Category Archives: successor liability

Objectors’ Siren Song Enchants During Article 77 Proceeding

Posted on July 29, 2013 by Isaac Gradman

We are 20 days into the monumental bench trial over Bank of America’s proposed $8.5 billion settlement of Countrywide MBS claims, and with the proceedings now taking a break until September 9, we have a chance to sit back and … Continue reading →

Posted in AIG, Bank of New York, bench trials, BofA, bondholder actions, conflicts of interest, contract rights, Countrywide, damages, discovery, Federal Home Loan Banks, fiduciary duties, global settlement, incentives, investors, Judge Barbara Kapnick, Kathy Patrick, lawsuits, liabilities, litigation, loan files, MBS, pooling agreements, private label MBS, putbacks, re-underwriting, rep and warranty, RMBS, securities, settlements, successor liability, Trustees, waiver of rights to sue | 3 Comments

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

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

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

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

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

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

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