NJ Appeals Court Ruling Goes Far To Gum Up Garden State Foreclosures As Lenders' Lawyers Show Reluctance To Sign Required Certification

In Bergen County, New Jersey, The Record reports:

• [S]heriff's auctions are among the most visible symbols of the housing crisis, which left many homeowners saddled with mortgages they couldn't afford. But foreclosure auctions have slowed dramatically since questions arose more than a year ago about "robo-signing" — that is, sloppy paperwork by mortgage lenders and servicers.



• Though lenders were given the go-ahead in August to start foreclosing again in New Jersey after showing a judge they were following the rules, they have been slow to resume activity.



• The reason: an August appellate court decision, Bank of New York v. Laks, according to Kevin Wolfe, head of the state's Office of Foreclosure. In that case, the court dismissed a foreclosure, finding the lender violated the state Fair Foreclosure Act because it didn't properly identify itself in a notice sent to the troubled homeowners.



• Under new state court rules, lawyers working for foreclosing plaintiffs have to personally certify that they have checked the facts behind a foreclosure filing with an employee of the lender or the lender's servicer. Many have indicated to Wolfe that they are reluctant to sign such a certification, because they're concerned that the lender's paperwork may not meet the requirements set out in the Laks decision.

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• In the Laks case, for example, Sarah Laks' mortgage was serviced by Countrywide Home Loans, but the actual owner was a trust managed by the Bank of New York. When Laks, of Lakewood, defaulted on the loan, she got a notice of intention to foreclose from Countrywide, but it did not mention the real owner, as required by the state's 1995 Fair Foreclosure Act.



• A lender's attorney who spoke on condition of anonymity said that in the years since the Fair Foreclosure Act was passed, it's been very common for these notices to name only the servicer, not the actual holder of the loan, as required by the Laks decision.

For more, see Legal issues slow foreclosures.