A recent case in the Twelfth Appellate District, affecting Butler, Warren, and Clermont Counties, has given homeowners an ability to reopen cases where banks improperly obtained foreclosure judgments. In BAC Home Loan Servicing, L.P. v. Mapp, 2013-Ohio-2968, a homeowner was able to vacate a foreclosure judgment by demonstrating that foreclosing banks had presented paperwork demonstrating that defunct financial institutions transferred ownership well after they closed.
In Mapp, the homeowner originally purchased his home through a mortgage with Countrywide Home Loans, FSB. Countrywide later concluded operations and merged with other financial institutions. However, the paperwork on Mapp’s mortgage documents suggested that individuals acted on behalf of Countrywide after the institution ceased existence. This demonstration was sufficient to reopen the proceeding to determine whether or not BAC Home Loan Servicing had the proper standing to institute a foreclosure proceeding.
The decision in Mapp breathes new life in to cases of homeowners who were foreclosed upon by banks with insufficient, improper, or incorrect paperwork. While it is advantageous to retain counsel immediately upon receiving a notice of default or a foreclosure complaint, the Dever Law Firm understands that many individuals believed that they were not able to do this when they were first served.
If you are a homeowner with an existing foreclosure judgment, you should contact an attorney to see if the evidence filed in your case is sufficient to reopen and vacate already existing judgments.
If you have recently been served in foreclosure, please give us a call for a no cost case evaluation.