HAMP Mortgage Modification Litigation

NCLC, with its co-counsel, has brought four class action suits on behalf of Massachusetts residents to challenge the failure of Wells Fargo Bank , Bank of America , J.P. Morgan Chase Bank and IndyMac Mortgage Servicers/OneWest Bank to honor their agreements with borrowers to modify mortgages and prevent foreclosures under the United States Treasury’s Home Affordable Modification Program ("HAMP”). The complaints are filed with the United States District Court for the District of Massachusetts and assert claims for breach of contract, breach of the implied covenant of good faith and fair dealing and promissory estoppel under Massachusetts common law arising from the financial institution's alleged failure to keep its promises to modify eligible loans to prevent foreclosures against homeowners who have lived up to their end of the bargain as required by HAMP.

• Bosque v. Wells Fargo Complaint
• Johnson v. Bank of America Home Loans Servicing Complaint
• Durmic v. J.P. Morgan Chase Complaint
• Reyes v. OneWest Complaint

Our firm is currently reviewing cases involving the HAMP program similar to what the NCLC has filed. We believe that the requirements under HAMP for a loan modification are very favorable toward most borrowers, and the fact that the majority of the home owners we speak with have been denied the HAMP modification tells us that the Mortgage companies and servicing agencies are failing to follow the guidelines under HAMP to help consumers modify their loan. Whether this is intentional or just incompetence, we are not sure yet at this stage. If you have a situation where you have been denied a HAMP modification and are in Alabama, please give us a call as we may be able to help.

Man Wins $1.5M Over Profane Debt Collection Calls
Collections Agents Allegedly Used N-Word, Sexual Language in Voicemails

By ALICE GOMSTYN and DALIA FAHMY

A jury has awarded a Texas man more than $1.5 million in a lawsuit over profane voicemail messages allegedly left by a collections agency.
Allen Jones receives profanity-laced collection agency calls.

Lawyers for Allen Jones, of Lewisville, Texas, say he was subjected to harassing phone calls from Advanced Call Center Technologies. Employees, lawyers said, used the n-word and the f-word and made racially-charged remarks about Jones, who is black.

In one voicemail message, a collector suggested that Jones "go pick some m*****f****** cotton fields," according to recordings provided by Jones' lawyers.

"It got out of control," Jones, 26, said. "It was horrific."

Dean Siotos, a lawyer for Advanced Call Center Technologies, called the language in the voicemails "indefensible" and said that the calls allegedly placed by ACT employees "must have been in some sort of personal attack unrelated to the business."

"It's not in any way, shape or form consistent with the way ACT's collection deparment attempted to collect debts," he said.

Two ACT employees named in Jones' lawsuit no longer work at the company, Siotos said. He said the company, which has headquarters in Pennsylvania, will wait until an official judgment is entered on the jury verdict before deciding whether to appeal. The jury issued its verdict last Friday.

Jones said that the collection calls took place in August, 2007 and stemmed from an $81 credit card debt. Jones said the he had actually paid off the debt at the time he started receiving calls from ACT, but the collections agents wouldn't stop calling even after he told them the debt was resolved.

The calls came as early as 6:30 a.m. and as late as 11 p.m., said lawyer Dean Malone, who along with Mark Frenkel, represented Jones in the case. In addition to profanity, one of the messages included a sexual message about Jones' wife, Malone said.

"It was just significant, over-the-top harassment," he said. "I've handled hundreds of these cases over the years. This is by far the worst I've ever seen."

After a two-week trial, a jury found ACT and its former employees had violated Texas debt collection rules and awarded Jones $50,000 for mental anguish, $143,000 in attorney's fees and $1.5 million in additional damages.

http://abcnews.go.com/Business/man-wins-15m-vulgar-debt-collection-calls/story?id=10795674