Category Archives: procedural hurdles

The Bell Tolls for BofA

Posted on May 28, 2013 by Isaac Gradman

Memorial Day Weekend is always cause for some reflection, but as we draw closer to the May 30, 2013 merits hearing on Bank of America’s (BofA) proposed $8.5 billion settlement of Countrywide mortgage liabilities, this last one seemed particularly appropriate … Continue reading →

Posted in Adam Levitin, AIG, allocation of loss, Alt-A, appeals, Attorneys General, bad faith, Bank of New York, banks, BofA, bondholder actions, conflicts of interest, contract rights, Countrywide, damages, Federal Home Loan Banks, Flagstar, global catastrophe defense, global settlement, incentives, Investor Syndicate, investors, irresponsible lending, Judge Barbara Kapnick, Judge Eileen Bransten, Judge Jed Rakoff, Judge Paul Crotty, Judge William Pauley, Judicial Opinions, Kathy Patrick, lawsuits, liabilities, litigation, loan files, loss causation, MBIA, MBS, monoline actions, O'Melveny & Myers, private label MBS, procedural hurdles, putbacks, rep and warranty, repurchase, RMBS, securitization, sellers and sponsors, sole remedy, standing, statistical sampling, successor liability, summary judgment, Trustees, vicarious liability | 3 Comments

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

The Top 5 RMBS Cases to Watch this Summer: No. 4 – Retirement Board v. Bank of New York Mellon

Posted on June 12, 2012 by Isaac Gradman

Yesterday, I kicked off a countdown of the top 5 RMBS cases to watch this summer with a post about Syncora v. EMC and the impending summary judgment decision on loss causation.  Today, I’d like to talk about another case … Continue reading →

Posted in allocation of loss, appeals, Attorneys General, Bank of New York, bondholder actions, chain of title, Complaints, contract rights, costs of the crisis, fiduciary duties, improper documentation, investors, Judge William Pauley, Judicial Opinions, lawsuits, liabilities, litigation, litigation costs, MBS, motions to dismiss, pooling agreements, private label MBS, procedural hurdles, putbacks, responsibility, RMBS, SEC, securitization, TIA, Trustees | 8 Comments

Pauley Stirs the Pot: Federal Judge Still Making an Impact as BofA Settlement Approaches Critical Crossroads in State Court

Posted on April 18, 2012 by Isaac Gradman

On April 24, Judge Barbara Kapnick will hold a hearing in New York Supreme Court on whether Bank of American’s $8.5 billion settlement proposal should be evaluated under the restrictive Article 77 vehicle, or whether investors challenging the deal can … Continue reading →

Posted in appeals, Attorneys General, Bank of New York, banks, BofA, bondholder actions, class actions, conflicts of interest, Countrywide, discovery, Event of Default, global settlement, investors, Judge Barbara Kapnick, Judge William Pauley, Judicial Opinions, jurisdiction, lawsuits, liabilities, litigation, MBS, motions to dismiss, private label MBS, procedural hurdles, putbacks, remand, removability, repurchase, RMBS, SEC, securitization, servicer defaults, settlements, standing, Trustees, Walnut Place | 3 Comments

New York Judge Strikes Blow to Investor Putback Claims

Posted on April 4, 2012 by Isaac Gradman

Update: it appears that Walnut Place has already filed an appeal of the dismissal of its lawsuit against BofA and Countrywide – IMG. Investors in Countrywide mortgage backed securities (MBS) were dealt a setback last Wednesday in their efforts to … Continue reading →

Posted in Alison Frankel, appeals, Bank of New York, banks, BofA, bondholder actions, conflicts of interest, contract rights, Countrywide, derivative lawsuits, Event of Default, global settlement, Greenwich Financial Services, hedge funds, incentives, investors, irresponsible lending, Judge Barbara Kapnick, Judicial Opinions, lawsuits, lending guidelines, litigation, MBS, motions to dismiss, pooling agreements, private label MBS, procedural hurdles, putbacks, rep and warranty, repurchase, research, RMBS, securitization, settlements, standing, Trustees, underwriting guidelines, underwriting practices, Walnut Place | 5 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

The Government Giveth and It Taketh Away: The Significance of the Game Changing FHFA Lawsuits

Posted on September 15, 2011 by Isaac Gradman

It is no stretch to say that Friday, September 2 was the most significant day for mortgage crisis litigation since the onset of the crisis in 2007.  That Friday, the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA), as conservator for Fannie Mae … Continue reading →

