BofA unit ordered to halt foreclosures
A Nye County district judge has ordered ReconTrust Co., a unit of Bank of America Corp., to stop most of its foreclosures in Nevada, based on allegations made by a Pahrump woman.
The order signed by Nye County District Judge Robert Lane on Jan. 20 restrains ReconTrust from foreclosing on "any real or personal property situated in the State of Nevada."
The bank holding company is also named in the lawsuit.
Suzanne North, who operates a children's day care center out of her home, originally alleged that ReconTrust was operating without a state business license. In an amended complaint, she claimed that ReconTrust served her with a foreclosure notice before Bank of America appointed ReconTrust as trustee. The Las Vegas Review-Journal was unable to obtain a copy of the amended complaint.
In a statement, Bank of America said: "ReconTrust previously faced a nearly identical order in Utah, and it recently prevailed in challenging that order in federal court. Until the current situation is resolved, ReconTrust intends to comply with the order."
ReconTrust had about 7,500 foreclosure sales scheduled in the Reno and Las Vegas metropolitan areas when the order was signed, said Sean O'Toole, founder and CEO of ForeclosureRadar.
Most foreclosures in Nevada are handled out of court, he said, unlike some states where the lender must get a court order to foreclose.
The Pahrump Valley Times reported that the order affects at least 100 homeowners in Nye County.
In the order, however, the judge said there is a "substantial likelihood that (North) will establish that ReconTrust does not have any contractual privities with respect to the contract between (North) and the other defendants regarding the promissory note and deed of trust."
If the allegations are proven, an attorney could argue that ReconTrust improperly foreclosed on properties, Las Vegas attorney Tisha Black-Chernine said.
"It could give rise to lawsuits for wrongful foreclosure," she said.
North said she and her husband have been struggling to make monthly payments of $2,010 for a mortgage on their four-bedroom home since sales declined at his commercial glass company. She operates and owns day care services for 12 children at their home.
"I'm going to fight until the end," North said Monday. "If we don't win, I'm going be in (the house) until the very end. I think Bank of America has set people up to fail from the beginning."
The couple's two sons and a pregnant daughter were living with them, but her daughter, grandchild and oldest son have moved.
She called Bank of America and explained her predicament first in May 2009. They allowed her to pay only interest for three months, she said.
North said she paid the full amount for July but she told the bank she couldn't continue making those payments. The bank cut her monthly payments to $1,085 for eight months, she said.
She continued to seek a permanent modification. Four times she sent copies of requested documents to Bank of America, but the bank repeatedly lost the documents, she said.
About three weeks after consulting with a Bank of America representative in Las Vegas, North said she found a notice of default posted on her door.
She signed up for the state's mortgage mediation program. She didn't realize she needed to bring tax documents to the mediation session.
The bank representative said "we're done," walked out and refused to wait two weeks for a completed 2009 income tax return, she said. So she hired a paralegal to help her prepare the petition she filed with Nye County District Court.
North said she now owes more than $16,000 and blames the bank for failing to advise her to save money she was paying to the bank during the temporary modifications.
She said she is also fighting for neighbors who could be foreclosed upon and applauded the judge's action.
"That's what we need in Pahrump," she said. "We need someone who fights for our citizens."
Contact reporter John G. Edwards at jedwards@
reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0420. Pahrump Valley Times Editor Matt Ward contributed to this report.
