Bear, EMC Accused Of Race Discrimination, Civil Rights Violations In Mortgage Servicing Suit; Class Action Status Sought

A lawsuit filed in a New Haven, Connecticut Federal Court last week alleges that Wall Street investment banking firm Bear Stearns and its EMC Mortgage servicing unit engaged in:

• "[r]acially discriminatory practices ... in servicing near-prime and sub-prime residential home loans" and claims that "EMC and Bear Stearns intentionally sought out non-prime loans, predominanly made to Hispanics and African Americans, in order to reap profits from their predatory servicing practices."

The predatory servicing practices complained of in the suit include:

• "[t]he imposition of unwarranted fees and costs, the pyramiding of late fees, the unjustifiable force-placing of insurance, the failure to properly credit payments, the unwarranted reporting of derogatory information regarding borrowers to credit reporting agencies, and the failure to properly administer escrow accounts."

Representing the homeowners are the firms Butler Norris & Gold, Hartford, Connecticut, and James, Hoyer, Newcomer & Smiljanich PA., Tampa, Florida.

To view the lawsuit:

• go to this direct link for Rodriguez v. Bear Stearns on the PACER system (PACER registration required - 31 pages - $2.40); or
• drop me a line at HomeEquityTheft@yahoo.com (put "Rodriguez v. Bear Stearns" in the subject line) and I'll e-mail it to you.

See also, Bear Stearns Mortgage Unit Accused of Predatory Loan Servicing (Bloomberg News).

Go here for:

• other posts on alleged discrimination in connection with subprime lending, and
• go here and go here for posts on questionable mortgage servicing practices.