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Friday, January 07, 2011

Courts - "Top Court in Massachusetts Voids Foreclosures by 2 Banks"

A Reuters story this afternoon posted by the NY Times begins:

In a ruling that may affect foreclosures nationwide, the Massachusetts high court has voided the seizure of two homes by Wells Fargo & Company and US Bancorp after the banks failed to show that they held the mortgages at the time of the foreclosures.

Friday’s decision by the Supreme Judicial Court of Massachusetts, which upheld a lower court ruling, is among the earliest to address the validity of foreclosures conducted without full documentation. * * *

In the ruling, Justice Ralph D. Gants wrote for a unanimous court that Wells Fargo and US Bancorp lacked authority to foreclose after having “failed to make the required showing that they were the holders of the mortgages at the time of foreclosure.” Massachusetts is one of 27 states that do not require court approval to foreclose.

Here is the opinion.

Posted by Marcia Oddi on January 7, 2011 02:50 PM
Posted to Courts in general