Category Archives: misrespresentation

Cracks in Commercial Real Estate Market Usher in All-Too-Familiar CMBS Putback Litigation and Risk of Broader Distress

Posted on March 23, 2026 by Isaac Gradman

It has been said that history repeats itself. This is perhaps not quite correct; it merely rhymes. – Theodor Reik, 1965, Curiosities of the Self: Illusions We Have about Ourselves  I am reminded frequently of the above quote when I … Continue reading →

Posted in allocation of loss, banks, bondholder actions, bondholders, borrower fraud, broader credit crisis, Certificateholders, Chetrit, CMBS, contract rights, CRE, Deloitte and Touche, Fannie Mae, fraud, Freddie Mac, interest rates, investors, JPMorgan, lawsuits, liabilities, litigation, MBS, misrespresentation, mortgage fraud, mortgage market, pre-investment due diligence, putbacks, re-underwriting, rep and warranty, repurchase, responsibility, securities, securitization, sellers and sponsors, servicers, statutes of limitations, The Subprime Shakeout, underwriting practices | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

Mortgage Lit Roundup: Five Signs That Plaintiffs Are Winning the RMBS War

Posted on December 17, 2012 by Isaac Gradman

A lot can happen in a few months.  I’ve largely taken a break from blogging over the last quarter, as the demands of becoming a new father and joining a new law firm (see “Legal Practice” link in the header) … Continue reading →

Posted in Alison Frankel, allocation of loss, Ally Bank, Alt-A, Attorneys General, Bank of New York, bankruptcy, banks, Bear Stearns, bench trials, BofA, bondholder actions, borrower fraud, Citigroup, Clayton Holdings, conflicts of interest, contract rights, counterparty risk, Countrywide, damages, Deutsche Bank, due diligence firms, emc, FDIC, Flagstar, fraud, global catastrophe defense, Goldman Sachs, improper documentation, Insurance Department, investigations, investors, irresponsible lending, JPMorgan, Judge Barbara Kapnick, Judge Eileen Bransten, Judge Jed Rakoff, Judge Paul Crotty, Judge William Pauley, judicial momentum, Judicial Opinions, lawsuits, lenders, lending guidelines, liabilities, LIBOR manipulation, liquidity, litigation, loan files, loss causation, MBIA, MBS, media coverage, misrespresentation, monoline actions, monolines, mortgage fraud, mortgage insurers, NCUA, pooling agreements, private label MBS, probes, public perceptions, putbacks, quinn emanuel, re-underwriting, Regulators, rep and warranty, repurchase, reserve reporting, RMBS, SEC, securities, securities fraud, securities laws, securitization, sellers and sponsors, sole remedy, standing, stated income, statistical sampling, subpoenas, subprime, successor liability, summary judgment, Trustees, underwriting guidelines, underwriting practices, vicarious liability, Walnut Place, Wells Fargo | 2 Comments

Upcoming Presentation: Trends in MBS Litigation

Posted on November 14, 2012 by Isaac Gradman

I am pleased to announce that I will be speaking in and presenting at an upcoming Strafford live phone/web seminar, “Mortgage-Backed Securities Litigation: Latest Developments” scheduled for tomorrow, Thursday, November 15, 1:00pm-2:30pm EST. This will be largely geared towards attorneys … Continue reading →

Posted in bondholder actions, broader credit crisis, class actions, Complaints, conflicts of interest, contract rights, costs of the crisis, counterparty risk, damages, derivative lawsuits, discovery, education, fraud, gatekeeper litigation, global catastrophe defense, global settlement, impact of the crisis, investors, irresponsible lending, Judicial Opinions, jury trials, lawsuits, liabilities, litigation, loss causation, MBS, misrespresentation, monoline actions, pooling agreements, Presentations, private label MBS, putbacks, rep and warranty, repurchase, research, responsibility, RMBS, securities, securities laws, securitization, sellers and sponsors, settlements, standing, statistical sampling, statutes of limitations, summary judgment, The Subprime Shakeout, Trustees, underwriting practices | 1 Comment

Investor End Games: All Is Not Well in the Garden

Posted on August 29, 2012 by Isaac Gradman

“As long as the roots are not severed, all is well.  And all will be well in the garden.” – Chance the Gardener, Being There (1979) With Judge Barbara Kapnick announcing earlier this month that the approval hearing in Bank … Continue reading →

