Judge bites banks

Prods lenders, attys to unclog foreclosure cases

New York’s top judge is not done smacking around foreclosure mills for their bad behavior.

Chief Judge Jonathan Lippman, faced with thousands of stalled foreclosure cases clogging his courts, is expected to soon start a pilot program that will force these foreclosure mills and their bank clients to the bargaining table in an attempt to modify the muddled mortgages.

Homeowners across the state — including as many as 5,000 in Brooklyn and Queens alone — have been victimized by these mills, which file lawsuits and then, fearful of swearing to the truthfulness of the claims in the suit, let them lie dormant in the courts.

Meanwhile, the homeowners are forced to live in a legal limbo — unable to work out a modification because of the missing paperwork but still on the hook for a boatload of fees.

In June, Lippman will start a pilot program in Brooklyn that will force banks to the bargaining table. A judge will oversee the meeting with the aim of keeping the families in their homes.

“Losing your home is probably one of the greatest traumatic events a family or a person could have and they are in our courts, and we have to ensure that their cases are handled appropriately and expeditiously,” Lippman told The Post.

Rest here…

~

4closureFraud.org