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Court Affirms Ohio AG’s Case Against Loan Servicer HomEq

Ohio Attorney General ""Richard Cordray's lawsuit"":http://www.OhioAttorneyGeneral.gov/HomeEqAffirmation against Barclays Capital Real Estate, dba HomEq Servicing, just took a legal step forward with a recent decision by a state court.

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This week, Montgomery County Common Pleas Judge Timothy N. O'Connell overruled the defendant's motion to dismiss, clearing the way for Cordray's case to move forward, and the attorney general says, setting the stage for servicers to be held legally responsible for their actions in the aftermath of the foreclosure crisis.

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""This ruling takes us one step closer in our overall strategy to hold loan servicers accountable for unfair loan modifications in foreclosure cases,"" Cordray said. ""For too long, servicers have stood idly by, talking the talk but failing to provide any real solutions to the foreclosure crisis. Ohioans are losing their homes and servicers have aggravated the situation with noncompliance and out-right incompetence.""

Cordray ""sued HomeEq last December"":http://dsnews.comarticles/hamp-loan-servicer-sued-by-ohio-attorney-general-2009-12-18 for multiple violations of Ohio's Consumer Sales Practices Act (CSPA), including unfair and deceptive business practices.

The lawsuit marked the third filed by Cordray against a loan servicer operating in Ohio. He has also sued Carrington Mortgage Services and American Home Mortgage Servicing.

Cordray says he was the first state attorney general to file a lawsuit against a loan servicer for CSPA violations in the wake of the foreclosure crisis, and he expects this week's ruling by the state court to set a precedent in this ""first-of-a-kind legal strategy.""

""Ocwen Financial"":http://www.ocwen.com has purchased HomEq Servicing from parent company ""Barclays Bank"":http://www.barclays.co.uk/. The firms ""closed on the deal"":http://dsnews.comarticles/ocwen-pays-less-than-expected-for-homeq-2010-09-14 earlier this month.

About Author: Carrie Bay

Carrie Bay is a freelance writer for DS News and its sister publication MReport. She served as online editor for DSNews.com from 2008 through 2011. Prior to joining DS News and the Five Star organization, she managed public relations, marketing, and media relations initiatives for several B2B companies in the financial services, technology, and telecommunications industries. She also wrote for retail and nonprofit organizations upon graduating from Texas A&M University with degrees in journalism and English.
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