CONSUMER TASK FORCE

The legal services Consumer Task Force will hold a special meeting on foreclosure defense:

Date: December 4 New date!
Time: 12:00 noon to 3:45 p.m. ET (starts with working lunch)
Place: Legal Aid of the Bluegrass Community Room, 498 Georgetown Street, Lexington

We’ll start with foreclosures, but there’s plenty more to go around: zombie debt, a big bankruptcy appeal, payday loans and tax liens. Just in case that makes you hungry, we’ll have box lunches on hand. See detailed agenda below.

RSVP: To register for the meeting, email richseckel@kyequaljustice.org.

Agenda

December 4, 2009

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12:00 Lunch, Welcome, and Introductions

We’ll start with a working lunch at noon to make it easier for Western Kentucky folks to join us.

12:15 Foreclosure Defense: Where Y’At, Programs?

Reps from each legal services program will describe:

• The types of cases they’re seeing
• Issues they’ve raised

Then we’ll move into details:

What the other side is doing: Get the lowdown on foreclosure mills from topics discussed at the National Consumer Law Center Litigation Conference.

Special focus on HAMP: Ben Carter from Legal Aid Society explores two additional topics: using the Home Affordable Modification Program as a foreclosure defense and getting the best HAMP agreement possible.

 Henton Equity Memo.pdf
 Henton Response to MSJ.pdf
 NCLC HAMP article.pdf
 Clearinghouse Article.pdf

1:00 Dealing with Tax Lien Purchases through Bankruptcy

It’s usually attorneys who buy ‘em up from cities. Taxes due on homes get in the hands of third parties who then have the power to collect and even foreclose, often for only a small underlying tax bill. We’ll explore potential remedies in bankruptcy:

Chapter 7: does Dewsnup v. Timmget in the way?
Chapter 13: does in re Lanehelp?

Note: The Housing Task Force also will take up non-bankruptcy matters surrounding the tax lien issue.

1:30 Special Topics: Ripped from the NCLC Conference and beyond!

Several Kentuckians attended the fall National Consumer Law Center wingding. They’ll tell us about:

Zombie debt: Stringent enforcement of the Rules of Evidence has proven to be a key in winning Zombie debt cases. The same strategies may work in foreclosure defense and other non-zombie debt collection matters. Learn how ARDF won a summary judgment against Asset Acceptance on a $35,000 claim in which ARDF’s client made the last payment only two years before the case was filed.

 evidentiary.submissions.pdf

Bonanza Claims: Perfecting Bonanza Claim tactics and procedure. Learn about Kate’s big victories (at least so far, it’s never over till we collect the cash) and the help she’s getting from Yunker and Associates. How you too, might score a $100,000 coup because a servicer or securitization trust is too lazy and/or disorganized to release a satisfied mortgage.

Beyond rescission: As time passes, fewer clients will have access to rescission as a remedy, but common law claims of unconscionability and state UDAP statutes may give us useful handles.

The royal road to the unconscionable: How do you show it? What’s the effect? Does it go against the current holder?

And more . . .

2:00 Payday Loan Cap in 2010?

Kentucky Equal Justice Center has helped build a vigorous new Kentucky Coalition for Responsible Lending. Its members span the gamut from faith based groups to local shelters. Its goal: cap payday loan interest rates at 36 percent. Anne Marie Regan explains the draft bill, the campaign and the response so far from “power centers”—starting with the Governor’s office.

2:15 At your Servicing

Kate, Add and maybe Eileen Zell will discuss state law claims that can arise from loan servicing abuse. Because these claims are new, this is a great time to be creative. In this presentation, we will review the claims as laid out in various jury instructions and pleadings.

2:30 6th Circuit Bankruptcy Appeal: Deutsche Bank v. Tucker

It’s a big case. Anne Marie and Jim McHugh did some heavy lifting. The bankruptcy trustee filed a brief on their side. Plus, they expect an amicus brief by the National Association of Consumer Bankruptcy Attorneys. Among the issues: Whether a claim for fees, costs and other charges that an undersecured creditor includes in the amount of the mortgage arrearage shall be treated a secured or unsecured claim.

 Tucker - Appellee's Brief - Final (2).pdf

2:45 Case Discussion: Foreclosure Defense (Mostly)

If you want to discuss a particular case at the Task Force meeting—and we encourage this—you must e-mail Kate and Add a summary of the key facts with the key loan documents attached by December 1. The key loan documents include the note, TILA disclosure statement, itemization of amount financed if available, settlement statement and any other document you deem key.

Addison Parker
Kate Sanford

3:15 Adjourn!