Category Archives: responsibility

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

Motion to Exclude Frey Testimony from Article 77 Raises Eyebrows, Questions About Role of BlackRock and PIMCO

Posted on September 24, 2013 by Isaac Gradman

The backyard brawl between the AIG-led objecting investors on one hand and Bank of New York Mellon (BNYM) and the investors supporting BofA’s $8.5 billion settlement on the other is about to get even messier.  As I last wrote on … Continue reading →

Posted in AIG, allocation of loss, appeals, Bank of New York, banks, bench trials, BlackRock, BofA, bondholder actions, conflicts of interest, contract rights, Countrywide, demand letter, Event of Default, Fannie Mae, FHFA, fiduciary duties, global settlement, incentives, Investor Syndicate, investors, Judge Barbara Kapnick, Judge William Pauley, Judicial Opinions, Kathy Patrick, lawsuits, liabilities, litigation, MBS, negligence and recklessness, PIMCO, private label MBS, putbacks, remand, rep and warranty, repurchase, responsibility, RMBS, servicers, Trustees, William Frey | Leave a comment

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

Federal Judge Refuses to Narrow Mortgage Putback Claims, Paving Way for Lender Repurchase Liability

Posted on July 27, 2012 by Isaac Gradman

It has been just over a month since I published my series on the Top 5 RMBS Cases to Watch this Summer.  In case you missed it, here’s a quick recap of my top five cases: No. 5 – Syncora … Continue reading →

Posted in allocation of loss, Ambac, Bank of New York, banks, bondholder actions, contract rights, costs of the crisis, Countrywide, damages, emc, global catastrophe defense, incentives, Investor Syndicate, investors, Judge Eileen Bransten, Judge Paul Crotty, Judicial Opinions, lawsuits, lenders, liabilities, litigation, loss causation, loss estimates, MBIA, MBS, monoline actions, monolines, pooling agreements, private label MBS, public perceptions, putbacks, rep and warranty, repurchase, rescission, responsibility, RMBS, securitization, settlements, statutes of limitations, subprime, summary judgment, underwriting guidelines, underwriting practices | Tagged | 4 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

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

The Top 5 RMBS Cases to Watch this Summer: No. 5 – Syncora v. EMC

Posted on June 11, 2012 by Isaac Gradman

As summer approaches and the weather turns warmer, RMBS litigation is also heating up, generating long-awaited precedent that will dictate how mortgage losses are likely to be allocated by the courts.  In order to keep my readers apprised on what … Continue reading →

Posted in Alison Frankel, allocation of loss, Bank of New York, banks, Bear Stearns, broader credit crisis, contract rights, costs of the crisis, Countrywide, emc, investors, JPMorgan, Judge Eileen Bransten, Judge Paul Crotty, Judicial Opinions, lawsuits, lending guidelines, liabilities, litigation, loss causation, loss estimates, monoline actions, monolines, mortgage market, private label MBS, putbacks, rep and warranty, repurchase, responsibility, RMBS, subprime, The Subprime Shakeout, Trustees, underwriting guidelines, underwriting practices | 12 Comments

MBIA on Winning Streak Heading into Trial on Restructuring Challenge

Posted on April 24, 2012 by Isaac Gradman

Monoline insurer MBIA, the most influential plaintiff in mortgage crisis litigation, has been on a roll lately in its lawsuits against Bank of America and other institutions over issues stemming from the subprime meltdown.  But MBIA will face its stiffest … Continue reading →

Posted in Alison Frankel, allocation of loss, appeals, bailout, Bank of New York, banks, bench trials, BofA, bondholder actions, CDOs, contract rights, costs of the crisis, Countrywide, damages, discovery, global settlement, Government bailout, investors, Judge Barbara Kapnick, Judge Eileen Bransten, Judicial Opinions, lawsuits, liabilities, litigation, loss causation, MBIA, MBS, media coverage, monoline actions, monolines, private label MBS, putbacks, Regulators, rep and warranty, reserve reporting, responsibility, RMBS, settlements, statistical sampling, subprime, successor liability, The Subprime Shakeout, Trustees | 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