA, MBS, misrespresentation, monoline actions, monolines, pooling agreements, private label MBS, putbacks, rep and warranty, repurchase, rescission, RMBS, securitization, statistical sampling, The Subprime Shakeout | 5 Comments

Federal Home Loan Bank Litigation Update: MBS Cases Moving Slowly, But Steadily, Ahead for FHLBs

Posted on December 22, 2011 by Isaac Gradman

By Isaac Gradman and India Autry The Federal Home Loan Bank (FHLB) litigation against MBS underwriters, some of the first to arise out of the sale of toxic mortgage backed securities post-crisis, is progressing slowly but surely towards trial, without … Continue reading →

Posted in banks, Blue Sky laws, choice of law, discovery, Federal Home Loan Banks, investors, lawsuits, litigation, loan files, LTV, MBS, misrespresentation, motions to dismiss, ratings agencies, remand, removability, securities fraud, securities laws, securitization, sophistication, subprime, underwriting guidelines, underwriting practices | 8 Comments

Rakoff’s Rejection of SEC Settlement with Citi Sends Stern Message to Wall Street’s Primary Regulator

Posted on November 30, 2011 by Isaac Gradman

Two days after the release of one of the most scathing judicial opinions in recent memory, the importance of federal Judge Jed Rakoff’s rejection of the SEC’s $285 million settlement with Citigroup is just beginning to sink in.  In just … Continue reading →

Posted in abacus, banks, CDOs, Citigroup, Complaints, consitutionality, costs of the crisis, damages, Goldman Sachs, investigations, investors, JPMorgan, Judge Jed Rakoff, Judicial Opinions, lawsuits, liabilities, litigation, media coverage, negligence and recklessness, oversight, Paulson and Co., probes, regulation, Regulators, SEC, securities laws, settlements, Uncategorized | 1 Comment

MBS Litigation Update: Why BofA Will Lose the Loss Causation Argument and Wish It Had Settled with MBIA

Posted on November 22, 2011 by Isaac Gradman

With all eyes in the mortgage litigation world glued to the pending decision on Partial Summary Judgment in MBIA v. Countrywide, et al., commentators are beginning to speculate that a settlement may be in the offing between the two MBS … Continue reading →

Posted in Alison Frankel, allocation of loss, Bank of New York, banks, BofA, branch hill capital, causes of the crisis, Countrywide, irresponsible lending, lawsuits, lenders, lending guidelines, liabilities, litigation, loss causation, MBIA, MBS, misrespresentation, motions to dismiss, Philippe Selendy, pooling agreements, private label MBS, putbacks, quinn emanuel, rep and warranty, repurchase, RMBS, securitization, statistical sampling, Uncategorized, underwriting practices | 10 Comments

Release of “Way Too Big to Fail” Simply Opening Salvo in Efforts to Reform Mortgage Finance

Posted on November 7, 2011 by Isaac Gradman

It’s tempting when you have an enormous task before you to focus all of your attention on completing that task while blocking out any thoughts of what comes next.  For me, that enormous task has been the publication of a … Continue reading →

Posted in allocation of loss, appeals, Bank of New York, banks, BofA, bondholder actions, causes of the crisis, contract rights, Countrywide, discovery, FHFA, global settlement, investors, irresponsible lending, lawsuits, liabilities, litigation, lobbying, loss causation, MBIA, monoline actions, mortgage market, pooling agreements, private label MBS, putbacks, regulation, Regulators, remand, repurchase, RMBS, securitization, settlements, statistical sampling, successor liability, The Subprime Shakeout, Uncategorized, Way Too Big to Fail, William Frey | 1 Comment

BREAKING NEWS: Judge Determines BofA $8.5 bn Settlement Belongs in Federal Court

Posted on October 20, 2011 by Isaac Gradman

Though Bank of America (BofA) has taken its share of lumps over the past six months, this may be the one that leaves the biggest mark.  In an opinion issued today in the Southern District of New York (available here … Continue reading →

Posted in Bank of New York, banks, BofA, bondholder actions, class actions, conflicts of interest, contract rights, Countrywide, damages, fiduciary duties, global settlement, Grais and Ellsworth, Greenwich Financial Services, investors, lawsuits, litigation, loss estimates, MBS, pooling agreements, private label MBS, putbacks, remand, removability, repurchase, RMBS, securities, securities laws, securitization, settlements, The Subprime Shakeout, Trustees, Uncategorized, William Frey | 4 Comments