Following the financial crisis, many home mortgage borrowers found themselves living in properties encumbered by debt that far exceeded their value. The result was an increase in mortgage default rates, followed by a wave of foreclosures as lenders scrambled to minimize the financial damage to their investments. From the wreckage, a new creature emerged that threatened to devastate borrowers who believed that foreclosure was their chance for a fresh start: the zombie mortgage.
The facts and legal interpretations in this case, where the 4th Circuit found that the business structure of Big Picture Loans was protected by the tribal sovereign immunity of the Lac Vieux Desert Band of the Lake Superior Chippewa Indians, are not particularly pertinent to bankruptcy or consumer rights issues that are the focus of this blog.
The latest ABI Podcast features members of ABI's Commission on Consumer Bankruptcy providing insights on the Commission's recommendations on student loans and bankruptcy, the first topic addressed in its Final Report. Prof. Robert M.
Curnin granted a Deed of Trust originally to Bank of America, but now held by MTGLQ, with a property description which included the property’s lot number and the phase of the development (“STAGE I”)but without any reference to the book and page numbers where a title searcher could find the map recorded in the Brunswick County. MTGLQ brought an action to quiet title and to reform the Deed of Trust to include the full reference.
