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A judge in St. George, Utah has issued a ""preliminary injunction"":http://www.envisionlawfirm.com/redacted_prelim0001.pdf stopping all foreclosure sales in the state by ""Bank of America"":http://www.bankofamerica.com and its subsidiary ""ReconTrust"":http://www.recontrustco.com.
[IMAGE]The decision, by 5th District Court Judge James L. Shumate, was based on the grounds that the nation's largest mortgage servicer and its related companies are not registered to do business in Utah.
The court order puts a temporary freeze on all trustee sales of homes foreclosed by BofA, until it can be determined if the bank is properly licensed to operate in the state.
[COLUMN_BREAK]According to a number of local media outlets, if the temporary injunction is made permanent, it has the potential to affect thousands of Utah borrowers facing foreclosure.
John Christian Barlow, the attorney who petitioned for the injunction, told ""_KCSG Television_ in St. George"":http://www.kcsg.com/view/full_story/7816217/article-Judge-James-L--Shumate-Orders-Halt-to-Bank-of-America-Foreclosures-in-Utah?instance=home_stories1 that Bank of America has over 1,100 homes in Utah in foreclosure this month alone, ""and the numbers keep growing,"" he said.
Bank of America issued the following statement to ""_ABC4_ in Salt Lake City"":http://www.abc4.com/news/local/story/Utah-Judge-Stops-Bank-of-America-Foreclosures/YW-V-s1eqUmFP2Ez3B98bA.cspx: ""Although we are governed by and operate in compliance with federal laws and regulations, we halted residential foreclosures in Utah in compliance with the recent preliminary injunction. Our first priority is to help our customers remain in their home as demonstrated by the more than 600,000 modifications completed since January 2008, but unfortunately due to ongoing recessionary impacts, for many customers, a transition to alternative housing will be necessary.""
Bank of America's attorneys have filed a motion to transfer the case to federal court.