Posted in AIG, allocation of loss, ASF, Attorneys General, Bank of New York, banks, BlackRock, Bloomberg, BofA, bondholder actions, causes of the crisis, conflicts of interest, consitutionality, contract rights, costs of the crisis, Countrywide, damages, Deutsche Bank, discovery, eminent domain, fiduciary duties, foreclosure crisis, fraud, global settlement, Grais and Ellsworth, impact of the crisis, incentives, investors, irresponsible lending, Judge Barbara Kapnick, Judge Eileen Bransten, junior liens, Kathy Patrick, lawsuits, lenders, lending guidelines, liabilities, LIBOR manipulation, liquidity, litigation, litigation costs, lobbying, MBIA, MBS, misrespresentation, monoline actions, monolines, mortgage fraud, mortgage insurers, mortgage market, negative equity, Neil Barofsky, private label MBS, procedural hurdles, putbacks, recession, rep and warranty, repurchase, Residential Capital, responsibility, restructuring, RMBS, securities, securitization, sellers and sponsors, settlements, standing, statistical sampling, statutes of limitations, successor liability, summary judgment, The Subprime Shakeout, too big to fail, toxic assets, Treasury, Trustees, underwriting guidelines, underwriting practices, US Bank, vicarious liability, waiver of rights to sue, Wall St., Walnut Place, Way Too Big to Fail, Wells Fargo, William Frey | 2 Comments

Monoline End Games: String of Legal Wins Will Snowball Until Settlement

Posted on July 31, 2012 by Isaac Gradman

Last week, I wrote about a few developments that should boost RMBS litigation recoveries, especially for bond insurers – Judge Crotty’s summary judgment decision in Syncora v. EMC (JPMorgan) and Syncora’s subsequent settlement with BofA, resolving all of the parties’ … Continue reading →

Posted in allocation of loss, banks, BofA, contract rights, Countrywide, damages, emc, fraud, global settlement, irresponsible lending, JPMorgan, Judge Eileen Bransten, Judge Paul Crotty, Judicial Opinions, junior liens, jury trials, lawsuits, lenders, liabilities, litigation, litigation costs, loss causation, loss estimates, MBIA, MBS, misrespresentation, monoline actions, monolines, mortgage insurers, O'Melveny & Myers, private label MBS, putbacks, rep and warranty, repurchase, RMBS, securitization, settlements, successor liability, summary judgment | 6 Comments

The Top 5 RMBS Cases to Watch this Summer: No. 1 – MBIA v. Countrywide, BofA

Posted on June 15, 2012 by Isaac Gradman

After a week-long build-up (I’m sure the suspense is killing you), we’ve reached the No. 1 case in our countdown of RMBS Cases to Watch this Summer.  You may wish to catch up with parts I, II, III, and IV, … Continue reading →

Posted in accounting, allocation of loss, appeals, Bank of New York, banks, BofA, bondholder actions, contract rights, costs of the crisis, Countrywide, damages, discovery, fraud, global settlement, impact of the crisis, incentives, investors, irresponsible lending, Judge Barbara Kapnick, Judge Eileen Bransten, Judicial Opinions, jury trials, lawsuits, lenders, lending guidelines, liabilities, litigation, litigation costs, loss causation, MBIA, MBS, media coverage, misrespresentation, monoline actions, monolines, mortgage fraud, private label MBS, putbacks, quinn emanuel, rep and warranty, repurchase, responsibility, RMBS, securitization, settlements, statutes of limitations, subprime, successor liability, The Subprime Shakeout, timeline, Trustees, underwriting guidelines, underwriting practices, vicarious liability | 4 Comments

MBS Discovery Battles Heating Up, Impacting Litigation Timelines and Leverage

Posted on March 28, 2012 by Isaac Gradman

If litigation is war, then discovery is the hand-to-hand combat that takes place in the trenches, costing plenty and potentially having a major impact on the outcome of the war in the aggregate.  With most of the major MBS litigation … Continue reading →

Posted in Attorneys General, bad faith, Bank of New York, banks, BofA, bondholder actions, conflicts of interest, contract rights, Countrywide, discovery, fraud, global settlement, improper documentation, investors, lawsuits, liabilities, litigation, MBIA, MBS, misrespresentation, monoline actions, monolines, mortgage fraud, private label MBS, putbacks, remand, rep and warranty, repurchase, RMBS, securities, securitization, settlements, subprime, successor liability, Trustees | 8 Comments

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

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