Posted in acquisitions, Ambac, bailout, banks, Bear Stearns, BofA, bondholder actions, Complaints, contract rights, Countrywide, damages, Deutsche Bank, emc, Fannie Mae, Federal Home Loan Banks, FHFA, Freddie Mac, freeriders, Goldman Sachs, Government bailout, investors, irresponsible lending, JPMorgan, jury trials, lawsuits, lending guidelines, liabilities, litigation, litigation costs, loan files, loss causation, loss estimates, LTV, MBS, media coverage, Merrill Lynch, misrespresentation, monoline actions, mortgage fraud, motions to dismiss, negligence and recklessness, private label MBS, procedural hurdles, putbacks, quinn emanuel, ratings agencies, rep and warranty, repurchase, RMBS, securities, securities laws, securitization, shareholder lawsuits, sole remedy, sophistication, stability, standing, statistical sampling, statutes of limitations, subpoenas, successor liability, too big to fail, Trustees, underwriting practices, Wall St., WaMu | 6 Comments

RMBS Legal Roundup: The Top Five Developments You Might Have Missed While Obsessing Over the BoNY/BofA Settlement

Posted on August 25, 2011 by Isaac Gradman

With interesting developments occurring almost daily in the proposed Bofa/Countrywide settlement with Bank of New York, it has been hard to focus on anything else.  Indeed, since the last time I posted on the settlement (discussing New York AG Eric … Continue reading →

Posted in AIG, Attorneys General, Bank of New York, banks, BofA, bondholder actions, CDOs, class actions, Complaints, contract rights, costs of the crisis, Credit Unions, damages, Deutsche Bank, Fannie Mae, FHFA, Freddie Mac, global settlement, Goldman Sachs, investigations, investors, JPMorgan, lawsuits, litigation, loss causation, MBS, misrespresentation, mortgage market, motions to dismiss, NCUA, Paulson and Co., private label MBS, probes, procedural hurdles, research, reserve reporting, responsibility, RMBS, SEC, securities fraud, securitization, settlements, sophistication, standing, subpoenas, subprime, too big to fail, Treasury, Trustees, Uncategorized, Wall St. | 2 Comments

Six Challenges to Countrywide RMBS Settlement Already; Rundown Shows Pact Will Be No Easy Sell for BofA

Posted on July 19, 2011 by Isaac Gradman

The BofA settlement blowback has already begun.  If you’ve been following my recent posts (here and here) about the proposed Bank of America (“BofA”) settlement involving the Bank of New York (“BoNY”) and the Kathy Patrick-led investor group (the “Investor … Continue reading →

Posted in Attorneys General, Bank of New York, banks, BofA, bondholder actions, conflicts of interest, contract rights, Countrywide, Federal Home Loan Banks, FHFA, global settlement, Grais and Ellsworth, improper documentation, incentives, investigations, investors, lawsuits, lenders, liabilities, litigation, MBS, oversight, pooling agreements, private label MBS, procedural hurdles, putbacks, rep and warranty, repurchase, RMBS, securities fraud, servicers, settlements, standing, statutes of limitations, subpoenas, toxic assets, Trustees | 9 Comments

$8.5 Billion BofA Settlement of Countrywide Trusts Raises Questions for Investors on Sidelines

Posted on June 29, 2011 by Isaac Gradman

As more details emerge about Bank of America’s proposed $8.5 billion settlement with Kathy Patrick’s bondholder group and Bank of New York Mellon (“BoNY”) as Trustee, the deal looks even worse for Countrywide RMBS investors.  Now, it is apparent that … Continue reading →

Posted in allocation of loss, Bank of New York, banks, BlackRock, BofA, bondholder actions, chain of title, conflicts of interest, contract rights, Countrywide, damages, Federal Home Loan Banks, Federal Reserve, fiduciary duties, Freddie Mac, global settlement, Goldman Sachs, improper documentation, incentives, investors, irresponsible lending, Kathy Patrick, lawsuits, lenders, lending guidelines, liabilities, litigation, litigation costs, loss causation, loss estimates, MBS, MetLife, PIMCO, pooling agreements, private label MBS, procedural hurdles, putbacks, re-underwriting, rep and warranty, repurchase, responsibility, RMBS, securities, securitization, sellers and sponsors, settlements, standing, subprime, successor liability, The Subprime Shakeout, TIAA-CREF, Trustees, underwriting practices, valuation, waiver of rights to sue, William Frey | 17 Comments