Tag Archives: Patton Boggs

In the third quarter of 2011, mortgage lawsuits reached their highest level since the Mortgage Litigation Index began tracking them in 2007; however, lawsuits involving servicers declined over the quarter. The index, tracked by MortgageDaily.com and prepared along with Patton Boggs LLP, observed 218 cases over the third quarter, up from 190 the previous quarter and 151 in the same quarter last year. Litigation against servicers dropped from 65 cases in the second quarter to 51 cases in the third.

Litigation related to mortgage servicing surged during the first quarter, after last fall's robo-signing issues raised questions about servicers' procedures and garnered widespread attention from mainstream media. Mortgage servicing litigation increased 88 percent over the first three months of this year, according to industry data released Monday. Investor-related litigation, however, eased, as did actions related to loan modification disputes.

Mortgage servicers were plagued with lawsuits in the last quarter of 2010, according to an industry data source. The percentage of legal actions against servicers rose 42 percent in the last three months of 2010, and actions associated with loan modifications tripled. The report said that 151 mortgage-related lawsuits were reported in the fourth quarter, jumping from 106 in the quarter before. Secondary marketing litigation nearly doubled, and criminal cases also rose.

Legal actions tied to mortgage lending jumped by 41 percent during the third quarter of the year, according to industry data released this week. Activity on more than 100 civil and criminal mortgage-related cases was tracked from July 1 through September 30 in the report prepared by the mortgage banking litigation firm Patton Boggs. Suits involving investor actions outnumbered all other types. Coming in next were actions related to foreclosures, an area that has drawn intense scrutiny with recent reports of widespread robo-signing.

The government has shifted its resources from civil to criminal mortgage-related cases in recent months. As a result, an industry index that tracks mortgage litigation lawsuits has dropped by more than half. Active cases totaled 75 in the second quarter, according to the report released this week. Activity tumbled 52 percent from the first quarter and was 40 percent lower than a year ago, as the U.S. Department of Justice executed its nationwide crackdown on mortgage fraud, dubbed Operation Stolen Dreams.